Raploch, known locally as The Raploch or The Raptap, is a district of the city of
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 ...
, which lies to the south of the
River Forth
The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of t ...
in central
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The first houses were built in the late 17th century, after the land had been sold by the
Earl of Mar
There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. T ...
to the patrons of
Cowane's Hospital in Stirling. Economic conditions led to stagnation but housing began again in earnest at the start of the 19th century.
The real expansion came in the middle of the 20th century, when council housing replaced decrepit housing in the old town.
Perhaps one of the most notable people to have come from the district is football legend
Billy Bremner, who also attended the local St. Mary's Roman Catholic primary school. A more recent football star from Raploch is
David Goodwillie
David Goodwillie (born 28 March 1989) is a Scottish professional football player.
Goodwillie came through the Dundee United youth system and he won the SPFA and SFWA Young Player of the Year awards for the 2010–11 season. His performance ...
.
The Raploch was the subject of a 2002
BBC Scotland documentary entitled
Raploch Stories, and in a 2017 sequel Raploch Stories Revisited.
Since 2004, the Raploch area has undergone a great deal of physical regeneration.
In 2008 the area became the home of the UK's first ''
El Sistema
El Sistema (which translates to The System) is a publicly financed, voluntary sector, music-education program, founded in Venezuela in 1975 by Venezuelan educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu.Lesniak It later adopted the motto "M ...
'' children's orchestra, called Big Noise Raploch. A children's orchestra with over 100 members, who performed with Gustavo Dudamel and the
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela on 21 June 2012 and on a BBC Scotland Christmas Eve (2012) Special in Stirling's
Holy Rude Church.
References
*
External links
Raploch projectRaploch Community Partnership website - for Community Hub Activities such as Parent and Toddlers and Computer access and trainingBig Noise websiteThe Raploch: A history, people's perceptions and the likely future of a problem housing estate. Douglas Robertson, James Smyth and Ian McIntosh {dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Geography of Stirling (council area)
Stirling (city)
Housing estates in Scotland