Rutherglen Town Hall 2016-02-28 view from west.jpg

Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own right for more than 800 years, in 1975 Rutherglen lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow District within the Strathclyde region (along with neighbouring Cambuslang). In 1996 the towns were reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.From a pawnbrokers to Parliament - Tommy McAvoy looks back on a career that took him to the House of Lords
Marc McLean, Daily Record, 11 September 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

History

Rutherglen received the status of Royal Burgh in 1126 by Royal Charter from King David I of Scotland,Local and family history: Rutherglen - history in the making
South Lanarkshire Council who reigned from 1124 to 1153. It gradually diminished in importance as neighbouring Glasgow grew in power and size.The Statistical Account of Lanarkshire
(page 373), Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy, W. Blackwood, 1841, Harvard University

In the 14th century Walter Stewart, father of King Robert II, was granted Farme Castle. This was located close to Farme Cross in the north of Rutherglen, and stood until the 1960s.Farme
Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry (1878)

Rutherglen was a centre of heavy industry,OS 25 inch Scotland, 1892-1905
Explore georeferenced maps ( National Library of Scotland) having a long coal mining tradition which died out by 1950. A small shipyard, T.B. Seath & Co., was in operation on the Clyde at the northern edge of the town for several decades.Scientists propose five drilling sites in Rutherglen to prove disused mines hold key to heating homes
Daily Record, 25 April 2018 The Clydebridge Steelworks, situated between Rutherglen and Cambuslang, began operating in the 1880s and employed thousands by the mid-20th century, but the workforce dwindled to a few dozen by the 20th century and now only refines steel produced elsewhere. J & J White Chemicals (later ACC Chrome & Chemicals) in Shawfield, which was in existence from 1820 to 1967, produced more than 70 per cent of the UK's chromate products including chromic acid, chromic oxide pigment, sodium and potassium chromate and dichromate. Today there is a significant legacy of soluble chromium (VI) waste in the area.Whites Chemical Company
Rutherglen Heritage Society

The town seal's 19th-century Latin motto rendered by Professor George Gilbert Ramsay, "''Ex fumo fama''" ('fame from smoke')The Town Council Seals of Scotland Rutherglen
(page 263), Alexander Porteous, 1906; via Electric Scotland and the local saying from which it derived, "Let Ruglen's lums reek briskly", as well as the deliberately difficult to pronounce alternative ''"Ru’glen’s wee roond red lums reek briskly''" (itself an adaptation of a Scotticism implying a smoking chimney signifying a prosperous, healthy and long life), all refer to the importance of industry and industriousness to the area.

The traditional version of the seal itself contained depictions of the Virgin and Child supported by twin angels (earlier by priests with thistles) and a fishing boat and men in the background. Along with the addition of the motto, in the 1889 official version the boat had a water design added, became more prominent and was placed in a shield at front centre, flanked by the angels with a helmet and mantling above, and the Virgin Mary above that. Over a century later, a simplified version was produced in 1999 featuring only the boat, the motto and a crown to represent the historic Royal Burgh status (which by then no longer had any legal significance); in the early 21st century, this seal often appears on the local Christmas lights. The ship and crown appear on the similar South Lanarkshire coat of arms, with cinquefoil flowers representing Hamilton and a double-headed eagle for Lanark.

Horse and cattle markets, including the regular Beltane Fair in May and St Luke's Fair in November (accompanied by the baking of sour cakes by locals) were also common and popular until the 20th century, and are the reason for the Main Street being unusually wide.Horse Fairs
Colin Findlay, Rutherglen Heritage Society, 2020

Rutherglen is nowadays primarily a dormitory suburb of Glasgow.

Etymology

The name of Rutherglen, as well as its Scots name ''Ruglen'', is perhaps . The derivation may also however be Welsh, or Cumbric and mean "the valley of Rydderch". Rydderch – pronounced 'rutherch' – 'ruther' as in 'brother' and 'ch' as in 'loch' – was one of the most famous kings associated with the Welsh-speaking kingdom which centred on Dumbarton.

