Scheduled MonumentsScotlandForth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow
Iron Age · Port dundas canal basin, glasgow

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow

Scotland
HES SM6689
Period
Iron Age
Site type
Port dundas canal basin, glasgow
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

Port Dundas Canal Basin is a surviving section of the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. Constructed in the late eighteenth century, the basin represents an important phase in Scotland's industrial transport infrastructure, connecting the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde and opening Glasgow to seaborne trade. The canal basin itself comprises dock structures and waterside facilities designed to transfer cargo between canal vessels and larger ships.

The site lies upon bedrock of the Clackmannan Group, Westphalian sedimentary rocks that underlie much of central Scotland. This geological foundation proved suitable for the canal's construction and subsequent operation. Port Dundas served as Glasgow's principal canal interchange, handling goods including coal, iron, timber and agricultural products throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, making it a focal point for the city's commercial expansion.

Today the basin survives as a reminder of Glasgow's position as a major nineteenth-century industrial and trading centre. The waterside features and surviving masonry reflect the engineering standards of the canal age, whilst the site's location in the heart of the city preserves the historical relationship between Glasgow's commerce and its urban development.

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6689. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow?

Port Dundas Canal Basin is a surviving section of the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6689.

What period does Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow date from?

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow dates from the iron age period, and is classified as a port dundas canal basin, glasgow. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow?

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM6689.

What other scheduled monuments are near Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Glasgow, remains of Bell's Pottery, Kyle Street (0.5 km), Glasgow Cathedral, precinct and graveyard (1.4 km), Forth and Clyde Canal: Glasgow Branch (1.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow

Forth and Clyde Canal, Port Dundas canal basin, Glasgow stands on Clackmannan Group, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.