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Crawfordjohn
lies in the upper reaches of the Duneaton valley, with Sanquhar and
Kirkconnel to the south west, Douglas to the west, the market town of
Lanark to the north with Biggar to the north east, the villages of
Abington and Crawford to the east and Leadhills and Wanlockhead to the
south east, also known as God’s treasure house. The valley
surrounding Crawfordjohn is home to a farming community, with
neighbouring parishes having coal, and at one time lead and gold mines. Abington and
Crawford having a similar farming community, were latterly connected to
the main line railway, affording stopping off places for tourists to the
area and businessmen commuting to both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Unfortunately both stations closed under the 1963 Beeching Railway
report. Heading north towards the market town of Lanark, the farming land becomes more productive along the valley bottom with the main river being the magnificent Clyde, and beyond Lanark is the famous fruit and vegetable valley. |
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Crawfordjohn Today Farming is no longer a major feature from the aspect “What do people do?” Mechanisation and economics have brought about many changes. Former farm cottages have been converted into holiday homes or bases for home industry. There is a pottery, a private gallery and several people working from home via the Internet. Others commute to large towns around, eg Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hamilton, East Kilbride and some others work abroad. Farming is still a major player in managing the landscape and producing fine sheep and cattle but it is not now a foregone conclusion, as it was in the old days, that son will follow father on the farm. The Primary School : has always been the centre of the community. The school building was demolished in 2009 to make way for anew school as part of South Lanarkshire Council's Modernisation Programme. Site clearance unearthed evidence of graves and construction work was halted until human remains were removed by archaeologists. A shroud-pin, which was also found , indicated that these graves may date from the medieval period.Pupils were initially housed at Douglas Primary School then transferred to Abington Primary where the continue their education until a decision is made about the future of Crawfordjohn Primary School
The
Local: The Colebrooke Arms, is a small pub with very good food, and
is a favourite watering-hole for summer tourists and also a meeting place for
‘droothy neighbours’. The Village Hall: in use today was built in 1999, as part of a Millennium Lottery scheme. It has a large capacity and can host major events, the only large hall for miles around. It is community-owned and managed, with some support and supervision from the South Lanarkshire Council. The hall committee attempts to keep a programme of interesting events ongoing.
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