Burnbank is an area in the town of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
,
South Lanarkshire
gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas
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, Scotland. It was formerly a separate
mining village before being absorbed into the town.
Location and governance
Burnbank, previously an independent settlement, then part of Hamilton Burgh (in the historic County of
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
) and then Hamilton District (in the historic
Strathclyde Region
Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. ...
) is now a district of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
within the
South Lanarkshire
gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas
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Unitary Council. Today Burnbank is surrounded by other suburban neighbourhoods, bordered by
Hillhouse
Hillhouse may refer to:
People
* Alex Hillhouse (1907–1983), Australian athlete who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics
*Art Hillhouse (1916–1980), American professional basketball player
* Christa Hillhouse of "4 Non Blondes", an American ro ...
and
Udston to the south,
the western part of Hamilton to the east,
Whitehill to the north and the town of
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
to the west, with the Park Burn denoting the boundary.
Burnbank is named after a tributary of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
- the Wellschaw Burn (also known as the Shawburn) which flows through the eastern areas of the district. This has been culverted for most of its passage through modern Burnbank. In historic times this stream's confluence with the Clyde lay within the district but now lies in neighbouring Whitehill. The area around the burn was still open country in some regards as late as the 1901 Census which records a Romany family "living in a field near Shawburn, Burnbank.
Burnbank was a division (later ward) of the Hamilton Constituency in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
between 1918 and 1997. It then became part of the short-lived
Hamilton North and Bellshill Constituency between 1997 and 2005. Since 2005 it has been part of
Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Rutherglen and Hamilton West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was created for the 2005 general election. It covers almost all of the former constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen and ...
.
Burnbank was part of the
Hamilton North and Bellshill Constituency for the Scottish Parliament but is now part of
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
History
It was predominantly rural, with a number of plantations (Whistleberry Plantation and Backmuir Plantation being most prominent) to feed the lace industry in Burnbank and Hamilton which had been sponsored since before 1778 by the then Duchess of Hamilton
Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon
Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon ( December 1733 – 20 December 1790), earlier Elizabeth Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, Gunning, was a celebrated Anglo-Irish beauty, lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, ...
.
With the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
Burnbank lost its rural identity becoming a
mining village.
The population of Burnbank had grown so great by the 1870s that a committee of citizens decided to apply for the erection of a Burgh of Burnbank. At the same time residents of Burnbank's western neighbour
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
reacted by petitioning for the erection of a Burgh of Blantyre. Both cases came before the
Sheriff Court sitting at Glasgow. The Sheriff gave extra time for the petitioners for both causes to familiarise themselves with the arguments of their opponents and to respond in turn. The Provost and Burgesses of the existing Burgh of Hamilton, alarmed at the prospect of one (or possibly both) petitions being successful and thus creating a heavily industrialised, modern and vibrant western rival in turn petitioned the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
giving rise to the Burgh of Hamilton Act 1878. By this Act Burnbank was absorbed into Hamilton - ending its own burghal aspirations.
Industry
Prior to the nineteenth century agriculture and lace making were important local industries.
Burnbank was home to a number of coalmines or pits.
[Scottish Mining Website] Miners' cottages or "pit rows" were erected by mine owners to house their employees. Many of these were built by local builder
Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 – 3 November 1934) was a Scottish businessman who founded the British construction firm which is now known as Sir Robert McAlpine.
Career
He left school at the age of 10 to work in a co ...
early in his career and the foundation of his later wealth.
[Wallace: A History of Burnbank. MS in Hamilton Central Library Collection]
The
Udston mining disaster
The Udston mining disaster occurred in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, Scotland on Saturday, 28 May 1887 when 73 Mining, miners died in a firedamp explosion at Udston Coal mining, Colliery. Caused, it is thought, by unauthorised Rock blas ...
occurred in Hamilton, Scotland on Saturday, 28 May 1887 when 73 miners died in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery. Caused, it is thought, by unauthorised shot firing the explosion is said to be Scotland's second worst coal mining disaster.
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908.
Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...
, then Secretary of the Scottish Miners' Federation, denounced the deaths as murder a few days later.
In August 1918 a fire at Albany Buildings (an apartment block owned by the mining company John Watson Ltd) burned to the ground causing £10,000 of damage and leaving 24 families homeless.
In September 1919 strike action in the Lanarkshire coal fields led to the closure of the Greenfield Colliery.
In May 1932 300 men at John Watson's Earnock Colliery in Burnbank were thrown out of work because of "bad trace."
