Motherwell, United Kingdom
Motherwell is a town of 32,840 people in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Why visit Motherwell
Townapedia lists 52 museums and landmarks, 25 parks and trails, 113 places to eat, 9 places to stay and 9 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Clyde Bridge, Town house, Hamilton Mausoleum and Low Parks Museum.
Weather in Motherwell
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Motherwell
Motherwell (Scots: Mitherwall, Scottish Gaelic: Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, around 12 miles (19 km) south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarkshire, Motherwell is the headquarters for North Lanarkshire Council. Geographically the River Clyde separates Motherwell from Hamilton to the west whereas the South Calder Water separates Motherwell from Carfin to the north-east and New Stevenston and Bellshill towards the north.
From the Wikipedia article Motherwell (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Motherwell on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Photos of Motherwell
Things to do9
Clyde Bridge
Bridge · 1.0 mi
Bridge between North and South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK, carries the A723 road across River Clyde
M&D's
Monument and historic site · 2.0 mi
Theme park in Motherwell, Scotland, UK
Museums and landmarks52
Hamilton Mausoleum
Monument and historic site · 1.6 mi
Mausoleum in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
Low Parks Museum
Museum · 1.8 mi
Museum in Hamilton, Scotland, United Kingdom
Cadzow Castle
Monument and historic site · 2.2 mi
Castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
David Livingstone Centre
Museum · 3.7 mi
Category A listed building in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
Bothwellhaugh Roman Fort
Monument and historic site · 1.4 mi
Architectural structure in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
Memorial to the Spanish Civil War
Monument and historic site
Memorial in Motherwell, Scotland, UK
North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre
Museum
Scottish museum and heritage centre, United Kingdom
The Ross
Monument and historic site · 1.0 mi
A Category B Listed Building in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
40 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds25
Strathclyde Country Park
Park · 1.3 mi
Country park in Lanarkshire, Scotland
Chatelherault Country Park
Park · 2.5 mi
Country park and designed landscape in Hamilton parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
13 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes113
The Brandon Works
Bar and pub
45-61 Merry Street, Motherwell
Mo,Tu,We,Th,Su 08:00-24:00; Fr,Sa 08:00-25:00
The Milano Bar
Bar and pub · Italian · 1.8 mi
Mo-Th 16:00-00:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-00:00; Su 12:30-00:00
Bar Zero
Bar and pub · 1.8 mi
Keith Street, Hamilton
Mo-Su 11:00-24:00
Oruam
Restaurant · Brazilian, Grill, International, Portuguese · 1.9 mi
77-79 Cadzow Street, Hamilton
Mo-We 12:00-21:00; Th-Fr 12:00-22:00; Sa 10:00-22:00; Su 10:00-21:00
Stonehouse
Bar and pub · 1.9 mi
45 Cadzow Street, Hamilton
Mo-Th 12:00-23:00, Fr 12:00-24:00, Sa 12:00-01:00, Su 12:30-23:00
The Quarry Bar
Bar and pub · 2.1 mi
137 Quarry Street, Hamilton
Mo-Th 11:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-00:00; Su 12:30-23:00
101 more on the map.
History
A Roman road through central Scotland ran along Motherwell's side of the River Clyde, crossing the South Calder Water near Bothwellhaugh. At this crossing a fort and bath house were erected, but the Roman presence in Scotland did not last much later than this. Motherwell's location in the Scottish Lowlands means that it would have been inhabited by the Britons. Motherwell's name reportedly comes from a well, the Lady Well, formerly dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The site of this well is now marked by a plaque on Ladywell Road. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652.
By the start of the 19th century, Motherwell was a small hamlet, a farming community of some 600 people living adjacently to the 16th century laird's manor, Jerviston house. The hamlet remained reasonably small, reaching 1,700 people by 1841, and centred on the crossroads between the main road following the Clyde, and the road connecting Edinburgh with Hamilton and the west.