Governance

Westminster

A separate constituency in the Parliament of Scotland from the late 16th century,
Rutherglen was a parliamentary burgh represented in the UK Parliament as a component of Glasgow Burghs constituency from 1708 to 1832, and as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs from 1832 to 1918. In 1918, the Rutherglen constituency was created, which became Glasgow Rutherglen in 1983. In 2005, Scottish constituencies for the UK parliament were reviewed with many new seats introduced, and the town is now within the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.

Following the 2019 election, Margaret Ferrier is the local MP, replacing Gerard Killen of Scottish Labour who in 2017 had narrowly defeated incumbent Ferrier, herself originally elected in 2015. Ferrier was a Scottish National Party MP until an incident relating to a breach of the COVID-19 pandemic regulations in October 2020 – the SNP whip was withdrawn and she ignored calls to resign, continuing in office as an independent.

Holyrood

In 1999, the Scottish Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen was created, with the same boundaries as the then UK parliamentary constituency. In 2011, The constituency was redrawn and renamed simply ''Rutherglen'' (although it also encompasses Cambuslang and Blantyre). Following the 2016 elections, Clare Haughey ( SNP) is the MSP for Rutherglen. The defeated incumbent James Kelly (Labour) was elected as a list MSP for the Glasgow region which includes Rutherglen due to the town's proximity to the city. All local representatives have strong personal ties to the area.

South Lanarkshire Council

Administratively, the historic town centre is within the Rutherglen Central and North ward of South Lanarkshire Council, which has a population of around 15,000. Taking another ward encompassing the southern parts of the town into consideration, its overall population was approximately 30,000 in 2016. With neighbouring Cambuslang's figures being very similar, the many services and amenities shared between the towns should provide for 60,000 residents, many assessed as living in economic hardship.

*South Lanarkshire Council election results detailing local wards: 1995, 1999; 2003; 2007; 2012; 2017.

Transport

Rutherglen Burgh is served by Rutherglen railway station (opened in 1849), with and stations closer to southern parts of the town. There are also numerous bus links into Glasgow city centre or other destinations such as Hamilton, East Kilbride, Govanhill and Dennistoun, all services either running directly along the Main Street (which has dedicated public transport lanes for peak times) or close to it via Mill Street / Glasgow Road ( A730) to the west, Cambuslang Road ( A724) to the north or Stonelaw Road / Farmeloan Road ( A749) to the east. Glasgow Corporation Tramways operated routes in the area from the early 1900s until the late 1950s.

Completion of the M74 Extension in 2011 meant that there is a six-lane motorway bisecting the northern part of the town, allowing easier access to places such as Glasgow Airport and the English border. Some years after the project was completed, studies show that pollution levels on Rutherglen's densely populated Main Street were still measured consistently at dangerously high levels, despite forecasts that traffic levels on urban streets in areas served by the motorway would reduce.

Media

The local newspaper is the ''Rutherglen Reformer'' (owned by Reach plc, with online content presented under the '' Daily Record'' banner). The local community radio station is CamGlen Radio.

Geography

The Royal Burgh of Rutherglen has expanded over the years and now encompasses many other neighbourhoods, the majority built after World War II on land which was either farms or rural estates.Military Maps of Scotland (18th century): Roy Lowlands, 1752-55
Explore georeferenced maps ( National Library of Scotland)

Since being granted Royal Burgh status by King David I in the 12th century, the town has grown considerably from its origins as little more than a single street, and although growth has been hampered to some extent by the proximity of the river to the north and the encroaching Glasgow urban sprawl to the west, it now covers a much larger area than the initial Burgh boundaries,OS National Grid Maps, 1944-1967
Explore georeferenced maps ( National Library of Scotland) OS Six-inch 1st edition, 1843-1882
Explore georeferenced maps ( National Library of Scotland) although the aforementioned restrictions mean its administrative centre with the majority of facilities and the highest population density is concentrated at the north of its overall territory rather than towards the geographic centre (neighbouring Cambuslang has a similar issue: its town centre is in the far west of its territory, with its boundaries with Rutherglen and the river preventing any expansion in those directions).

