Wishaw, United Kingdom

In the 12th century, a Norman lord constructed a large manor near Gowkthrapple, as well as another small church. This was the beginning of the parish of Cambusnethan, which lasted up until 1930. In the 13th century, administrative control of the parish was ceded to Glasgow from the previous Kelso Abbey. Small fortresses and tower houses were built; after the Scottish Wars of Independence, the barony was transferred by Robert the Bruce to local lords, however the title lay abandoned by the 20th century. The Somervilles of Cambusnethan were the principal aristocrats in the area, but sold their land to Sir James Steuart, later Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in 1653. Wishaw House is thought to date back to the 15th century and appears on Pont's map of Scotland from 1583, as Wisha. The settlements of Greenhead, Camnethan, Peddyr and Overtoun of Camnethan also appear.

The ruined church on Kirk Road, mere yards away from the current Cambusnethan church, is thought to date back to the 1600s or earlier.

In the 18th century, agriculture in the area consisted mainly of growing oats although some wheat and pear trees were cultivated. Members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church took up the favourable terms of the proprietor to enable them to establish a congregation in Wishaw in 1792. The village itself was laid out in 1794, named Cambusnethan and later renamed Wishawtown.

In 1801, the population of Wishaw was about 400 and that of the whole parish only 1,972. In the 1830s, Lord Belhaven set up a distillery in Wishaw. Other nineteenth century industries included coal mining, iron and steel making, foundry work, railway wagon building and fire-clay making.

Wishaw grew dramatically in the 1830s, with railways and gasworks coming to the town; many collieries opening during this decade. In 1840, the Old Parish Church was built. By the time the Caledonian Railway's main line came through Wishaw in 1848, it was a major mining centre fueling an important part of Scotland's industrial heartland. There were also factories for needle-work and tambouring, and confectionery. In 1848, Polish composer Frédéric Chopin visited Wishaw. Chopin was entertained at Wishaw house and played there for the family, the Hamiltons of Belhaven (the event has been commemorated by local residents in the past).

In the mid-19th century, the Coltness estate in the town was developed under ownership of the Houldsworths family, following the building of the Coltness Iron Company in 1837. The Jacobean style Coltness House was demolished in 1970, along with much of the historic estate, although the Category B-listed Gate House on Main Street and Kenilworth Avenue survives and was used as a public toilet until the early 21st century. On 4 September 1855, the town was incorporated with the villages of Coltness and Stewarton to form the Burgh of Wishaw, with a population of approximately 5,000. Four years later, in 1859, St.Ignatius Parish Church was established and the church built on Young Street, where it remains to this day. In 1882, Groome recorded that there were five schools in Wishaw, as well as others in nearby villages.

In 1905, the Category B-listed Clyde Chambers were built as tenement flats, shops and offices on Main Street. During the mid-20th century, Wishaw had five cinemas which have all since closed. These included the Classic Cinema at 57 Kirk Road which opened in 1920, closed in 1985 and was Category B-listed in 2001. The largest cinema in Wishaw was next door; the Greens Playhouse opened in 1940, with seating for 2,982 patrons. It closed in the 1970s, becoming a bingo club but then falling into disuse before being Category B-listed in 2004.

In the mid-to-late 20th century, deindustrialisation caused many factories and businesses to cease operation. The Coltness Iron company wound up in 1950. The local firm of R Y Pickering & Co Ltd (later Norbrit-Pickering) built railway rolling stock (especially wagons) and many tramcars for tram systems throughout the UK. One of its last orders was for ten double-decker trams for Aberdeen Corporation Tramways in 1949. Wishaw and its nearby neighbour of Motherwell were once the centre of steel manufacture in Scotland, as both towns were located either side of the former Ravenscraig Steelworks which closed in 1992.

In November 1996, the world's worst recorded outbreak of E. coli O157 occurred in the town, in which 21 people died and around 200 were infected.