Steamboat Rows, Avonhead, New Monkland .....

Rockford · Post by **Rockford** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:06 pm

I've just found my great great grandfather in the 1891 Census living in the Village of Avonhead in New Monkland, with an address that is quite clearly "Steamboat Rows"!

Can anyone shed any light on this? I've looked at some old maps and can find Avonhead easy enough, but can't see a canal or 'works' for miles. Out of all 5 families listed at the same location on the page, they are all coal miners. I know the Monkland Canal goes through Coatbridge but I thought that any boats or barges would be made closer to it and if being made in Avonhead at least one family would be involved in their construction.

And here I thought finding 'Double Dandy Rows' in Carfin on an 1894 MC was exotic........

Brian

Post by **emanday** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:19 pm

Now that's foxed me

Nothing in the valuation rolls, Old Maps and even Google came up with nothing relevant.

What did it say in the census header, if any was available? Sometimes they can be quite informative.

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:30 am

I've got a map somewhere but can't find it for the moment, but I do recall that there were a number of side branches to the main part of the canal.

David

Rockford · Post by **Rockford** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:51 pm

Hi Mary,

I've looked at the header page and there are a list of places and addresses such as Greendykeside and Stanrigg etc. These are all in the vicinity and are still shown on an OS map. The only reference to Avonhead is 'Avonhead Rows'. No references to any works, canals or industry.

The page on which my great great grandfather is listed has the 5 families at Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 Steamboat Rows.

David,

I don't know if the canal would have branched off as far as this - it's about 6 miles outside Coatbridge. I'd be interested to see what is shown on your map.

Best wishes

Brian

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:44 pm

No offshoots of the canal up that end of the world as far as I can see.
It's between Greengairs and Longriggend.

It's slapbang in the middle of coal mining country, so there would have been several 'raws' thrown up by the collery owners as workers required them.

Who was the mine owners at that point? if they also had an interest in a boat building company they might have named a new miners row after that?
Far fetched perhaps, but often these industries were linked. For instance the Carron foundry owners needed coal to make the steel, so they had mines in and around Falkirk, a steam boat needs coal, so why not mine it yourself?

I'm intrigued

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:49 pm

Rockford wrote:....snipped...............

David,

I don't know if the canal would have branched off as far as this - it's about 6 miles outside Coatbridge. I'd be interested to see what is shown on your map.

Best wishes

Brian

Hi Brian

Even if I can find the map, my memory is that it probably wont be sufficiently detailed so that it helps you here ...........

David

Post by **AndrewP** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:05 pm

Hi Brian,

I've looked at various 1:10560 and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps from the 1860s to the 1920s. Most of them show Avonhead Rows, detailing them as six rows of houses, but none of these rows are named on the maps, so there is no telling which may have been Steamboat Rows.

As Wilma has described, they are well away from the Monkland Canal. The nearest point of that canal was at its eastern terminus at Calderbank Steelworks, about 5 miles as the crow flies from Avonhead Rows.

All the best,

AndrewP

djcrtoye · Post by **djcrtoye** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 8:04 pm

My gggranfather and his family lived at 9 Avonhead Rows in the 1881 Census the family names was Tobin. I asked the question for where this would be and is some where near Condoratt. Maybe it was named after the nearby Union Canal.

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:03 pm

Hi Brian

Like David I know there is mention somewhere of various small side canals to link the small collieries with the main Forth & Clyde canal but theonly reference i have is 'From sea to sea' by Len Paterson which decribes all the canals across Scotland.
The side branches were smaller, narrower and quite short-lived. Their haulage would almost certainly be horse-power rather than steam though.
Perhaps an optimistic mine-owner had the rows built but the canals were never really developed because steam railways arrived.

Russell

hbaird · Post by **hbaird** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:48 pm

Brian,

The folks upstairs in Airdrie Library may be able to help you further ...