Historic areas such as Farme Cross, Bankhead and Gallowflat have changed greatly over the years and the village of Burnside (which falls under the Rutherglen boundary but has its own Community Council) also expanded to share a single suburban settlement with its larger neighbour. More recent post-war developments at Newfield and Burnhill within the older part of town, plus those on the peripheries including Blairbeth, Cathkin, Eastfield, Fernhill, Spittal and Springhall have given the town a frequently changing character. Other than some shopping areas and the large industrial estates in Farme Cross and Shawfield, the neighbourhoods referred to are residential in type; the 1922 book ''Rutherglen Lore'' indicates a deliberate intention for the historic Burgh area to be encircled to the south by residential suburbs, while all land to its north would be dedicated to industry, and that remains the case a century later.

Burgh (Main Street) and Clincarthill

The Burgh area includes the old heart of the around the ancient and unusually wide, tree-lined Main Street and its environs, which have been designated a conservation area since 2008.Rutherglen Conservation Area: Character Appraisal
South Lanarkshire Council, 2008 It features several religious establishments, various pubs, shops and restaurants, historic and modern civic buildings and community facilities, all within a dense network of housing, mainly tenements. In the 2000s, a webcam focused on the everyday activities at the western end of Main Street was recognised as having among the highest number of views in the world at the time for footage of its type, despite there being no obvious reason for this popularity; the webcam is no longer in operation, although later proposals were made by local civic figures to have another installed.

The dominant architectural feature of the Main Street, on its north side, is the imposing Town Hall built in 1862 to a design by Charles Wilson.Rutherglen Town Hall
Dictionary of Scottish Architects Having fallen into disrepair and disuse the Category A-listed building was refurbished and extended around 2005 and today is a venue for weddings, theatrical performances and exhibitions, while still providing some local services.

Most of the other most important Rutherglen landmarks are in the immediate vicinity of the Town Hall. To its west is Rutherglen Old Parish Church, the fourth incarnation of the institution (which has had a building on the site since around 600 AD) constructed in 1902 to a J. J. Burnet design. Between the church and the town hall sits the ancient graveyard (13th century), the (16th century) and its Kirk Port stone entrance (17th century). The mediaeval church was said to be the location where William Wallace completed a peace treaty between England and Scotland in 1297, and where John de Menteith subsequently agreed a pact to betray Wallace in 1305, events which are marked by plaques and commemorated annually by Scottish nationalists.

On the corner of Main Street and Queen Street outside the church is a statue of Dr. James Gorman (1832–1899), a well-known local surgeon – this was erected in 1901 by public subscription due to his great standing in the area for his actions, including treating the injured after mining disasters. To the rear of the church is a Masonic Hall dating from 1897 and built to replace older premises on Cathcart Road – the group can trace their origins locally back to the 1760s.

To the immediate east of the Town Hall is the burgh's public library constructed in 1907 to an Edwardian design by Sinclair & Ballantine (technically 'Post Office and Library', but the dedicated post office closed in 2005, with its replacement inside an existing shop further east along the Main Street). A Carnegie library, its main hall to the rear features a stained-glass dome in the roof and oak paneling in the interior. Its first librarian, who also lived in the upper floor, was William Ross Shearer, author of the 1922 book ''Rutherglen Lore'' which would come to be considered one of the most important references for the town's long history. The building was refurbished in the early 1990s and re-opened once again in 2010 following a further extensive refurbishment which included an expansion into the Post Office section. On the wide pavement outside the library is a replica of the town's mercat cross (the original stood nearby from the 12th to the 18th century), erected in 1926 as part of Rutherglen's octo-centenary celebrations, and in memory of a former provost of the burgh. It was earlier the site of the old 'Tollbooth and Gaol' (town hall and prison) which was constructed in the 1760s and demolished in the 1900s.

