The former industrial town of Motherwell is situated to the southeast of Glasgow between the River Clyde and the South Calder Water in North Lanarkshire. Originally a weaving village, Motherwell grew with the arrival of the railway (1848), the achievement of burgh status (1865), and the creation of David Colville's iron works (1871) and steelworks (1881). The town's heavy industry (iron, steel, coal, engineering) has passed away and today the large site of the Ravenscraig Steel Works, once one of the largest in the world, is being redeveloped. Other steelworks were nearby at Dalzell and Flemington.
Notable buildings include the Town Hall (1887), and the churches of Dalzell North and Dalziel High (late-19th-century); west of the main railway is the site of the Lady Well, the town's namesake, which supplied water into the mid-19th Century. There are two railway stations, Motherwell and Airbles.
Motherwell Football Club is located in the town. Founded in 1967, Motherwell College became part of New College Lanarkshire in 2013. Nearby are New Jerviston House, Dalzell House, Dalzell Country Park (with a nature reserve) and Strathclyde Country Park.
Famous people born in Motherwell include: conductor Sir Alexander Gibson (1926-95), footballer and broadcaster Ian St. John (b.1938), novelist Quintin Jardine (b.1945), historian Professor Sir Tom Devine (b.1945) and poet Liz Lochhead (b.1946).