Motherwell's fortunes changed dramatically in the second half of the 19th century. With the coming of the railway in 1848, came industry and money. By 1881 David Colville had opened both an iron and steel works; Motherwell had a new piped water supply; had been granted burgh status and had its population swelled to 13,800 people.
Read more of the history
By the end of the 19th century, Motherwell Town Hall and Dalziel High School had been built, the local football club had been founded, and its stadium, Fir Park, had been constructed.
At the start of the 20th century, Motherwell stood a large and growing industrial centre, a town of 37,000 people and a wide variety of heavy industries such as munitions, trams and bridge components. By the 1930s most of Scotland's steel production was in Motherwell, and owned by the Colville family. In 1959 the Colville family were persuaded by the government to begin work of a vast new steel works, which would become Ravenscraig. Within a few years, Ravenscraig was producing more than a million tonnes of steel per year. Following nationalisation of the steel industry, production at the plant was raised, with the Motherwell blast furnaces producing 3 million tonnes each year.
40 locals from Lanarkshire travelled to become volunteers of the International Brigades to fight for the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War memorial in Duchess Park in Motherwell commemorates them.
By the middle of the 1970s, Motherwell's steel industry employed more than 13,000 people.
The 1980s brought a catastrophic collapse in the industry of Motherwell. The steel strike of 1980 lost British Steel Corporation important contracts and markets, followed by the closure of important local customers such as the Linwood car factory and Bathgate truck factory, Ravenscraig employed only 3,200 people by the end of the 1980s.
Ravenscraig closed on 24 June 1992, and was demolished in July 1996, bringing 400 years of Scottish iron production to an end. Today the Dalzell Plate Mill is all that remains of Motherwell's industrial heritage, rolling steel from Middlesbrough into steel plates of various sizes.
By the start of the 21st century, Motherwell had begun to transform itself with the service industry thriving, the large scale unemployment of the previous twenty years had been largely remedied. Through the expansion of both towns, Motherwell and Wishaw are now effectively one continuous urban area, although the towns remain distinct.
The town served as the location for the Orange Order's Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland between 2021 and 2023.
From the History section of Motherwell on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Motherwell
Economy
Motherwell is the headquarters for both North Lanarkshire Council, which is one of Scotland's most populous local authority areas, and of Police Scotland "Q" division. These organisations cover an overall population of 327,000 people (59,000 in Motherwell and Wishaw) throughout the 183 square miles (470 km2) of North Lanarkshire.
Motherwell was noted as the steel production capital of Scotland, nicknamed Steelopolis, home of David Colville & Sons during the 19th and 20th centuries, with its skyline later dominated by the water tower and three cooling towers of their Ravenscraig steelworks which closed in 1992. The Ravenscraig plant had one of the longest continuous casting, hot rolling, steel production facilities in the world before it was decommissioned. The closure of Ravenscraig signalled the end of large scale steel making in Scotland, although the town's Dalzell steel plate works continues to be operated by Tata Steel Europe.
In the past decade, Motherwell has to an extent recovered from the high unemployment and economic decline brought about by this collapse of heavy industry. A number of call centres and business parks such as Strathclyde Business Park have since set up in the region. Large employers include William Grant & Sons whisky distillers and the heavy equipment manufacturer Volvo Construction Equipment/Rokbak.
Arts and culture
Strathclyde Park previously hosted the major Scottish music festival, T in the Park, until 1996, when it was moved to a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire. The park also contains the ruins of a Roman bathhouse linked to the nearby site of Bothwellhaugh Roman Fort.
Education
Dalziel High School is located on Crawford Street near Duchess park, serving areas including North Motherwell, The Globe, Greenacres, Airbles and North Lodge. and has a school roll of around 1,000 pupils. Notable alumni of Dalziel include former Motherwell, Wigan and Rangers player Lee McCulloch and international television journalist, Alan Fisher.
