Tarbrax
Encyclopedia
Tarbrax is a small village in the Parish of Carnwath, County of South Lanarkshire
, Scotland
. It is at the end of a dead end road off the A70 road
between Edinburgh
and Carnwath
.
Tarbrax is at 1000 feet above sea level on the edge of the Pentland Hills
. Nearby villages include Auchengray
and Woolfords
.
It was built around a shale
mine as housing for the miners beginning in the middle of the 19th Century. There is a large bing or spent shale spoil heap in the village. The name is derived from the Lawhead Tarbrax estate within which it was built, which was then owned by David Souter Robertson a founder of modern Accountancy
. This estate was originally based around Tarbrax Castle, a seat of the Somervilles, though by 1649 it had passed to the Lockharts, including George Lockhart of Tarbrax
. There is nothing to be seen of the castle left today. The village was also a base for American GI's during the Second World War.
on the Caledonian Railway
Edinburgh to Carstairs
Line, North of Auchengray railway station
. The principal traffic was in connection with shale oil extraction.
. It only goes up to Primary 4 and the four classes share two rooms. When the children have finished at Auchengray Primary School, they go to Carnwath Primary School in the town of Carnwath
. They stay there for another three years before moving on to Biggar High School
in the town of Biggar
. All three schools are scheduled to be rebuilt in the next ten to fifteen years.
group and an over-50s group. There are children's parties held at different times of the year.
Wind farms have recently been built within some of the countryside near Tarbrax. Some members of the local community strongly opposed these wind farms when they were first proposed in 2006-2007. Other members of the community warmly welcome the wind farms.
Recently, a committee was set up involving people of all ages from the community to look into the problem of the football pitch and surrounding grass area in Tarbrax. Plans were made to improve this area and make it look nicer on the eye.
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is at the end of a dead end road off the A70 road
A70 road
The A70 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom. It runs a total of from Edinburgh to Ayr. It begins in Gorgie, Edinburgh, as Ardmillan Terrace from a junction with the A71 and ends as Holmston Road in Ayr going by but not through Lanark...
between Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Carnwath
Carnwath
Carnwath is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow...
.
Tarbrax is at 1000 feet above sea level on the edge of the Pentland Hills
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...
. Nearby villages include Auchengray
Auchengray
Auchengray is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.It has a small church whose architect was Frederick Thomas Pilkington , the ground given by George Robertson Chaplin of Colliston House, Arbroath, the uncle of David Souter Robertson of Lawhead House nearby. The church has two stained...
and Woolfords
Woolfords
Woolfords is a small hamlet in the Parish of Carnwath, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Woolfords is located on the road between Auchengray and West Calder, next to Cobbinshaw Reservoir. It was formerly part of West Calder in West Lothian and has an EH55 postcode.Woolfords is at above sea level on...
.
History
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...
mine as housing for the miners beginning in the middle of the 19th Century. There is a large bing or spent shale spoil heap in the village. The name is derived from the Lawhead Tarbrax estate within which it was built, which was then owned by David Souter Robertson a founder of modern Accountancy
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
. This estate was originally based around Tarbrax Castle, a seat of the Somervilles, though by 1649 it had passed to the Lockharts, including George Lockhart of Tarbrax
George Lockhart of Tarbrax
George Lockhart of Tarbrax was a son of Sir Allan Lockhart of Cleghorn. He married Anne Lockhart of Tarbrax daughter of Sir James Lockhart of Lee...
. There is nothing to be seen of the castle left today. The village was also a base for American GI's during the Second World War.
Transport
It once had its own mineral branch line and loading siding; the branch line led from Cobbinshaw railway stationCobbinshaw railway station
Cobbinshaw railway station was on the Caledonian Railway Edinburgh to Carstairs line sited near a village called Woolfords in South Lanarkshire. The branch line to Tarbrax railway station joined here....
on the Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
Edinburgh to Carstairs
Carstairs
The name Carstairs refers to a pair of villages located some 4–5 miles east of the town of Lanark in the administrative region of South Lanarkshire in southern Scotland....
Line, North of Auchengray railway station
Auchengray railway station
Auchengray railway station was just outside Auchengray, a hamlet in the Parish of Carnwath, County of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was served by local trains on the what is now known as the West Coast Main Line....
. The principal traffic was in connection with shale oil extraction.
Education
Tarbrax used to have a school of its own, in the days of the shale mining. Now, however, the local school is a small primary in the neighbouring village of AuchengrayAuchengray
Auchengray is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.It has a small church whose architect was Frederick Thomas Pilkington , the ground given by George Robertson Chaplin of Colliston House, Arbroath, the uncle of David Souter Robertson of Lawhead House nearby. The church has two stained...
. It only goes up to Primary 4 and the four classes share two rooms. When the children have finished at Auchengray Primary School, they go to Carnwath Primary School in the town of Carnwath
Carnwath
Carnwath is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow...
. They stay there for another three years before moving on to Biggar High School
Biggar High School
Biggar High School is a secondary school located in the town of Biggar, South Lanarkshire. It is a mixed secondary school of non-denominational religion. The current headteacher is Mr David J. Chalmers. The school was most recently inspected by HMIe in November 2007, and generally performed well...
in the town of Biggar
Biggar
- Places :* Biggar, Cumbria, England* Biggar, Saskatchewan, Canada* Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Scotland- Electoral districts :* Biggar , provincial electoral district since 2002...
. All three schools are scheduled to be rebuilt in the next ten to fifteen years.
Tarbrax today
A recent development to Tarbrax is the building of the village hall, which opened in 2004. It runs various groups and activities which include a Youth Club, BadmintonBadminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
group and an over-50s group. There are children's parties held at different times of the year.
Wind farms have recently been built within some of the countryside near Tarbrax. Some members of the local community strongly opposed these wind farms when they were first proposed in 2006-2007. Other members of the community warmly welcome the wind farms.
Recently, a committee was set up involving people of all ages from the community to look into the problem of the football pitch and surrounding grass area in Tarbrax. Plans were made to improve this area and make it look nicer on the eye.