A piece of Lanark’s history goes up in smoke

Those with a love of the Royal Burgh’s heritage were celebrating two years ago when two of the very last traditional weavers cottages in the town were saved from demolition.

The adjoining Delves Road buildings were identified by the government’s Historic Scotland agency as possibly the last evidence of a trade which dominated the town’s economy two hundred years ago.

However, these old buildings finally fell victim to vandals who set them on fire and temporarily blacked out parts of Lanark in a powercut.

Now the adjoining cottages in Delves Road are lying as partly burned out shells, one of them competely roofless.

The already slim hopes of preserving them, possibly as a museum, have now almost totally vanished.

They join a long and growing list of old Lanark buildings – some historically important - which have been torched by vandals.

For more on this story pick up a copy of the Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.