The Levern Water, ( gd, Uisge Labharain) is a small river in

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of ...

and

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It rises in the

Long Loch Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...

, and flows generally north and east, past the towns of

Neilston Neilston ( sco, Neilstoun, gd, Baile Nèill, ) is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at t ...

and

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

, for a total distance of . It empties into the White Cart River. The Levern Water facilitated the

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

growth of parts from

by providing

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...

for

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

s as well as homes.

Course

The source of Levern Water is

, from which it emerges at the north-eastern tip, at coordinates . It flows from there north-west for a short distance, before entering a reservoir formed by the four sections of the Harelaw Dam. The dam was built in 1844 and is used for trout fishing. The river continues west to the smaller Commore Dam reservoir, from which it emerges due north, gradually turning towards the north-east. It flows past

on the west and north of the town, continuing east from there to

. After leaving Barrhead, the river runs north-east, forming the boundary between

and the city of

, and crossing the

Glasgow South Western Line The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride. History The line was built by several railway compan ...

at the Levern Water viaduct, before fully entering Glasgow close to

Nitshill Nitshill ( gd, Cnoc nan Cnòthan) is a district on the south side of Glasgow. It is bordered by South Nitshill to the south, Darnley to the east, Crookston and Roughmussel to the north-west, Hurlet to the west and Househillwood and Priesthill t ...

, where it also crosses the A726 dual-carriageway. It continues past the suburb of

Pollok Pollok ( gd, Pollag, lit=a pool, sco, Powk) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,0 ...

, and joins the White Cart River near to

Crookston Castle Crookston Castle is a ruined medieval castle in the Pollok area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located some 5 miles (8 km) south-west of the city centre, on a hill overlooking the Levern Water, just before its confluence with the White Cart ...

, which was where

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

fled following the

Battle of Langside The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disast ...

in 1568.

Viaduct

In 1847, the

Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway The Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was a railway jointly owned by the Caledonian Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway, completed in 1873, and giving the latter a shorter access to its Carlisle main line. A branch to ...

built a three-arch viaduct across the river, designed by engineer Neil Robson of Glasgow. The viaduct was constructed using rusticated ashlar blocks. The viaduct has been listed as a Category B site since 17 February 1992. The viaduct also passes over the top of the minor Salterland Road, which has its own Category-C–listed bridge over Levern Water featuring two arches, adjacent to the rail viaduct and built in the 18th century.

References

External links

Levern, Cart and Brock Burn
– South Glasgow Rivers. {{authority control Rivers of East Renfrewshire Rivers of Glasgow

Course

Viaduct

See also

References

External links