Inkerman, Renfrewshire
Encyclopedia
Inkerman was a small hamlet set up in 1858 in the Abbey Parish of Paisley
to house ironstone
miners. Later employment came from ancillary operations, including shale coal
and oilworks. There were seven pits in all in Inkerman. The hamlet was named after a recent (1854) British military victory, the Battle of Inkerman
, in the Crimean War
. Similarly, the nearby Balaklava
settlement housed miners for the Clippens mines (now in Linwood) from 1855. The hamlet of Redan was named to commemorate the storming of the fortifications - Redan
- in the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855). The miners from these settlements had their own rivalries. On Saturday 12 July 1859 the miners from The Redan in Linwood, on one side of the The Black Cart Water
, and their rivals from Inkerman, on the other side, met in the (grandly called) Battle of Linwood Bridge. (The bridge is still there at the end of Bridge Street, Linwood). The men were armed with various weapons such as mining tools, swords and cudgels. A bloody battle was fought resulting in the death of one man and several others were badly injured
Inkerman was near Candrens, where Blackstone Road passes under the A737. It consisted of three rows of cottages (built by the mine owners Merry & Cunninghame Ltd) called Row One, Row Two and Row Three, plus a shop, a school and a schoolhouse. The school and schoolhouse still exist, the latter as a private house. A reading room was attached to the school. A Church of Scotland
Mission Hall was erected and later the Inkerman Bowling Club (which still exists, on the Blackstoun Road) was formed. As the population increased, Oilwork Row and Store Row were added to the so-called "miners' raws" (sic). The Store was company-run, and much credit was extended to miners, often against the law (the Truck Acts
). The Store was also the Post Office. The population of the hamlet grew from 723 (1871), to 948 (1881). As the mines became exhausted the population began to decline - for example to 699 (1891). There was an oilwork, (The Walkinshaw Oil Company) extracting oil from the shale
, and a brickwork (part of Merry and Cunninghame's operation) was established to make bricks from the shale waste, - the blaes - but this disappeared with the mining industry. People drifted away and the last of the “miners’ raws” was demolished in the 1940s. Inkerman is no longer listed on maps but can be found on the historic Ordnance Survey
series, as can Balaklava near Clippens.
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
to house ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
miners. Later employment came from ancillary operations, including shale coal
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
and oilworks. There were seven pits in all in Inkerman. The hamlet was named after a recent (1854) British military victory, the Battle of Inkerman
Battle of Inkerman
The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on November 5, 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and was followed by the Siege of Sevastopol...
, in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. Similarly, the nearby Balaklava
Battle of Balaclava
The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Anglo-French-Turkish campaign to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea...
settlement housed miners for the Clippens mines (now in Linwood) from 1855. The hamlet of Redan was named to commemorate the storming of the fortifications - Redan
Redan
Redan is a term related to fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack...
- in the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855). The miners from these settlements had their own rivalries. On Saturday 12 July 1859 the miners from The Redan in Linwood, on one side of the The Black Cart Water
River Cart
The River Cart is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew....
, and their rivals from Inkerman, on the other side, met in the (grandly called) Battle of Linwood Bridge. (The bridge is still there at the end of Bridge Street, Linwood). The men were armed with various weapons such as mining tools, swords and cudgels. A bloody battle was fought resulting in the death of one man and several others were badly injured
Inkerman was near Candrens, where Blackstone Road passes under the A737. It consisted of three rows of cottages (built by the mine owners Merry & Cunninghame Ltd) called Row One, Row Two and Row Three, plus a shop, a school and a schoolhouse. The school and schoolhouse still exist, the latter as a private house. A reading room was attached to the school. A Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
Mission Hall was erected and later the Inkerman Bowling Club (which still exists, on the Blackstoun Road) was formed. As the population increased, Oilwork Row and Store Row were added to the so-called "miners' raws" (sic). The Store was company-run, and much credit was extended to miners, often against the law (the Truck Acts
Truck Acts
Truck Acts is the name given to legislation that outlaws truck systems, which are also known as "company store" systems, or debt bondage. Such laws date back in Britain to the 15th century but have also been implemented in other countries.-History:...
). The Store was also the Post Office. The population of the hamlet grew from 723 (1871), to 948 (1881). As the mines became exhausted the population began to decline - for example to 699 (1891). There was an oilwork, (The Walkinshaw Oil Company) extracting oil from the shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, and a brickwork (part of Merry and Cunninghame's operation) was established to make bricks from the shale waste, - the blaes - but this disappeared with the mining industry. People drifted away and the last of the “miners’ raws” was demolished in the 1940s. Inkerman is no longer listed on maps but can be found on the historic Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
series, as can Balaklava near Clippens.
External links
- http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/Navigation-els-Linwood(OurHistoryandHeritage)Homepage#Thursday - rare photograph of old Inkerman