Blantyre Carvings

Figure bearing cross

The Blantyre carvings are a series of carvings, based on a religious theme, on a cliff face overlooking the River Clyde, below the site of the former Blantyre Priory, and across the river from the remains of Bothwell Castle.

According to RCAHMS, from information attributed to Mr RJ Smith in 1996, "A group of carvings, including the Passion, Crucifixion and Deposition (or Entombment?), have been cut into the rock face below the site of the Priory. These were executed by a local man, c.1956. Other carvings include one of the head of David Livingstone."

This concurs with information received regarding a pair of articles which appeared in the Blantyre Gazette some years ago, although the date of publication is unknown. In the first, there was mention of sandstone carvings having been made in the late 1950s or early 1960s, together with an inference that may have been of medieval origin. In a later follow-up article, the truth was revealed, and noted that what appeared to be natural erosion of the carvings was nothing more than damage caused by local vandals.

The reference to a further carving depicting the head of David Livingston is unconfirmed. We have visited this site on a number of occasions and failed to notice any further features, and it may be that this element is either nearby and hidden, or was less well defined than those recorded here, and has been lost to erosion.

The only consistent information that has come to light in recent years is the name Bud Hawkins, of Blantyre, who is said to have been responsible for the carvings. The exact date of the work is unknown, but we own a series black & white photographs taken during a survey of the carvings, and these pictures show the detail in sharp relief, with little evidence of weathering or erosion by comparison with our own later pictures, taken in 2006. Sadly, our acquaintances who took the survey pictures are no longer with us, having passed away during the 1990s, when they would have been well into their eighties. The actual date of the visit and survey never arose during our discussions, but they would appear to date from the 1950s or so, and the lack of erosion when compared to their condition in 2006 suggests they were relatively new at the time.

Dating from 2003, we have been told of an exchange in a Blantyre forum where it was noted the carvings were made by Bud Hawkins of Strathmore Avenue, Blantyre, but gave the date as the 1970s (which we know is incorrect), and also included suggestions that they may date from the 1700s due to their proximity to Blantyre Priory, which dates back the 15th century.

A further report was received which referred to a forum post noted in 2005, attributing the carvings to Tommy Hawkins, but with no further details, so some degree of uncertainty still remains.

Original detail

Detail of cross bearer
c. 1950

Scanned from an original black & white photograph taken when local historians surveyed the carvings in the 1950s, the detail on the face of the cross-bearing figure can clearly be seen to be in sharp relief.

Compare this with the later image shown below, taken only some 50 years later in 2006, showing that nearly all the sharp detail in the relief has been lost. This loss is consistent over all the carvings (as opposed to localised areas of damage by vandals), and suggests that while the softness of the sandstone is may be one of the reasons why these carvings exist at all, it also means they will not last for any considerable period.