A Replacement Rutherglen Royalty Boundary Stone
© Rutherglen Heritage Society
In 2011 a project to resurvey Rutherglen’s Royalty Boundary Stones was initiated by one of the members of Rutherglen Heritage Society. He expressed concerns about a stone located near Glasgow Road by the route of the M74 extension, then under construction. Documents stated that the stone dated from 1851 and it was feared that construction works would damage the stone.
Right, a photograph of what was thought to be the original stone.
As construction work on the motorway progressed, the stone was removed from the surrounding soil and discovered to be a small boulder. The original stone from 1851 must have been lost at an earlier date and someone replaced it with the boulder. The members of the Society resolved to replace the boulder with a new boundary stone. Funding obtained from Celebrating Lanarkshire 2013 was used to cover the costs.
Left, loading the replacement stone.
Reigart Demolition, Coatbridge, kindly donated a suitable piece of stone. As seen above left, a fork lift truck easily placed the stone into a hired van. The stone was transported to Glasgow Cathedral where it was to be carved by David Kerr, the stonemason. After being carved the stone was transported back to Rutherglen where South Lanarkshire Council’s Roads Department installed it near the original end of Quay Road.
The stone was inscribed with “R” for Rutherglen and two dates – 1851 and 2013 – being the dates of the original stone and of its replacement. There is one surviving example of a boundary stone which also has two dates, 1685 and 1897. It also has the name R. McKenzie inscribed on it. Robert McKenzie was a printer and publisher of the local newspaper, the Rutherglen Reformer. The new stone also has the initials RHS for the Rutherglen Heritage Society, and a thistle.
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Rutherglen Heritage Society would like to thank Reigart Demolition, David Kerr and SLC Roads Department for their assistance in providing a new Royalty Boundary Stone for Rutherglen.
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Gill Owen, Rutherglen Heritage Society
Right, the replacement stone, proudly in place.