Behind the library on King Street is the premises of the local branch of The Salvation Army whose brass band play regularly at the Old Parish Church and who have had a presence in the town since the 1880s; their hall stands roughly on the site of the mediaeval Rutherglen Castle, and replaced a wooden building initially used by the Rechabite Society. The local fire brigade (established 1892) was also based nearby, but since 1970 the local station has been at Cambuslang with other stations fairly close at Polmadie and Castlemilk.

Directly across from the Town Hall is , the current main building of which dates from 1940 (designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia), although the congregation was established in 1851 and there has been a documented Catholic presence in the local area since the 6th century. Behind the church are its older halls, previously serving as a school, which was rebuilt internally after a major fire in 2004. To the west of the church, hemmed in by tenements is the 1930s Vogue Cinema, which is the only surviving building of its type in the town, although it was converted to a bingo hall in the 1970s.Rutherglen cinemas
Scottish Cinemas and Theatres Project

Other buildings of note include the spire of Rutherglen East Parish Church at Rutherglen Cross – the junction of Main Street, Farmeloan Road and Stonelaw Road – which was originally built in 1872 for a Reformed Presbyterian congregation, closed in 1981 and was converted into the 'Aspire Business Centre' in 2003. Its church halls became a facility used by local community organisations. After a new eastern section of Main Street was set out with the removal of old cottages beside the church (this would later be extended through the Gallowflat area), in 1914 a cinema, 'The Pavilion' was constructed there to a design by John Fairweather; later being refurbished in 1930 as 'Green’s Picturedrome', it closed in 1959 although was not demolished until the 1980s. A further small church (Rutherglen Congregational Church) was also built opposite the cinema; in the wake of the congregation moving on to new premises on Johnstone Drive (where they remain to this day),Rutherglen church marks 114th anniversary of founding
Daily Record, 31 May 2015 its halls were occupied from the late 1930s by the Rutherglen Repertory Theatre, established by Glaswegian actress Molly Urquhart who set up in the town for no particular reason apart from the venue being available. The halls are now apartments (having been the 'Clyde Club' until a 1990s fire) and the theatre company have their premises a few blocks south on Hamilton Road, with many of their performances held at the renovated Town Hall.

Behind the East Church on King Street, once the location of one of the local Stonelaw coal mines in the 19th century, is the Rutherglen police station which was built in the mid-1950s; prior to this the local force, established as the Rutherglen Special Constabulary in 1848 (later part of Lanarkshire Constabulary, thereafter Strathclyde Police and today Police Scotland), had their premises and cells in the Tollbooth followed by the new Town Hall. The police station is adjacent to the former district Court and museum and was overlooked to the south by 'Royal Burgh House', an office block built in 1998, originally occupied by the local authority which subsequently relocated the services to East Kilbride and Cambuslang before the building was largely destroyed by a fire in 2022.

Further west between King Street and High Street, the ornate Rutherglen Evangelistic Institute was completed in 1887 with input from local businessmen John White (Lord Overtoun) and Daniel Rodger (brother of the local MP Adam Keir Rodger) and played a significant role in supporting local members in military service during World War I, but had fallen out of use and been demolished by the 1940s, with only the later housekeeper's residence still remaining and modern apartments occupying the rest of the site; however, the adjacent three-storey Burgh Primary School building (1901) has been retained and was converted to a business centre. Across the street to the north is Glenburgh Nursery Centre, a modern dedicated council childcare facility for the town centre.

