LEADHILLS  , a

village of Lanarkshire, Scotland, 54 M . W.S.W. of Elvanfoot station on the Caledonian Railway Company's main line from Glasgow to the south . Pop . (1901) 835 . It is the highest village in Scotland, lying 1301 ft. above sea-level, near the source of Glengonner Water, an affluent of the Clyde . It is served by a light railway . Lead and silver have been mined here and at Wanlockhead, 12 m . S.W., for many centuries —according to some authorities even in Roman days . Gold was discovered in the reign of James IV., but though it is said then to have provided employment for 300 persons, its mining has long ceased to be profitable . The village is neat and well built, and contains a masonic hall and library, the latter founded by the miners about the middle of the 18th century . Allan Ramsay, the poet, and William Symington (1763–1831), one of the earliest adaptors of the steam engine to the purposes of navigation, were born at Leadhills .