In January 1935 Greenfield Colliery, Burnbank, became the last pit in Hamilton to shut permanently. Earnock Colliery also in Burnbank but out-with Hamilton's boundaries continued working.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Burnbank suffered at least one attack by the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
when a bomb was dropped on tenements (known locally as Sing-Sing) near the railway works on the Whitehill Road.
In addition to mining a number of other medium-sized industrial concerns have operated within Burnbank including the Stevenson Carpet Factory, Burnbank, at which Jock Stein had his first job in 1935. This is recorded in the
Hamilton Advertiser
The ''Hamilton Advertiser'' is a Scottish tabloid newspaper that covers the area and the suburbs of Hamilton, a large burgh in South Lanarkshire. It is the longest-running newspaper in the town and is owned by Scottish & Universal Newspapers L ...
as opening a new factory worth £85,000 in 1958.
MEA also operated a factory in the area for many years.
A railway wagon cleaning works is located near Whitehill Road.
Immigration
Since the 19th century immigrants from many parts of the world have settled in Burnbank.
Immigration from other parts of Scotland during the period of the
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860.
The first phase resulte ...
occurred.
The most significant to date numerically were undoubtedly the Irish immigrants who arrived between the mid 19th century and the mid 20th century mainly to work in the coal-fields and heavy industry.
Immigration to Burnbank from Italy was mainly from the Lucca and Frosinone in the Abruzzi. Some of the
Italian Scots
Italian Scots are people of Italian descent living in Scotland. These terms may refer to people who are born in Scotland and of Italian descent. It can also refer to people of mixed Scottish and Italian ancestry. A recent Italian voter census est ...
in Burnbank owned ice-cream parlours (which later became fish and chip shops) and operated ice-cream carts (later vans) to such an extent that the local term for an ice-cream seller became "tally" (derived from Italian) as in "tally van".
Immigration to Burnbank from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and the
Baltic states
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
first came to prominence between the world wars (linked to the mining industry) and was sustained by individuals escaping from the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
and
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
occupation of those countries. Further immigration from Poland (and Central Europe generally) has taken place following the collapse of the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
.
Immigration from the former territories of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
has occurred in the final decades of the 20th century with immigrants from these countries following in the footsteps of the Italians by entering the catering industry.
Transport
Burnbank was formerly the site of a railway station (originally called Greenfield Station) of the Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway (later the London and North Eastern Railway's Hamilton Branch situated on Glasgow Road (today part of the
A724). The station was opened 1 April 1878 as Greenfield, and was closed during the First World War on 1 January 1917. It was re-opened after the war on 2 June 1919 and finally closed on 15 September 1952. The track bed remained until the 1980s but has since been landscaped.
The line ran from the North British Railway's Hamilton Station to Shettleston and Whifflet and, although passenger and general freight services were provided, was primarily intended to take coal from Hamilton, Burnbank and Blantyre to the ironworks at Parkhead Forge and Coatbridge. Sir Robert McAlpine (see notable people below) was the principal builder throughout the line and designed the station and signal boxes at Burnbank.
Today, trains run through the area on the
Argyle Line
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyl ...
. The nearest railway station today is
Hamilton West.
Trams were operated in Burnbank by the Hamilton, Motherwell and Wishaw Tramways Company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
A number of bus routes were operated by Chieftain Buses from their depot on High Blantyre Road, Burnbank. Following the takeover of Chieftain by Central SMT (itself a subsidiary of the London Midland and Scottish Railway) the depot continued in use until 1962. The routes served continued under Central SMT and its successors including the current operator First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd who have opened a new depot on the borders of Burnbank and Blantyre.
Religion
Burnbank has historically been a predominantly (and is today at least nominally) a largely Christian area with the main denominations represented being
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
which has two parishes in the area and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
which has one. The Church of Scotland Gilmour and Whitehill parish is recognised by the Church as one of the most economically deprived in Scotland. This parish's Church, has a square tower which was supposed to have a spire on top this was not built however as the ground being undermined by the coal pits in the area it was feared that the weight would cause collapse both to the mine and to the tower itself.
The Church of Scotland's Burnbank parish also has its own Parish Church.
The Roman Catholic parish of St Cuthberts was founded in 1893 and was originally part of the
Archdiocese of Glasgow
The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annanda ...
before passing to the
Diocese of Motherwell
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell ( la, Dioecesis Matrisfontis, links=no) is an ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland.
