Elvanfoot
Elvanfoot | |
View of A74(M) crossing the River Clyde near Elvanfoot |
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Elvanfoot |
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OS grid reference | NS953171 |
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Council area | South Lanarkshire |
Lieutenancy area | Lanarkshire |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BIGGAR |
Postcode district | ML12 |
Dialling code | 01864 |
Police | Scottish |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
EU Parliament | Scotland |
UK Parliament | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale |
Scottish Parliament | Clydesdale |
Coordinates: 55°26′13″N 3°39′20″W / 55.437°N 3.6555°W
Elvanfoot is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Elvanfoot is located at the confluence of the River Clyde and Elvan Water.[1] The Clyde is crossed by a pedestrian suspension bridge that has been closed since 2007 for want of repair.[2] The apparently-abandoned church is on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.[3]
Etymology
The name 'Elvan' apparently includes the element *al-, which occurs in river names in Roman Britain and continental Europe. A number of meanings have been suggested, including 'bright, shining, white', 'sparkling, speckled' and 'holy' amongst others. Almost all attestations of the root occur with the Proto-Indo-European suffix -*awe- and "root-determinative -*n- or participial -*ant-", giving the proto-form *al-au-n-.[4]
Andrew Breeze has suggested that the name is derived from Cumbric *halẹ:n 'salt', cognate with Welsh halen, which is found in a number of Welsh river names. As Elvan Water passes through a mining area, Breeze suggests that there may be high levels of salt in the river. The loss of initial /h/ is explained as a result of the name's supposed transmission via Gaelic.[5][6]
Transport
Elvanfoot is at the junction of the A702 and B7040 roads and 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) south from junction 14 of the M74 motorway. Until 1965 it was served by Elvanfoot railway station on the West Coast Main Line.
References
- ↑ Gazetteer for Scotland
- ↑ Elvanfoot Development Group
- ↑ Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland
- ↑ James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence (PDF). Volume 2: Guide to the Elements. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-11.
- ↑ Breeze, Andrew (2002). "Brittonic Place-Names from South-West Scotland, Part 3: Vindogara, Elvan Water, 'Mondedamdereg', Troquhain and Tarelgin" (PDF). Transactions and Journal of Proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society: 108–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02.
- ↑ James, Alan G. (2014). The Brittonic Language in the Old North: A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence (PDF). Volume 2: Guide to the Elements. p. 195. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-11.
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