Ruchill () is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the city 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 ...

, Scotland. It lies within the Canal Ward of north Glasgow in the Ruchill Community Council area between the

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, ...

and

Possilpark Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of th ...

areas of the city. It has traditionally been characterised by a high degree of deprivation and social problems. However, from the late 1990s much of the poorer-quality housing stock has been cleared to be replaced by newly built housing association and owner-occupied homes, improving much of the area's character. One part of the area that is largely unchanged is High Ruchill, which unlike the rest of the area was never made up of tenemental properties, but semi-detached housing instead. This part of Ruchill also never suffered the same concentration of social problems as the rest of the area.

Ruchill Hospital

The area was formerly the site of

Ruchill Hospital Ruchill Hospital was a fever hospital in the Ruchill area of Glasgow, Scotland. The hospital was closed in 1998 and was sold to Scottish Enterprise in July 1999. It was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow. __TOC__ History In 1891 when the boundaries ...

, an infectious diseases facility which closed in 1998.

Ruchill Park

Ruchill Park Ruchill Park is a public park in Ruchill, Glasgow, Scotland, approximately north-west of the city centre. It is adjacent to the former location of Ruchill Hospital on Bilsland Drive. History In 1892, Glasgow Corporation acquired the site of R ...

opened in 1892, is prominent in the area, and is one of many public parks in the city. The poor quality of the soil and its high, exposed situation was not ideal for a public park, but under the direction of Parks Superintendent James Whitton the area was transformed. The park's best known feature is the panoramic view of Glasgow and its surroundings which can be obtained from the top of the hill. This is topped by an artificial mound (with a flagpole) constructed from 24,000 cartloads of soil from the construction of the adjacent Ruchill Hospital. It is known locally as "Ben Whitton". During WW2 an anti-aircraft gun was positioned in the park and was used to defend the area during the

Clydebank Blitz The Clydebank Blitz were a pair of air raids conducted by the ''Luftwaffe'' on the shipbuilding and munition-making town of Clydebank in Scotland. The bombings took place in March 1941. The air raids were part of a bombing program known today as ...

Ruchill Golf Course

Ruchill Golf Course was popular for many years with

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

ers in the city, but in 2000 the city council closed the facility and money was issued by council to establish redevelopment plans. The golf course has a former railway tunnel running under it, named the "miley" by locals as it was around a mile long. It was formerly part of the

Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway The Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland. It was promoted independently but supported by the Caledonian Railway, and it was designed to connect Balloch (on Loch Lomond) and Dumbarton with central Glasgow, l ...

, linking

Maryhill Central railway station Maryhill Central was a railway station to the north west of Glasgow. Location To the west of the station was a triangular set of junctions. Immediately to the west was Maryhill Central junction where the line to Kirklee diverged to the south ...

to Possil railway station. There was also a tunnel linking Ruchill to the Lambhill area. The tunnel ran under the

Forth & 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 ...

, which ran through the golf course. This tunnel is known locally as the Halloween Pen. It was not a railway tunnel but a tunnel used to herd sheep through in the past when the area was still relatively rural. On 17 September 2009 Ruchill Golf Course was reopened by

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events ...

. However, use of the club house and regular play did not commence until after the open evening on 1 April 2010. The course – now officially termed the "Ruchill Community Golf Facility" is now run by Culture and Sport Glasgow, part of Glasgow City Council, and is a nine-hole course, designed with Colin Montgomery's input, apparently suited for developing and established players.

Other amenities

Ruchill Church Hall, designed by the celebrated

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...

is located to the west of the area, close to Maryhill Road and 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 ...

; Ruchill Parish Church, designed by Neil Campbell Duff, is located beside it. A new footbridge over the canal connecting the area with

Gilshochill Gilshochill ( ; sco, Gilshochull) is located to the north west of Maryhill in the City of Glasgow, Scotland. Immediately north of Maryhill basin and Maryhill locks, it is the district where the Bowling and Port Dundas branches of the Forth and ...

and providing a better link to Maryhill, was installed at Stockingfield Junction in 2022.Stockingfield Bridge wins ICE People’s Choice Award 2022
Scape Scotland Civil Engineering, 25 October 2022

References

External links

*http://ruchill.scot/ Ruchill Community Website *http://www.communitycouncilsglasgow.org.uk/ruchill/default.aspx {{Areas of Glasgow Areas of Glasgow Maryhill