St Mary's is in a residential area of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

located in the extreme northwest of the city, to the north of

Ardler Ardler is an area in the north-west of Dundee, Scotland, built on land previously owned by Downfield Golf Club. The housing scheme was completed in the late 1960s and originally included six 17-storey multi-storey blocks that formed the northern ...

and west of Kirkton. It is also bounded on the west by Downfield Golf Club, to the northwest by Clatto Country Park and to the north by Craigowl View. The scheme was built on farmland during the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as part of the city's attempt to create new council housing for working-class Dundonians following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. All of the scheme's streets, bar two on the periphery (listed below) begin with the prefix 'St'. The area suffers from the same social and economic problem that plague some of the other housing schemes of Dundee, however the improvement of housing standards and the demolition of tower blocks in the Ardler/St Mary's region has improved the area.

Education

St Mary's was once served by two primary schools, Macalpine Primary on Macalpine Road, and Brackens Primary on Laird Street (incidentally, the two streets in the scheme without the prefix 'St'). However, Macalpine, the largest primary in the area, was demolished in 2008, Brackens several years earlier, and a new school, Craigowl Primary, has been built on the land once occupied by Brackens.

Transport

St Mary's is served mainly by the 1A, 1B bus routes, as well as the 'circular' routes - 26's The terminus for the 1A and 1B routes is located at the north end of Laird Street.

Amenities

The scheme has recently witnessed the construction of a new, purpose built community centre on St Kilda Road (on 'The Green', land once occupied by St Kilda Park), which opened in 2008, costing £660,000. Residents of St Mary's have long complained of a lack of facilities for the area, and it is hoped this new centre will act as the hub of the community. The Nine Maidens (Laird Street) is the one public house situated in St Mary's, although many of its residents also frequent the Admiral Bar and the Ardler Sports and Recreation Club (both to the south of the scheme on Camperdown Road), and Doc Stewart's (The Downfield Hotel) on Strathmartine Road. De Niro's fish and chip shop is located on St Giles Terrace, as are two convenience stores, a post office and a hairdresser. A co-op store is found on St Boswells Terrace. The area is served, along with Ardler, by Dundee West FC, a football club for boys and girls ranging from eight to eighteen years old. As previously stated, the scheme sits close to Clatto Country Park and Downfield Golf Course, but also Templeton Woods and

Camperdown Park Camperdown Country Park, often known as just Camperdown Park, is a public park in the Camperdown area of Dundee, Scotland. The park comprises the former grounds of Camperdown House, a 19th-century mansion, which was bought by the city in 1946. ...

, picturesque settings enjoyed by generations of St Mary's residents. Situated on the extreme northwest of Dundee, the area's proximity to the open countryside affords its inhabitants the opportunity to experience a more natural, rural environment.

Famous Sons

Dundonian Author, Mick McCluskey was born in a tenement in St Mary and was schooled and apprenticed in the area. The esteemed poet and winner of the Witbread Prize for Poetry,

Don Paterson Donald Paterson (born 1963) is a Scottish poet, writer and musician. Background Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem "A Private Bottling" won the Arvon Foundation International ...

was raised in St Mary's, as was former Dundee footballer and current Dundee United coach Steve Campbell. Former Glasgow Labour politician (now

Respect Party The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...

)

George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...

once lived in the area.

References

{{Areas of Dundee Areas of Dundee