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Lanark & New Lanark
History
The historic burgh of Lanark
was the location of the first meeting of the Scots Parliament in 978. Lanark has
served as an important market town since medieval times, and King David I made it
a Royal Burgh in 1140, giving it certain mercantile privileges relating to government
and taxation. King David I realised that greater prosperity could result from encouraging
trade. He decided to create a chain of new towns across Scotland. These would be
centres of Norman civilisation in a largely Celtic country, and would be established
in such a way as to encourage the development of trade within their area. These
new towns were to be known as Burghs. Bastides were established in France for much
the same reason. When a site had been selected for a new town the King’s surveyors
would lay out an area for the town’s market. Each merchant who came to the town
was granted a plot of land [usually rent free for the first few years] bordering
on the marketplace. These plots were known as feus or rigs. Each feus in a burgh
was the same size, though the size varied between burghs. In Forres each feus was
24 feet 10 inches wide and 429 feet deep.
The layout of the feus in Lanark can still be easily seen between the north side
of Lanark High Street [the former market place] and North Vennel, a lane which runs
behind the feus. A motte and bailey castle was also constructed at the bottom of
Castlegate.
Find out more about the history of
Lanark and what it is like today.
Lanark Today
Lanark is now a bustling market town with a busy high street, two major supermarkets
and a retail park. There are a range of good quality pubs and restaurants, a tourist
information office and police station.
Lanark Tourist Information Office
Horsemarket
Ladyacre Road
Lanark
Lanarkshire
ML11 7LQ
Scotland
Tel: +44 (1555) 661661
E-Mail:
lanark@visitscotland.com
WWW: http://visitscotland.com
New Lanark World Heritage Village
A local attraction which worth visiting during your stay at Carmichael is New Lanark
World heritage Village and the Falls of Clyde reserve. More information can be found
at http://www.newlanark.org/
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