In 2010, Burgh Primary moved from their 1901 building to new premises a few blocks east, still in the heart of town on Victoria Street, – this site was previously the location of the Macdonald School: built 1865, used in its later years as an annex for Rutherglen Academy, then as a nursery and community centre, demolished in the 2000s.No parking at Rutherglen town hall
Daily Record, 11 February 2009 The new school's mini sports pitch was once the site of the Rutherglen United Presbyterian Church from 1836 until the 1910sRutherglen UP Church (Glasgow University Library, Theology, 1875)
The Glasgow Story while on the opposite side of King Street sits the current Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster premises, next to a wynd leading to Main Street which has existed for several centuries.

The ''Mitchell Arcade'' indoor shopping precinct on the south side of Main Street, built in the early 1970s in place of a block of older tenements on Mitchell Street and Stonelaw Road and a small cinema (the 'Grand Central')The Picture Houses of Rutherglen
Rutherglen Heritage Society, 2020 was given a makeover in 2014 and renamed the ''Rutherglen Exchange Shopping Centre''; it has a rooftop car park and used to feature a daily market. A branch of Boots Chemist occupied a corner site both in the older buildings at Rutherglen Cross and when these were replaced, having a presence at the same location in the town for over a century. The land to the east on Stonelaw Road stood unused for several years until the local council housing office (later a business centre) was constructed there in the 1990s, while as of 2020 the land across the road once occupied by the 'Electric Palace Cinema' (later a billiards hall) has never been built upon.

A short distance to the west of the Arcade, the contemporary ''Greenhill Court'' housing complex similarly replaced a street of tenements at Regent Street, as well as the Royal Burgh Bakery,Adding heritage ingredient to the taste of success
Glasgow Herald, 3 February 1990 home to Paterson's bakers (biscuits and oatcakes) from 1895 until 1971 when the factory became outdated and production moved to Livingston.

At what is now the western end of Main Street (since it was shortened by the construction of the dual carriageway bypass first phase in the early 1970s), there are two public houses on its northern side; the 'Vogue Bar' has been present for some decades and is known as a base for local Celtic F.C. supporters; the 'Picture House' is a 2009 expansion of the equally venerable Linn O Dee establishment, taking inspiration for its name from another disappeared cinema, the 'Rio', which was demolished in 1971 to make way for the bypass. This extensive work on the road network in this part of the town also caused the destruction of the town's medical clinic (services were relocated to a new Health Centre on Stonelaw Road) and many other older residential and commercial buildings, and physically removed the war memorial and a church from the heart of the burgh (see Burnhill). Most of the pubs in Rutherglen are on the north side of the Main Street and to its west, a legacy of the Temperance (Scotland) Act 1913 when the south side of the street and other parts were declared 'dry areas' following local referendums on the issue. The Act was repealed in the 1970s, but it still drew comment in local media in 2012 when a textiles shop (previously the local co-operative society's headquarters) on the south side of Main Street opposite the Vogue and Picture House was to be converted into a new Wetherspoons pub ('An Ruadh-Ghleann', taking its name from the Gaelic version of Rutherglen).An Ruadh-Ghleann
Wetherspoons

There is a high concentration of licensed premises in the vicinity, several with a continuous presence on the same spot since the mid-19th century and others which have been forced to relocate but carry the traditions of earlier versions including the three aforementioned hostelries on Main Street plus 'The Sportsman' on Glasgow Road, 'The Millcroft' and 'Wallace Bar' on the old section of Mill Street and the 'Cathkin Inn' two blocks further south, 'Harleys Sky Bar', 'Gormans' and 'The Burgh Bar' around Queen Street, 'Chapmans' at Rutherglen Cross and the 'Victoria Bar' a short distance further north, plus three dedicated off-sales and additional licensed grocers, and several other premises which were converted from bars to other uses in the early-21st century. As well as the clustering of pubs being explained by historic licensing arrangements, the proximity of Hampden Park and Celtic Park football stadiums also brings some occasional additional custom to the area, which to some extent also accounts for a high number of bookmakers around the Main Street.

