Strathaven

Strathaven (locally pronounced Strevn), a manufacturing and market town of Lanarkshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901), 4076. It lies on the Avon, 16 m. S.S.E. of Glasgow by road, and is the terminus of the Caledonian Railway Company's branch line from Hamilton. It has manufactures of silk, cotton and hosiery and is a market for cheese and grain. The picturesque ruins of Avondale Castle are situated on Powmilion Burn, a stream that runs through Strathaven to join the Avon, a mile below the town. Remains of a Roman road are traceable for several miles immediately to the south of the Avon. Stonehouse (pop. 2961), a mining and weaving town about 4 m. north-west, is claimed as the birthplace of the Scottish martyr, Patrick Hamilton (1504-1528). Six miles south-west of Strathaven, on the moor of Drumclog, the Covenanters defeated John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, on the 1st of June 1679. A granite obelisk commemorates the battle, but the religious meetings that used to take place on the anniversary are no longer held.