I commend Mrs Herbert’s book not only to residents, old and new, of Carmunnock, but also to all who are interested in the survival of a village despite the proximity of a large city.
For although it is only six miles from the centre of Glasgow and very close to the rapidly expanding new town of East Kilbride, Carmunnock still preserves its identity and rural atmosphere. It is still recognisably the same place whose history Mrs Herbert has described in such fascinating detail from the earliest times up to our own day. There still survive not only many of the original buildings but also many of the old Carmunnock families, and it is very encouraging to see that the present-day representatives of these families play such a large part in the preservation of their village.
What I find specially interesting about Mrs Herbert’s account is that she describes almost every aspect of life in Carmunnock in the past - living conditions, means of livelihood, relations of the lairds with the tenantry, for example - as well as the transition to modern conditions.
Her story does, however, remind us that this survival is due in large measure to the vigilance of the residents themselves, especially in recent years when pressures are so great, and it warns us that we must maintain this vigilance.
I feel greatly honoured to have been asked to write a foreword for Mrs Herbert’s book, especially in this year in which Carmunnock Preservation Society is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of its foundation.
Alastair J. Howie,
Honorary President,
Carmunnock Preservation Society
25th September, 1989
First printing 1989
Second printing 1990
Third printing 2000 revised and updated by the author
Fourth printing 2005 revised and updated by the author