Alexandria (,
) is a town in

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The town is on the River Leven, north of

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

and north-west of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Demographics

In 2016, the estimated population of the town was 6,860. It is one of five towns in the

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

, the others being Balloch,

Bonhill Bonhill (; ) is a town in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is sited on the Eastern bank of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven, on the opposite bank from the larger town of Alexandria, Scotland, Alexandria. ...

, Jamestown and Renton; their combined population is over 20,000.

Economy

The town's traditional industries, most importantly cotton manufacturing, bleaching and printing, have been phased out. In the 1970s Alexandria was redeveloped, with a new town centre layout and traffic system. Local landmarks include Christie Park and the Category B listed Smollett Fountain in the town centre. Lomond Galleries on North Main Street is a former car factory with an impressive dome and an even more impressive marble entrance hall and staircase. It was originally built in 1906 as the

Argyll Motor Works The Argyll Motor Works, currently known as Lomond Galleries, is a former car factory in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It was opened in 1906 by Argyll Motors Ltd, at the time the largest producer of cars in Scotland. After the Argy ...

, for Argyll Motors Ltd. A carving above the entrance shows one of the company's cars. After the car production ceased in 1914, it was used by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

for the manufacture of

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es, which were test-fired in

Loch Long Loch Long is a body of water in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end, to the Arrochar Alps at the head of the loch. It measures approximately in length, with a wi ...

, and in the early 1970s was the scene of the

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...

sit-in. The building now hosts a shopping mall but has retained many of its striking architectural features. Major employers in the area were

Westclox Westclox is an American brand of clocks and alarm clocks owned by Nyl Holdings. The company's historic plant is located in Peru, Illinois. Early history as United Clock Company Charles Stahlberg and others from Waterbury, Connecticut, forme ...

and Polaroid, both based in the Leven Industrial Estate;

Aggreko Aggreko is a global supplier of mobile and modular power, temperature control equipment and energy services, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. The business was founded in 1962 and previously listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1997 to 20 ...

based a major purpose-built factory in the estate from 2000 to 2010. The

Ballantine's Ballantine's is a brand of Blended whisky#Scotland, blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Dumbarton, Scotland. The Ballantine's flavour is dependent on fingerprint malts from Miltonduff and Glenb ...

whisky distillery continues to operate in the estate.

Transport

Alexandria sits on the former A82 main road between

and

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

. There are regular bus services on the route, and the town has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the rail line between Balloch and

Glasgow Queen Street Glasgow Queen Street () is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals (the larger being Glasgow Central) and is the third-busiest station in Scotland ...

. Alexandria is reputed to be the only town in the UK with a railway station, carnival (periodically Codona's travelling fair sets up in the car park) and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in the middle of a roundabout. A. J. Cronin's uncle owned a pub in Bridge Street. Alexandria Library is located on Gilmour Street.

Sport

The town is home to

football club, who play at

Millburn Park Millburn Park is a football ground in Alexandria, Scotland. It has been the home ground of Vale of Leven since 1888, hosting Scottish Football League matches between 1890 and 1926. History Millburn Park was opened in August 1888 when Vale of Le ...

. The club was a dominant force in early Scottish football history, winning the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

and

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

, and were founder members of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

. Gordon Reid, born in Alexandria, has won the

Wimbledon Tennis The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

Men's Wheelchair Doubles, with his partner

Alfie Hewett Alfie Hewett (born 6 December 1997 in Norwich, Norfolk) is a British professional wheelchair tennis player. He is the current world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles. Hewett has won a total of 32 major titles: ten in singles and 22 ...

, three times.

ROC Bunker

Between 1961 and 1991, the village was the location of a

Royal Observer Corps The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 Decembe ...

Master bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. It remains mostly intact.

Notable natives and residents

Stuart David Stuart David (born 26 December 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian and was a member from 1996 to 2000, and then went on to front Looper (1998–present).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''T ...

, writer and musician (

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

) *

Zander Diamond Alexander Kevin "Zander" Diamond (born 12 March 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer and current manager of Lowland League club Broomhill. Diamond played as a centre-back and began his career with Scottish Premier League club Aber ...

, Scottish professional footballer * John Miller "Ian" McColl, Scottish footballer and manager of the Scotland national team *

Morgan McMichaels Morgan McMichaels (born May 28, 1981) is the stage name of Scottish-American drag performer Thomas White, best known as a contestant on the second season of the reality television competition ''RuPaul's Drag Race,'' as well as the third seaso ...

, Scottish-American drag queen and reality television personality *

Dawn O'Porter Dawn O'Porter (born Dawn Porter; 23 January 1979) is a Scottish writer, director, and television presenter. Early life Dawn O'Porter was born in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, Alexandria, Scotland, and raised in Guernsey. She studied acting ...

, British writer, director and television presenter *

Bobby Kerr Bobby Kerr may refer to: * Robert Kerr (athlete) (1882–1963), Irish Canadian sprinter * Bobby Kerr (businessman) (born 1960), Irish entrepreneur and businessman * Bobby Kerr (footballer, born 1901) (1901–1972), Scottish footballer * Bobby Kerr ...

, Scottish professional footballer, captain of Sunderland A.F.C.'s 1973 FA Cup-winning team *Malcolm Finlayson (14 June 1930 – 26 November 2014) was a Scottish football goalkeeper who won the Football League Championship and FA Cup with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

References

{{Authority control Towns in West Dunbartonshire Vale of Leven