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Plains is a village (pop. 2291) situated 2 miles east of the town of Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, between Scotland's two largest cities: Glasgow and Edinburgh, being approximately one third of the distance from Glasgow (14 miles) to Edinburgh (30 miles) along the A89 road. Plains and Airdrie form part of the eastern periphery of the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area.
There is no known association to any other place called Plains other than an amusing tale told at the time of the election of President Jimmy Carter (of Plains, Georgia) in 1976. In this case the President received a congratulatory telegram sent by Jimmy Carter - a local newsagent. This story was reported in the national tabloid, The Daily Record.
Geography
The origin of the name "Plains" is unknown, but it is unlikely to be a geographical description. That said, one suggestion is that the name derives from the view afforded to the Cistercian Monks of Newbattle Abbey as they travelled to what is now the site of the village (the same monks farmed the wider area for grain in what became known as Monklands).
Plains is situated on the gentle south facing slope of the valley of the North Calder Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. Locally this has been known as "The Ga" in light of it's location in what was "The Gala-day Park," essentially a field in which locals historically would congregate for an annual community celebration. This custom has since diminshed however the tradition remains strong in neighbouring communities to the east such as Harthill, Whitburn and Armadale.
The Main Street (the A89) runs in a straight line for about 1 mile east to west. Almost all of the residential housing of the village lies on the northern side of Main St., forming a roughly square shape (1 mile each side). To the south of Main St., the valley drops more steeply down to the North Calder then steeply up the other side which is home to the parkland Easter Moffat golf course.
Running parallel and around 100 metres south of the A89 is National Cycle Route 75, a Sustrans long distance cycle path. This was constructed along the bed of a former industrial railway line and ultimately links Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Plains lies at around 500 ft above sea level. From nearby Airdriehill, there is a wide vista to the west across the urbanised lower Clyde valley. Beyond, on a clear day, it is possible to see Ben Lomond and the Isle of Arran.
To the south east of Plains, the land rises to almost 1000 feet - the highest land in the narrow isthmus across central Scotland - Scotland's "Continental Divide". Consequently, the area was chosen as the location for Scotland's first television transmitting stations. The Black Hill Transmitter, at 1000 ft tall, is a very prominent local landmark. It began broadcasting independent Scottish Television services in August, 1957. Nearby, but not so tall or prominent, is Kirk o'Shotts transmitter mast which broadcast Scotland's first BBC television signals in March, 1952.
History
The village was founded in the mid 19th century along what is now the A89 Airdrie to Bathgate road. Much of the original growth of the village was in keeping with the expansion of the coal mining industry in the area. The population of the village in 1860 is recorded at just over 200. One example of this growth is seen through The Ardenrigg Coal Co, which as established by John Gardner and John Gemmell in the late 19th century. In 1925, the company was incorporated as the Ardenrigg Coal Co Ltd with a share issue of GBP 10,000 in GBP 1 shares. This was increased by a share issue of GBP 11,000 in 1930.
Today, North of Plains, the land is the site of numerous former coal mines. Scotland's largest open cast coal mine is in operation at Drumshangie Moss. There has recently been controversy regarding the impact of this on the site of the Stanrigg Mining Disaster.
Subsequent 20th century expansion has been to the north of the A89 road in separate developments of local government or Council houses, consisting of blocks of terraced houses. Plains, in contrast to most other settlements in the area (Coatbridge excluded) is known for being a predominately Catholic village, and Irish Political murals are to be found on display in the village. The church in the village, St. David's, was established in 1897 and rebuilt in 1994 and continues to serve a congregation of 1850. St. David's is part of the Diocese of Motherwell. Other worship takes place within the village, most notably at the Elim Gospel Hall.
Originally planned as affordable, rented accommodations for the predominately working class population, a large percentage have become owner occupied in recent years. At the beginning of the 21st century, a new development of relatively large, detached houses was established in the north-east corner of the village.
References and Further reading
"Plains, North Lanarkshire"