MOLENDINAR - Where Glasgow Began

The Molendinar Burn. It runs from Frankfield Loch to Hogganfield Loch then onwards for two or three miles towards Glasgow, where it ends in the River Clyde.

In the 6th century it flowed through a ravine by a small hill and a cemetery, and this was where a priest named Kentigern buried the body of a holy man named Fergus.

Today, that ravine is now Wishart Street, the small hill is now The Necropolis, and the Molendinar Burn is culverted over and out of sight.

Kentigern went on to establish an early Christian settlement on the site, which is now occupied by Glasgow Cathedral, and beneath the Blackadder Aisle in that holy place probably lies the body of Fergus, as indicated in an intricately-shaped ceiling boss in that aisle. This, is where the grand city of Glasgow began, and today Kentigern, now Saint Kentigern and affectionately known as Saint Mungo, is the Patron Saint of Glasgow.

As the Molendinar Burn wriggles its way from Frankfield Loch to the River Clyde, it can be difficult telling what sections are natural and what sections have been fiddled with or diverted by man in order to power any number of mills and industries, of which there were plenty along its length.

Using old maps, and some photographs, we piece together much of the course of the waterway, and examine how its existence was crucial to Glasgow's early beginnings, from that early monastic settlement to the Second City of the Great British Empire.

One old map by John McArthur dating to 1778 was invaluable in charting the route of the Molendinar as it made its way through Glasgow. Other later maps allowed us to see much of the route outside the city.

From the cathedral we make our way over the Bridge of Sighs towards the ancient holy well, Lady Well, then cross Duke Street by Tennent's Wellpark Brewery into Duke Wynd.

In the end, we come across the only section of the Molendinar Burn still visible today in Glasgow city centre. The burn that gave life to Glasgow.

Видео MOLENDINAR - Where Glasgow Began канала Ed Explores Scotland