Another High School on Fir Park Street, Firpark High School which is Right next to Motherwell Football Club stadium, Fir park and has a Primary school attached to the high School and it is all named after the Football team right beside the High School (Fir Park Stadium).
Braidhurst High School, in the Forgewood area of Motherwell, serves areas including Forgewood, North Motherwell, The Globe and Jerviston. With a roll of around 500, Braidhurst is one of the smaller secondary schools in Lanarkshire. The main school building was recently modernised, with the outdated pink and yellow panels replaced by a modern-looking glass exterior. Notable alumni of Braidhurst include Elaine C Smith (actress), former Scotland national football captain Gary McAllister and Tam Cowan (comedian and writer).
From the Wikipedia article Motherwell, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Motherwell
Gary McAllisterScottish football player and managerPhoto: Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ian St JohnScottish association football player and manager (1938–2021)Photo: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
Onni ValakariFinnish association football playerPhoto: Peltimikko, CC BY-SA 4.0
Catherine GibsonBritish swimmer, Olympic bronze medallistPhoto: National Media Museum from UK, No restrictions
Doogie WhiteScottish singerPhoto: Yellowxander, CC BY 3.0
Mark ReynoldsScottish footballer (born 1987)Photo: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland, CC BY 2.0
William NolanRoman Catholic archbishopPhoto: Scottish Government, CC BY 2.0
Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of BoltonBritish Labour Party politician (born 1947)Photo: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0
David LangtonBritish actor (1912-1994)Photo: PBS, Public domain- Tommy GemmellScottish footballer and manager (1943-2017)
- Tom MillerScottish footballer, born 1890 (1890–1958)
- John BeatonBritish football referee
Born in Motherwell, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay9
Churches and places of worship24
Hamilton Old Parish Church
Church · Protestant · 2.0 mi
Strathmore Road, Hamilton
St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church
Church · 1.9 mi
Taylor Avenue, Carfin, Motherwell ML1 5AJ, Motherwell
Shopping29
Gas and EV charging9
Schools, colleges and libraries35
Healthcare9
New Stevenston Pharmacy
Clinic and pharmacy · 1.8 mi
Clydesdale Street, New Stevenston
Map of Motherwell
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Glasgow Airport (GLA) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 18 miles away.
- Mossend 2 mi north, about 3 min by car
- Wishaw 3 mi southeast, about 5 min by car
- Rutherglen 9 mi west, about 15 min by car
- Glasgow 12 mi northwest, about 19 min by car
- Newton Mearns 13 mi west, about 21 min by car
- Whitburn 13 mi northeast, about 21 min by car
- Paisley 17 mi west, about 28 min by car
- Renfrew 17 mi west, about 27 min by car
- Stirling 23 mi north, about 37 min by car
- Edinburgh 33 mi east, about 53 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Motherwell
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Motherwell panorama, Lairich Rig, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 2018 Tour Series - Matt Gibson (Motherwell, sprints), Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2018 Tour Series - Emīls Liepiņš (Motherwell, FL), Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Motherwell Cross, G Laird, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Hamilton Mausoleum Interior, Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0
- LowParksMuseum, Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0
- David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre, Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Strathclyde Park, No machine-readable author provided. Supergolden assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chatelherault Country Park covered with Snow - panoramio, pudina, CC BY 3.0
- Old Parish Church Hamilton, Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5
- File 24-06-2016, 19 43 37, Alanmathew78, CC BY-SA 4.0
- CadzowCastle01, No machine-readable author provided. Supergolden assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Brannock High, G Laird, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Chatelherault Hunting Lodge, Graham Laird, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Drone-MFC-Stadium, Lewismccabe, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hamilton Library 2002, Original uploader was Bentie85 at en.wikipedia, Public domain
- Hamilton Bandstand 1912, Graemedick, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Central Brandon Parade, Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Steele Von Hoff 2017, Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, mackerski, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, mackerski, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, marscot, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, mackerski, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, hobgoblin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, marscot, CC BY-SA 4.0
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