A long red-sandstone Gothic school uses traceried windows, labelled entrances and emphatic gables to give late-nineteenth-century education an almost ecclesiastical presence.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1887
- Architect / designer
- Architect not established in the designation
- Type
- Gothic former primary school and detached dining hall
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB5154)
- OS grid reference
- NS 70652 58457
Architecture and continuing use
Ten bays are gathered into a sequence of advanced gables with pointed windows, trefoils, quatrefoils and carved terminals. Separate BOYS and GIRLS doorways retain the social organisation of the original plan. A detached dining hall, walls and Gothic gatepiers complete the group.
Its story
The school opened in 1887 as coal working increased Bothwell’s population and demand for education. It closed as a school in 1987, with provision moving to a modern site on Blantyre Road. The national designation later recorded the main building as unoccupied and the detached hall in nursery use.
Why it is included
Category B listing recognises a highly visible and unusually ecclesiastical school design, surviving gendered entrances and a coherent ancillary group.
What to notice
- Plate-traceried windows within the principal gables.
- Carved BOYS, GIRLS and ERECTED 1887 inscriptions.
- Gothic gatepiers and the separate dining hall.
Reading the surroundings
Treat the buildings as non-public unless a current occupier explicitly advertises access. View from lawful public positions and do not enter grounds, blocked openings or vacant-looking structures.
Timeline
- 1887 The new Gothic primary school was erected for a growing population.
- 1987 Education transferred when the old school closed.
- 1999 The school group entered the statutory list at Category B.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The designation’s occupancy note may not describe every part of the property in 2026. The former nursery use and present condition require owner or on-site confirmation.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Old Bothwell Primary School, LB5154 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and significance.
- Trove designation: LB5154 — Parallel national designation identity and archival context.
- South Lanarkshire Council: Bothwell Primary School — First-party evidence that the active school now operates at a different Bothwell address.
- Bothwell Historical Society: about Bothwell — Local historical context for the settlement, river crossing and surviving monuments.
Location
OS grid reference NS 70652 58457 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
Suggest a marker correction
Suggest a more accurate position
The teal marker is the current published position. The orange marker starts slightly to its right so both remain visible; this is only a visual starting position. Tap the correct place on the map or drag the orange marker. Sending this form creates a private review entry only; it does not move the published marker.
Check this area in Google Maps Choose the Satellite layer there if useful.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors. You can also enter checked coordinates below.