Auchinairn (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''Achadh an Fheàrna'') is a suburb (formerly a village) within

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and shares its southern boundary with the

Robroyston Robroyston ( gd, Baile Raibeart Ruadh) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, located around 3 miles (5 km) north-east of the city centre. To the north, it directly adjoins Auchinairn (part of Bishopbriggs) in the neighbouring East Dunbartons ...

and

Balornock Balornock (, gd, Both Lobharnaig) is a district in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated outside the city centre, north of the River Clyde, it forms part of the larger area of Springburn. Balornock shared the Red Road complex of multi-store ...

districts within the

City of Glasgow Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

History

;Etymology The original village of Auchinairn is derived from Scottish Gaelic * Achadh an Fheàrna (silent "fh") - field of the

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

s. * Achadh an Eòrna - field of barley. * Achadh an Iarainn - field of iron (it is believed that iron ore was once mined there). ;The village BriggsMap1923

Auchinairn village originally developed as two distinct areas: Old Auchinairn (The Auld Toon) and New Auchinairn. Old Auchinairn lay to the north side of Auchinairn Road, between what is now Woodhill Road and Letham Drive. It had a school which was built about 1760. New Auchinairn lay approximately between what is now Montrose Terrace and Springfield Avenue. It had a primary school which opened in 1876 and is now the Auchinairn Community Centre. The current primary school building stands on what was Auchinairn United football field. The village was founded by weavers and has housed workers from many different industries around the area, such as the mines, the railway and the quarry. In 1836 Auchinairn Village’s population stood at 284 compared with neighbouring Bishopbriggs population which stood at 175, but the opening of the

Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...

in 1842 brought new industries to the area and as a result of this, housing was required for the workers. For many years Auchinairn was a vibrant community with a

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, a post office, several small shops, a public house, a community hall and a mission hall. The Free Church mission which met in that hall was granted full church status in 1865. The members built a church on Springfield Road, Bishopbriggs. It is now part of Springfield Cambridge Church. Auchinairn had a brass band and a football team.

Quoits Quoits ( or ) is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike (sometimes called a hob, mott or pin). The game of quoits encompasses several distinct vari ...

was another popular activity. Littlehill Golf Course was designed by James Braid and opened in 1923. Harry Varden played there in 1925. Club professional, Tom Wilson, was once overnight leader in the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. File:Auchinairn Main Street LH.jpg, Auchinairn Road, 1900s File:Auchinairn-1.gif, Auchinairn Village File:Auchinairn-2.gif, The Co-operative on Auchinairn Road File:Auchiniarn instrumental band 1900.jpg, Auchinairn Instrumental Band at the unveiling of the Wallace Memorial,

, 4 August 1900. Although viewed today as part of the town of

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs ( sco, The Briggs; gd, Achadh an Easbaig) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in ...

, Auchinairn still has a strong sense of community and its own identity. There were five villages: Auchinairn; Bishopbriggs; Cadder; Jellyhill; and Mavis Valley. All were separated from one another by farmland. In 1938 residents were moved from Auchinairn to council housing in Bishopbriggs. Post Second World War housing development resulted the farmland being built on. In 1964 the district was granted

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

status, and the name ‘Bishopbriggs’ was adopted.

Present day

Auchinairn has several shops, public houses and restaurants, a primary school and a bowling club. A wide range of activities is offered in the community centre and in the community hall. File:Old-auchinairn-primary-school.jpg, Old Auchinairn Primary School, now a community centre File:Auchinairn-war-memorial-3.JPG, Auchinairn War Memorial File:Auchinairn-1.JPG, Auchinairn File:Auchinairn Tavern.JPG , Auchinairn Tavern File:Main-street-auchinairn-2.JPG, Main Street Auchinairn

Noted residents

The Agnew family lived in a house on the main street in Auchinairn. Agnew's started as grocers in Hawthorn Street near Ashfield football ground. Mr Agnew was Polish (Krasnodębski) and used his wife’s maiden name. Their son Ricky Agnew started building up the successful off-licence chain 'Agnews Off Licence' when he was only 19. By the time he sold it to Seagrams in 1986, he had 75 shops in Scotland, 18 in England, and a turnover of £30m. Famous residents include: *

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

member Onnie McIntyre (born Owen McIntyre, 25 September 1945, Lennoxtown, Scotland - Family moved to Crowhill Road, Auchinairn/Bishopbriggs where he attended Auchinairn Primary) — vocals / rhythm guitar. *Mimic and voice over artist Lewis MacLeod attended Auchinairn Primary School in the 1970s. *

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

who played football for Glasgow Rangers and Everton in the 1940s and 1950s. *Joe Kerr who became Scottish lightweight boxing champion on 22 September 1943.

References

*This article incorporates text from a publication not in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

but reproduced with permission from the author: Findlay, Bill (2009). ''Auchinairn'' {{East Dunbartonshire Settlements Suburbs in East Dunbartonshire Bishopbriggs