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There is ample evidence that the Clyde Valley has been settled from the earliest times and there is no more likely spot than the holm of Clyde, where the present village and Church of Dalserf stand. Such a place, sheltered and protected by the river on three of its sides, and one of the most fertile tracts of ground in the Parish is typical of the sites of many early settlements.
Not long after the departure of the Romans there appeared in South Scotland small groups of men who were to sow the seeds of Christianity among us. It is not without good reason that this part has been called the “Cradle of Christianity” in Scotland, for it was here that St.Ninian and his disciples were first to preach the Word, here that St.Patrick was born, and here that St.Kentigern, or Mungo as he is often called, founded his churches. Associated with the above were St.Serf and St.Machan, the two with whom we are concerned.
There is some considerable doubt about the life history of St.Serf. One of the most popular stories suggests that he was the teacher and counsellor of St. Mungo, who is said to have been brought up by him. He spent a great part of his life at Culross in Fife, but he is also known to have worked in the Clyde Valley. A possible meaning of the word Dalserf is “the field of Serf”, indicating a definite connection of the Saint with our district.
St.Machan’s history, on the other hand, is better known. When Cadoc left Scotland to return to Wales about the middle of the sixth century, he left behind him an earnest worker in Machan, who had been trained in Ireland but then devoted the rest of his life to the further evangelisation of the Clyde Valley. One of his centres, and perhaps the main one, was Dalserf, which was formerly known as Machanshire, and still contains in its place names many references to the Saint.
It is probably reasonable to assume that the present site of the Church supported a much earlier religious edifice which might even have been Serf’s or Machan’s earliest chapel.
Since these early times the story of Dalserf has been intimately entwined with that of Scotland. William Wallace had connections with the Parish. Legend has it that he spent some time in hiding within its bounds. After the notorious skirmish in Lanark, and the subsequent murder of the English Governor Haselrig, he spent time in hiding in Clydeside and it was just across the Clyde, at the Abbey of Mauldslie, that he was made Guardian of Scotland.
The name of Dalserf appears throughout the Wars of Independence, the turbulent times of Mary Queen of Scots and the dreadful “Killing times” of the Covenanting Wars. The full story of Dalserf is much too long and varied to be recounted in this brief passage.
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