Craigton () is a residential
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in the southwest of the city 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 ...
, Scotland. Located approximately from the
city centre
A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
, it is bordered by
Bellahouston Park
Bellahouston Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Bhaile Ùisdean'') is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of . The mai ...
to the south and
Halfway to the west, with
Cardonald
Cardonald (; ,
) is an outlying suburb of the Scotlan ...
beyond.
The area was historically farming land for
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...
, which is nearby to the north across the
M8 motorway and
Inverclyde Line
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it conn ...
railway tracks. A pedestrian underpass, previously a road on which
city trams and buses operated, leads north from Craigton under the motorway onto Craigton Road, which is within the
Drumoyne neighbourhood. Historically the Craigton Road area was occupied by Craigton Farm, while the estate of Craigton House was acquired to build the Craigton neighbourhood (developed for housing between the World Wars, as were Drumoyne and other nearby developments like the contrasting
Moorepark and
Mosspark
Mosspark () is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, in the southwest of the city.
History
Mosspark and the lands of East and Mid-Henderston were incorporated into Glasgow in 1909. They covered sev ...
projects).
The area has an eponymous primary school opened in 1910 (once attended by artist
George Wyllie), a small industrial estate and a number of shops lining Paisley Road West.
Craigton Cemetery is immediately to the west of Craigton and was opened in 1873. The cemetery grounds contain a crematorium, which opened in 1957.
To the east is
Helen Street police station (a modern replacement for
Govan's previous offices in Orkney Street) built on the site of the
White City Stadium
White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...
, used for
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
and
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...
;
Ibrox railway station was slightly further east, also within walking distance of Craigton until its closure in the late 1960s, about the same time as the stadium.
The triangular parcel of land between Paisley Road West and Mosspark Boulevard and west of Bellahouston Park has been occupied by housing since the 1920s. It was originally fields belonging to a farm called Wearieston
OS 25 inch Scotland, 1892-1905
Explore georeferenced maps (National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
) so was occasionally known as such in the years following its construction, but the name has since fallen out of use.
Since 2017, Craigton has fallen within the Pollokshields ward under Glasgow City Council
Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...
, having been in the Govan ward for the decade prior. There was also a ward named Craigton, but the neighbourhood of that name was never part of it, and in 2017 it was re-named to the more accurate title of Cardonald
Cardonald (; ,
) is an outlying suburb of the Scotlan ...
.
References
{{Areas of Glasgow
Govan
Areas of Glasgow