Halfway, Cambuslang
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Halfway is a largely suburban area in the town of
Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...
, Scotland, located within the local authority area of
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
. It borders the smaller areas of Lightburn, Cairns, Flemington, Drumsagard and Hallside. Halfway is the largest component of the Cambuslang East ward of South Lanarkshire Council which has an overall population of around 16,000.


History and amenities

The district was named in the days of the Glasgow to Hamilton stagecoach when passengers would stop halfway between the destinations to change the horses, have a rest etc. There is a long history of coal mining in the area (especially around Flemington), but no colliery is still in operation. It also has the older name of ''Gilbertfield'', referring to the nearby ruined 'castle' of that name (as it is known locally - it is, in fact, a stately home) which still stands to the south. It was owned by Hamilton of Gilbertfield. He was a friend of
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
and wrote a poem about
William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...
called ''
Blind Harry Blind Harry ( 1440 – 1492), also known as Harry, Hary or Henry the Minstrel, is renowned as the author of ''The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace'', more commonly known as '' The Wallace''. This is ...
's Wallace'', a rendering into contemporary English of a medieval Scots poem, which was eventually used as the basis for the screenplay that became the
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
blockbuster ''
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...
''. The area sits to the south of ''Dechmont Hill'', an extinct volcanic rock above sea level. There is evidence, written by the Welsh chroniclers, that King Arthur's 12th battle, the battle of ''Calaan'', took place there against the two sons of his rival ''Caw'', (or ''Cawn''), king of Strathclyde. Halfway is home to two places of worship, Flemington-Hallside Parish Church (adjacent to the area's single residential
tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...
, ''Logan Tower'') and St. Cadoc's Roman Catholic Chapel south-west of the main road in the Cairns post-World War II housing estate, named after the now-demolished mansion 'The Cairns'. There is also a lawn bowling club, a fuel filling station, a local park with play area, a public library, a small medical centre and a typical selection of local shops, takeaways and public houses. All these amenities are located either on the main thoroughfare, Hamilton Road ( A724), or just off it. There is no train station in the immediate area, although northern parts of Halfway are within walking distance of Newton railway station. The main road is on a bus route between Glasgow and Lanarkshire (the same route taken by the historic stagecoaches mentioned above).


Education

Primary schools in the area include St. Cadoc's RC, Cairns (immediately next to St Cadoc's), Hallside and Park View. All were rebuilt in the 2010s, except Park View which only opened in 2014 to alleviate overcrowding at nearby Hallside. After Cairns Primary was re-located on the site of the old mansion a few hundred yards to the west of its original 1950s site, the old buildings were used as a decant facility by other schools in the district while theirs were rebuilt meaning for several years there were three schools on a single suburban street, one with pupils who did not live nearby – it was hoped that the traffic congestion problems frequently experienced by locals would be alleviated once this modernisation process was completed across the region in early 2020, but later that year it was noted that this was still a concern for many parents. Older children normally go on to
Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England * Trin ...
, Cathkin High School or Stonelaw High School, depending on which primary school they attended. A standalone pre-school facility, Lightburn ELC, was built on the site of the miners' welfare club on Mill Road, opening in 2021 (not to be confused with Millburn ELC, its sister facility located in Newton).


Gilbertfield

In March 2017, an application by Persimmon Homes to build almost 400 houses in land immediately to the north of Gilbertfield Castle was approved by
South Lanarkshire Council South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and an annual budget of almost £1bn. Th ...
's planning committee; this was somewhat controversial as the land had previously been designated
Green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...
. Various concerns were raised by local residents, community councillors (representing Halfway/''Cambuslang East'' ward), the Lowland
Reserve Forces and Cadets Association Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations (RFCAs) are Crown bodies in the United Kingdom which give advice and assistance to the Defence Council, and to the Army, Royal Navy and RAF, on matters that concern reserves and cadets. They are contracted ...
who have a rifle range adjacent to the site, and
Clare Haughey Clare Joan Haughey (née Donnelly, born April 1967) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Children and Young People from 2021 to 2023, having previously served as Minister for Mental Health from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Scot ...
and James Kelly, MSPs for the area, which were presented to the committee along with a 1300-signature petition opposing the development, without success. Revisions had already been made to the plans after the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; ) is Scotland's Environmental regulation, environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.A ruined castle with a bloody history could be at the centre of a housing development
The Scotsman, 18 May 2020


Notable residents

* Charlie Hill, boxer * Scott Harrison, boxer * Bernard Ponsonby, TV political news reporter * Kyle Hutton, footballer * Mick McGahey, miners' union leader *
Margaret Ferrier Margaret Ferrier (born 10 September 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2015 to 2017, and again from 2019 to 2023. She was first elected to the House of Commons at the 20 ...
, politician


References


External links

*
Halfway Community Council
{{Areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang Cambuslang Neighbourhoods in South Lanarkshire Mining communities in Scotland