What is Treasure?
The Treasures of South Lanarkshire is an attempt by the author to highlight the almost unbelievable wealth of curated and built heritage of the area, and much of which is probably unknown to the general public, but all of which (and much more) is available to them. The present is indisputably the product of the past and while we leave our own legacy to the future it is incumbent on the current populations to ensure the past heritage in whatever form it takes, is preserved as much as is possible for the future.
Everything cannot be saved, however, it those special or rare objects, buildings and places which should easily be retained as material evidence of our rich history in South Lanarkshire. What is alarming however, are the sites and landscapes which have been destroyed and this reports highlights many which need not have been, they would now be considered as assets for their cultural and economic value. Often destroyed as acts of official vandalism, by people who simply have no empathy with heritage values or significance, the destruction continues to this day by people of unsympathetic values.
Each object or place has a story to tell, often part of that story is still unknown, which is all the more reason to preserve the hard evidence. The papers given here can only be seen as an introduction to selected parts of the overall story, hopefully to allow the reader to explore further in museums, libraries, towns, and the countryside and perhaps re-discover parts of that rich inheritance themselves. Obviously in a work such as this which can only briefly describe and illustrate the subject matter, omissions will occur, to reveal all would be a cyclopaedic task, but any places or objects not included here will undoubtedly be covered elsewhere in literature.
The work comprises of four parts:
The Treasures of South Lanarkshire Part 1
The Treasures of South Lanarkshire Part 2
The Treasures of South Lanarkshire Part 3
