Cardowan is a suburb situated in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

, Scotland, on the north-eastern outskirts of

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 popul ...

. Originally built around Cardowan Colliery, Garnkirk fire-clay works and clay mines in the immediate area, Cardowan's proximity to Glasgow has been key to its expansion over the years, which has seen the former colliery site being transformed into a large scale residential development. In November 2019 the residents of Cardowan formed a committee of Cardowan Community Meadow to take ownership of Craigendmuir farmland, the last piece of accessible green space within the community to create a community area and stop housing companies from stealing the space to build more houses.

History

The oldest documented reference to Cardowan comes from the Charters of

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...

regarding the lands around Cardowan, Easter Cardowan, and Cardowan Muir. These areas of land currently include the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

's Cardowan Moss and the village of Cardowan. The oldest surviving buildings in the area are St. Joseph's RC Church, the original St. Joseph's School, Craigendmuir House, as well as older structures in adjacent Stepps. Excluding Cardowan Drive and the northern end of Cardowan Road which are often regarded as being part of Stepps, the earliest housing in the area which is still existing was built in the late 1930s to early 40s and served to replace housing in the (now extinct) nearby villages of

Garnkirk Garnkirk is a settlement in North Lanarkshire, located a mile (1.5 km) southwest of Muirhead. It is located 10 km northeast of Glasgow's city centre and 23 km southwest of Falkirk. Garnkirk is connected via the nearby motorways M ...

and Heathfield. The streets of Cardowan Road, Clayhouse Road, and Frankfield Road were constructed first, with the easternmost end of the latter being renamed Ardtoe Crescent and Place and Dorlin Road a short time later. Thereafter further housing was built in the 1950s creating the streets of Craigendmuir Road, Comedie Road and an extension to Clayhouse Road. Following this in the 1960s, Drimnin Road, and Mossview Road (including Resipol Road and Gaskin Path) were completed. Due to the shortages of building materials during the second World War the last five blocks on Frankfield Road were built with flat roofs which were only replaced in the 1980s. The 1980s also brought the construction of Blaneview and further housing on Clayhouse Road, and in the 1990s Nicholson Court was built on the site of the original Stepps railway station and sidings.

Cardowan Colliery

The mine at Cardowan was the site of several accidents including the explosion o
1927
in which on 1 August at 3:50pm 3 men were killed. (John Kilpatrick, Maurice M'Bride, George Jackson) A further explosion occurred i

on 16 November in which 11 men were killed. (William Bradley, Michael Flynn, Peter Frati (formerly Jacobelli), William McAlister, John McNab, James McVey, Richard Maroney, George Mullen, James Reynolds, John Watt, John Whiteford) Then again in Ja
1982
there was another explosion at some 1700 feet underground and 2 miles from the pithead, resulting in 41 injuries. The mine finally closed at the end of 1983.

Transport

The fastest method of public transport to Glasgow or

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

is by train from . A bus service operates from Cumbernauld Road which also connects the above destinations. By road, there is a choice of routes; to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

via the M80 and the M8. The M80 to Cumbernauld and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

also provides access to the M73, leading to the M74 southbound to

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 ...

, Carlisle and onto the M6 to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. {{North Lanarkshire Settlements Neighbourhoods in North Lanarkshire Greater Glasgow Mining communities in Scotland nl:Stepps