While redevelopment saw many of central Rutherglen's older tenements swept away, many of the others also fell into disrepair until work to maintain them was carried out by Rutherglen Housing Action Group, established in 1979. This later became the Rutherglen and Cambuslang Housing Association, based at the Aspire Centre and managing hundreds of properties in the area, although some like Greenhill Court are still managed directly by the local authority. Despite new projects being undertaken regularly by the organisation in the limited space available in the area, the shortage of homes available for rent became a major issue locally going into the 21st century.

The town's current railway station opened in 1979 is the fourth such provision in the immediate area, with the first (1842–1879 and second (1879–1897) - on what are now the West Coast Main Line tracks which no longer offer a stop in Rutherglen - accessed from either side of Farmeloan Road. The third version (1892–1979) was further west and accessed off Queen Street; it was soon extended in 1896 to include the Glasgow Central Railway line (which is now the Argyle Line served by the current station) which increased the total number of platforms on various lines to twelve, but this gradually reduced until 1964 when the Beeching cuts resulted in the Glasgow Central extension closing, with only two at Queen Street remaining. On the opening of the Argyle Line and new station in 1979 the old station was abandoned, although its crumbling platforms are still visible and its entrance stairway and walkway is linked to its replacement.

Located on an island platform and now directly under elevated M74 motorway, the current station is connected to the Burgh streets via a covered pedestrian overbridge, the main entrance to which on Victoria Street was decorated with murals themed on the history of the town in 2018. Beside this mural to the west is Reuther Hall, a community centre used by a retired ladies group among others, while to the east is the building previously used as the town Employment Exchange - it has been converted into business use, as has the Youth Employment Exchange on King Street, while the local JobCentre service is now based further south at Greenhill Road.

Clincarthill

Lying immediately to the south of the Burgh area between Greenhill Road and Johnstone Drive, Clincarthill rises high over the Main Street offering fine northern views. The area has a distinctive character of its own, with plenty of remaining old sandstone tenements, villas and terraced houses from the late 19th and early 20th century, some on the incline accessible only via footpaths. A pedestrian overbridge across the busy Mill Street dual carriageway links Clincarthill with the Bankhead neighbourhood to its west. There are several places of worship in the area: Minhaj-ul-Quran mosque (previously a Scout hall), Rutherglen Baptist Church (established 1889, built 1903) and Rutherglen United Free Church (established 1902, built 1935),Brief History
Rutherglen Congregational Church while the town's JobCentre is built on the site of another (Greenhill Church). Adjacent to this is a vacant plot which was the location of Rutherglen Swimming Pool from 1967 until the 2005 but has lain empty since.

There is also a Catholic primary school (St Columbkille's) in Clincarthill, built on the site of Bellevue House, a children's home run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul from 1912 to 1961 which was discredited in the 2018 Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

Rutherglen Primary Care Centre, the town's public health facility, is located on flatter land south of Clincarthill backing on to Overtoun Park (where another hill forms to the west) and built around 1999 to replace the Rutherglen Health Centre, which it itself had replaced the old clinic on Main Street that was bulldozed to allow construction of the Mill Street bypass road. Rutherglen Maternity Hospital stood adjacent from 1978 to 1998), but despite a good record of patient care and only 20 years in operation, it was closed and demolished to alleviate financial burdens in the local health board and concentrate a wider range of services over fewer sites. With the hospital constructed on reclaimed park land that had been an excavated part of a mine before being filled in, there was also concern that chromium contamination was present in the ground. The immediate area also features a number of old buildings, including a square block of red sandstone tenements and some grand villas.

