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Archiver > AYRSHIRE > 2002-04 > 1017837124


From: "alexander.hughes" <>
Subject: [AYR] Re: DRAFFEN, LANARKSHIRE
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 13:32:04 +0100


Posting for Tom Brown. Any queries contact him direct.

tata

Alex
----

From: "thomas brown" <>

Phyllis,

I am an American whose grandfather (Thomas WILLIAMSON) was the son
of a coal miner (Robert WILLIAMSON), and who was born in Draffan, in
1878.

My wife and I have visited Scotland four times, and we have been to
Draffan twice. It is really only a remnant of the village, about four
miles NW of Lesmahagow, and now consisting of a couple of houses and
some farm buildings. We also visited Craignethan Castle (about 1-1/2
mile east of Draffan), and the attendant at the castle told us that
there were formerly two mines in the area, the Fence and Draffan mines.
I haven't yet dug up anything on those mines, but would love to learn
anything you might find out about them. We did visit the library at
Lesmahagow, but did not find anything there about mines of the area. I
really would like to do some more research on the mines of that area,
but just haven't managed that yet.

Maybe you will learn more about them, and I would very much appreciate
it if you could share anything you find out with me. In return, I will
do the same. By the way, it wouldn't hurt to speak to the occupants of
the remaining houses in Draffan, if you can catch them at home: we
didn't manage that on our trips. And by all means, do visit Craignethan
Castle while there: it is a fascinating castle ruin, and has a gift shop
where we met the attendant who was most willing to share what he knew.
Of course, there may be a different attendant now.

Happy hunting!

Tom Brown, Virginia, USA


----- Original Message -----
From: "Phyllis Ziajka" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 8:15 PM
Subject: [AYR] DRAFFEN, LANARKSHIRE


> Hello List:
> I know that the village I'm asking about is NOT in Ayrshire, however
> perhaps some-one on our list will know about it. Any info about this
> little village of Draffen (or Draffan) in Lanarkshire would be most
> appreciated. i.e., was it a mining village? or what? I was told that
> one of my gt.gt.grandmothers had a "cottage" there, that had originally been a "row house" (i.e for miners??), and she used this as a "holiday house". She apparently took my grandmother and my gt.aunt there for their "holidays". If this is the case, can anyone offer any ideas about "census nights". Would the house simply have been listed as
> "unoccupied" on the censuses??
>
> If I can get any info on this before my upcoming trip, I will try to add to it when I'm in Glasgow.
> Thanks list,
> Phyllis


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