Lesmahagow

Lesmahagow ( Lismahagie, Lios MoChuda) is a small town on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. It is also known as Abbey Green.

Etymology
The name is possibly a corruption of "Church of St Machutus". The saint was born in Wales and may originally have been known as "Mahagw" prior to emigrating to Brittany where he became known by the Latinised form of the name and also as "St Malo". It is also possible that the first syllable may mean "garden" rather than "church", although Mac an Tailleir (2003) believes the former was altered from the latter in Gaelic.

Religion
The town has two Christian congregations in the Church of Scotland, namely Lesmahagow Old Parish Church and Abbeygreen Church, plus churches of other denominations.

Lesmahagow Priory, founded by Benedictine monks in 1144, no longer stands but its foundations were excavated in 1978 and can be seen next to the Old Parish Church off Church Square. The Scottish branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness operates from Lesmahagow.

Twin towns
Clydesdale International Twinning Association (CITA) was set up in 1975 to promote the benefits of twinning to all sections of the local community. Lesmahagow falls under the Clydesdale community and consequently became linked to Hemmingen in Lower Saxony, Germany, and Yvetot, in Normandy, France.

Famous residents

 * Alexander Muir, composer of Canadian patriotic song The Maple Leaf Forever, was born in Lesmahagow in 1830 before emigrating to Canada as a child.
 * Jim Holton, renowned Scottish football centre-half, was born in Lesmahagow in 1951. He died in October, 1993, aged 42, after suffering a heart attack at the wheel of his car.