Knightswood is a suburban district in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, containing three areas: Knightswood North or High Knightswood, Knightswood South or Low Knightswood, and Knightswood Park. It has a golf course and park, and good transport links with the rest of the city. and railway stations serve Low Knightswood while Westerton station serves High Knightswood. Knightswood is directly adjoined by the Anniesland, Blairdardie, Drumchapel,

Garscadden Garscadden ( Gaelic: ''Gart Sgadan'') is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. It lies between Yoker to the west, Scotstoun to the east and Knightswood to the north. It has a train station close to ...

Jordanhill Jordanhill ( sco, Jordanhull, gd, Cnoc Iòrdain)
is an ...

, Netherton,

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Cl ...

Scotstounhill Scotstounhill is a small area situated in western Glasgow, between south Knightswood and Scotstoun. Housing is mainly in a terraced or villa style, although several high rise flats (also known as tower blocks) can be found in the area (original ...

and Yoker areas of Glasgow, and by

Bearsden Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with the 1863 introducti ...

in the north. Knightswood was a rural area of

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Pe ...

in the parish of New Kilpatrick with small-scale mining until the land was purchased for housing by the city of Glasgow and was annexed by the city in the 1920s. In subsequent years, housing developments were built on most of the remaining free plots (including two clusters of

tower blocks A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

– eleven in total, two since demolished), but the area remains largely green in line with garden suburb principles, with the only businesses based in small or medium-sized retail units. There are a number of churches and various community events are run throughout the year. Knightswood was also the home of the 2018 European BMX Championships, held at a purpose-built stadium in the local park.

History

Knightswood features on maps by

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

cartographer

William Roy Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of ...

dating back to 1748–55, which show it lying within the parish of New Kilpatrick in Dumbartonshire. The modern area is defined at its northern edge by the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

(beyond which is

) which began construction in the 1760s and opened as the Great Canal in 1790. Drumchapel and Yoker lie to the west, beyond Duntreath Avenue and Yoker Mill Road. At its southern edge, Knightswood is bounded by Anniesland Road, beyond which lies

Jordanhill Jordanhill ( sco, Jordanhull, gd, Cnoc Iòrdain)
is an ...

and

. Netherton and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

lie to the east. Both of these settlements (with Jordanhill and Scotstoun) appear on

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...

's 1662 Atlas of Scotland, but Knightswood is not shown, either omitted or not yet of significance. The earliest recorded settlement (1740) in the Knightswood area was known as the Red Town, a small village supporting ironstone miners and brickmakers. Just before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Knightswood consisted of an Infectious Diseases Hospital (founded 1877) with a line of terraced cottages to the north called Knightswood Rows, a few houses on the site of

Knightswood Secondary School Knightswood Secondary School is a secondary school located in Knightswood in the west-end of Glasgow, Scotland. The school is one of the city's largest secondaries with a roll of approximately 1500 pupils. Knightswood is co-educational, non- ...

(all that remained of Red Town), but the area was otherwise unpopulated farmland and disused mineworkings.The Glasgow Story – Neighbourhoods
/ref> Great Western Road was constructed under government patronage between 1924 and 1927 from Anniesland Cross to

Duntocher Duntocher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Tòchair'' or ''Druim Tòchair'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 6,850. The etymology of the name of the village indicates that its name means "the fort on the c ...

, north of

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

. Much of the housing in the area was constructed in three phases during the 1920s and 1930s on garden suburb principles. This housing was mainly of

cottage flat Cottage flats, also known as four-in-a-block flats, are a style of housing common in Scotland, where there are single floor dwellings at ground level, and similar dwellings on the floor above. All have doors directly to the outside of the buil ...

and

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

types, and is similar to other parts of the city such as

Mosspark Mosspark ( gd, Pàirc na Mòna) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, in the southwest of the city. History Mosspark and the lands of East and Mid-Henderston were incorporated into Glasgow in ...

in the South Side and

Carntyne Carntyne ( gd, Càrn an Teine) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. Since 2007 it has formed the core of the East Centre ward under Glasgow City Coun ...

in the East End and used for the relocation of people from slum tenements cleared near the city centre. Land surrounding the junction of Great Western Road and Knightswood Road was designated for the use of several church denominations,Knightswood Baptist Church
/ref>Holy Cross Episcopal (Anglican) Church
St Davids Church of Scotland

and the nearby Knightswood Park, but there were no designated industrial areas or public houses, which remained in adjacent

and

/ Yoker. In 1926, the district was brought under the official control of the city of Glasgow, which had purchased land outside its existing boundary from the Summerlee Iron Company for the building of the estate. 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 ...

, Knightswood Hospital treated wounded soldiers. Knightswood, along with Jordanhill and Temple have been linked to stories of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

; but according to the late

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

there is no evidence for their presence in this area. Nevertheless, the theories continue to persist and are sometimes actively encouraged, as in the use of "heraldic" local street names (Archerhill Road, Arrowsmith Avenue, Ivanhoe Road, Minstrel Road, Talisman Road, Templar Avenue, Turret Road) by Glasgow Corporation, even though Knightswood only appears in the records from the 18th century, long after the days of knights. Immediately following the war, spare land on the estate was used for temporary housing in the form of prefabs. These were replaced in the 1960s with high-rise buildings. In 1958, Glasgow Corporation opened a Fire Station which now houses a specialist water rescue unit. Knightswood Hospital gradually lost services to other Glasgow Hospitals from the 1960s onwards, ending up as a

Geriatric Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek language, Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατ ...