The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, a ...
when that diocese was erected in 1947. The current church building dates from 1909. According to the diocesan authorities It has a congregation of some 3,000 souls. In the decades after the second world war visiting Polish priests provided services to the Polish immigrant community.
Community services
The former Victorian Police Station (dating from in 1894) was for many years divided between the Public Library and local authourity housing offices. It is now part of the Burnbank Centre complex and houses the local Library.
Education
Burnbank is home to two present day primary schools - St Cuthberts Roman Catholic Primary and Glenlee Primary (which is non-denominational). In addition a Comprehensive Secondary School, St John Ogilvie Roman Catholic High School is located within Burnbank on Farm Road although it has a much broader catchment area.
A previous primary school, Dykehead Primary School at Udston, Burnbank, was closed in the 1930s following pit closures.
A previous non-denominational secondary - Greenfield School was located in the area until the mid-1970s when it became an annexe to John Ogilvie RC High School. This site has now been re-developed as housing.
Amenities
Burnbank has a number of retail outlets including a small Co-operative grocery which is the remnant of a much larger department store that belonged to the Burnbank Co-operative Society. There is also a post-office, butchers, newsagents, bakery and a number of public houses. The last Bank to have a branch in the area was the Clydesdale- this was closed in the early years of the 21st century and the building is now one of a number of betting shops in the area.
Previously in addition to the Co-operative there was a large fancy goods store serving the community. At various times there have been florists, and haberdasheries in the area.
There was a cinema in Burnbank called the Plaza which later became a Bingo Hall before demolition.
The centre of Burnbank was re-developed in the mid-1970s with one half of the centre being pedestrianised.
The largest area of Burnbank is Udston, built on former colliery land, in the 1950s. It consists of a large number of streets, roads and crescents.
Notable people
Sir
Harry Lauder
Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...
worked in various pits in the Hamilton area including Burnbank before launching his stage career.
Robert (''Concrete Bob'') McAlpine was the founder of the major British construction firm now known as Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. His initial builder's business was based in Burnbank. In addition to the construction of the Glasgow Bothwell Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway which runs through Burnbank he later gained fame for the Mallaig Extension Railway famous for the concrete structures built along the line, the most notable of which is Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Jock Stein
John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...
CBE was a football player with Albion Rovers FC, Llanelli Town FC and Celtic FC before becoming a legendary football manager who managed Dunfermline Athletic FC, Hibernian FC and Celtic FC. With the latter he twice reached the final of the European Cup, winning against Inter Milan in Lisbon in 1967 and losing against Feyenoord Rotterdam to a goal in the last three minutes of extra time at the San Siro in Milan was born in Burnbank. He twice managed the Scotland national team in 1965 and again between 1978 and 1985.
Jim Bett
James Bett (born 25 November 1959) is a Scottish former professional association footballer who played in central or left midfield. He played with Aberdeen for nine seasons and had shorter spells at other clubs in Belgium, Iceland and Scotland. ...
- was a football player with Airdrieonians FC, K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (twice), Glasgow Rangers FC, Aberdeen FC, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, Heart of Midlothian FC and Dundee United FC. He gained 26 international caps for Scotland.
Willie Savage
William Savage (1888–1961) was a Scottish footballer who played as a full back for Queen of the South from 1932 to 1946.
Early days
Savage was a native of Burnbank, Lanarkshire, who began his football as an inside forward at the local St Cut ...
- footballing long time servant of
Queen of the South F.C.
Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club formed in 1919 in Dumfries. The club plays in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. They are traditionally nicknamed the '' Doonhamers'' but are mor ...
in the club's days in Scotland's top division.
Walter McGowan
Walter McGowan, MBE (13 October 1942 – 15 February 2016), was a Scottish boxer born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. He was known for having been the world flyweight champion (Lineal champion. Recognized by European Boxing Union, British Bo ...
MBE - 1960s World Flyweight Boxing Champion, was also born in Burnbank, and used the old Glenlee House as a training base.
The Reverend Scott J Brown CBE - Chaplain of the Fleet, Royal Navy. Both his parents, Margaret and Jim Brown, were born in Burnbank.
Garry Lee McCallum Founder of the history website Historic Hamilton was brought up in Burnbank
Historic Hamilton
References
{{South Lanarkshire Settlements
Neighbourhoods in South Lanarkshire
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Mining communities in Scotland
www.Historic-Hamilton.co.uk