Farme Cross

Farme Cross is one of the boundary areas of Rutherglen and is surrounded to the north by the River Clyde with Glasgow's Dalmarnock district on the opposite bank, the two sides being linked by iron road and rail bridges dating from the 1890s, while it is separated from the old Burgh area uphill to the south by 19th century railway tracks and a 21st century motorway. It originated as the Farme estate crown property which was passed through noble families for centuries. Centred around the Farme Castle, it became known for coal mining from the early 19th centuryThe Mysteries of the Farme Colliery Engine
Justin Parkes, North Lanarkshire CouncilMuseum appeals for info on Rutherglen Farme Colliery
Daily Record, 14 July 2010Newcomen engine (Museum of Transport, c. 1905)
The Glasgow Story
Scottish Mining Website under the control of estate owner James Farie, with other industries soon following. The roads through the territory ( A724 and A749) meet to join two busy routes between eastern Glasgow to the north, Rutherglen to the south and Cambuslang (via Eastfield) to the east. It was served by Glasgow's tram network providing transport for the workforces, a role still performed by buses.

There are several historic buildings and pieces of street art here,Farme Cross
Rutherglen Heritage Society, 2018 including a set of four carved standing stones ('Boundary Stones' by Richard Brown, 2001) installed in an area of open ground to commemorate the history of the Royal Burgh and its original boundary stones, some of which (dating back to the 18th and 19th century) are themselves still in situ, mostly at Farme Cross and in the southern parts of the town.An A to Z of Rutherglen Then and Now
Bill McLennan, Rutherglen Heritage Society, 2018 Another monument ('Slipsteam' by Joseph Ingleby, 2001) alongside the river near Dalmarnock Bridge involves metallic cogged mouldings (featuring designs by local schoolchildren) placed on brick walls and emerging in loops from the ground, and recalls local industry on the Clyde and the contours of the river itself.

Businesses at Farme Cross were once many and varied, with the energy to operate them supplied by a large power station just over the river, where the nearby Dalmarnock, Bridgeton and Parkhead districts also developed a similar strong industrial profile The industries included:
*the ''Farme Castle Colliery'' with two pits, associated row cottages and branch railway – its Newcomen atmospheric engine is on display at Summerlee Industrial Heritage Museum (Coatbridge)
*the ''Caledonian Pottery'' which was latterly operated by Hartley's Jams and was later the site of a small steel works; lying in the path of the new motorway construction, it was first subject to an excavation which uncovered the foundations of the original buildings for examination
*''Scotia Bolt Works''
*three dyeing works (''Clyde Bank Works''; ''David Millar & Co / Clydesdale Dye Works''; ''Eastfield Dye Works'' which later became the ''Eastfield Chair Works'')
*three tube/pipe works (''Unicode''; ''James Menzies and Co / Phoenix Tubeworks''; and the adjacent ''James Eadie and Sons / Clydesdale Tube Works'', both acquired by Stewarts & Lloyds)
*three wire rope works (''John Todd & Son / Rutherglen Ropes''; ''John Wilson & Son / Eastfield Ropery''; and ''Clyde Patent Rope Works / Allan, Whyte and Co'', acquired by British Ropes) the latter of which had a distinctive sandstone office with turret situated on the cross, demolished in the 1990s after falling into disrepairMuseums : Browse the Collection : image of Farme Cross looking along Dalmarnock Road, with the Clyde Patent Rope Wire Works (Allan Whyte & Co. Ltd.) on the left - 24 March 1925
South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture
*two paper mills (''Eastfield Paper Mill'' near the river and the 'Old Farme' steading which has survived to the 21st century, and the larger ''Clyde Paper Mill'' off Cambuslang Road),
*''Adam's Brickworks''
*the ''Monogram'' bedding factoryMonogram site proposal could bring over 200 jobs to Rutherglen
Daily Record, 8 August 2012 (previously used by the ''EKCO'' radio equipment company)

By the 1970s, the vast majority of these industries had either severely contracted or in most cases closed altogether, causing severe employment difficulties for the area. The low-lying area was severely impacted by a flood in 1994, as had occurred previously in 1903, resulting in improved prevention measures being introduced.Rutherglen (Potentially Vulnerable Area 11/14)
Clyde and Loch Lomond Local Plan District, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency

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