Unit and finally closing in March 2000. The hospital site is now the Academy Park residential development. In 2008, Knightswood gained a new church congregation at Knightswood Cross when the

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of Scotland, hence its ...

moved from temporary premises in Thornwood to the former Brethren Gospel Hall.Knightswood FCC
A write-up of the new church building on the Knightswood Free Church Continuing website
/ref> In the 2010s, concerns were raised that some of the land of Knightswood was liable to flooding in times of extreme rainfall, which had been increasingly common in recent times and was considered likely to continue; in 2019, plans were outlined to have prevention measures put in place.

Political representation

*Member of Parliament (Glasgow North West constituency):

Carol Monaghan Carol Monaghan (born 2 August 1972) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North West in the general election in May 2015. She is the SNP Education spokesperson in the House of Common ...

( SNP) *Member of Scottish Parliament: Currently

Bill Kidd William Kidd (born 24 July 1956) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow Anniesland constituency since 2011, having previously represented the Glasgow region from 2007–2011. ...

of the ( SNP); since the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the area falls into the new constituency of Glasgow Anniesland. *

Glasgow City Council 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 ...

: whilst ** Ward 13 Garscadden/Scotstounhill, covers Low Knightswood – the Councillors for this multi member ward as of May 2012 are: Michael Cullen, Bill Butler, Eva Murray and Chris Cunningham. ** Ward 14 Drumchapel/Anniesland, covers High Knightswood – the Councillors for this multi-member ward as of May 2012 are: Paul Carey, Malcolm Balfour, Elspeth Kerr and Anne McTaggart.

Community events

Glasgow City Council run Knightswood Park Gala Day, an event for council and community groups in the area. It has been held on a Saturday at some time during the summer since 2008. The first event on 12 July 2008 was supported by Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Fire Brigade, local churches (St David's

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 ...

and Knightswood

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

) and local clubs. The second Gala Day took place on 27 June 2009. The event started with the arrival of the Kingsway carnival parade at midday. There were demonstrations of

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

and

sheepdog trial A sheepdog trial (also herding event, stock dog trial or simply dog trial) — is a competition or test for working abilities of herding breeds dogs. It is a type of dog sport that emerged in the 1860s in New Zealand. By the 1870s regular trials ...

s (herding Indian Runner Ducks due to space restrictions), live music, live entertainment, bouncy castles, stalls promoting community groups and clubs, Baptist church and fire brigade (as 2008). On site catering was provided this year, and first-aid cover was provided by

St. Andrew's Ambulance Association St Andrew's First Aid is a Charitable organization, charity based in Scotland. Founded in 1882, St Andrew's Ambulance Association was Scotland's first ambulance service. From 1967, the St. Andrew's Scottish Ambulance Service was the sole contr ...

. In 2010 and 2011, Trinley Brae Allotments took part in the Open Gates event as part of Glasgow's

Doors Open Day Doors Open Days (also known as Open House or Open Days in some communities) provide free access to buildings not normally open to the public. The first Doors Open Day took place in France in 1984, and the concept has spread to other places in Eur ...

. This has developed links with the local community and other community events have taken place since the first event in September 2010. Members are currently researching the history of the allotment site and have the worked with the city council on other community events.

Facilities

Knightswood caters for its residents with a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, secondary and primary schools. Knightswood Swimming Pool, opened in 1971, was permanently closed in March 2010. Construction of Scotland's only Olympic standard BMX track was undertaken in Knightswood Park; the facility was used to host the 2018 European Championships, and means that Glasgow is the only city in the world that can host all four Olympic cycling disciplines (BMX, MTB, Road and Track) within its boundaries (the others are the

Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badminto ...

at the Emirates Arena (Track),

Cathkin Braes Cathkin Braes is an area of hills to the south east of the city of Glasgow, in Scotland. It lies to the south of the districts of Castlemilk, Fernhill and Burnside, and to the east of Carmunnock. Rising to over in elevation, it includes th ...

Mountain Bike Trails and the city's streets for road racesas used during the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

is also home to the Dance School of Scotland. Shopping in Knightswood can be done in many places, mostly in Knightswood Shopping Centre, an area comprising around 10 shops. There are also some shops on Alderman Road, both at Dyke Road and near the community centre. Trinley Brae Allotments (between Knightswood Road and Turret Crescent) provide space for local residents to grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers. Children's & Youth Clubs are operated locally for school age children on Thursdays in the south of the area at the Congregational churchKnightswood Congregational Church
/ref> and Fridays in the North at the Baptist Church.

Churches and places of worship

Several denominations of churches are situated in the area of Knightswood Cross (junction of Knightswood Road and Great Western Road). The

is represented locally by St. David's Parish Church and St. Margaret's Parish Church. Knightswood

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Church has been at its current site since 1929.

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

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 ...

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

Directory of United Free Church of Scotland
and

Knightswood Free Church Continuing website
/ref> churches are all nearby. Low Knightswood is served by Knightswood

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

church

References

External links

*
Knightswood Library and Learning CentreAbout the area – Knightswood Community Council
{{Areas of Glasgow Areas of Glasgow New Kilpatrick Housing estates in Glasgow Garden suburbs