Glenboig
Glenboig (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Bhog) is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland lying north of Coatbridge and to the south east of Kirkintilloch and is approximately 15 miles from Glasgow City Centre.
Historically the settlement formed the south eastern extremity of the ancient Gaelic province of the Lennox (Scottish Gaelic: An Leamhnachd) which lay roughly within the former county of Dunbartonshire.[1]
A Brief History
Glenboig's only railway station closed in 1956.
Glenboig's infamous brick making industries ceased after the closure of the last brickworks, P&M (Peter & Mark) Hurll's following the company's liquidation in July 1980. The local coal mining ceased by December 1981 (after the closure of Bedlay Colliery in the nearby village of Annathill).
The village's first school was built between 1875 and 1876 and which has since been demolished.
Glenboig's main industry was Fireclay, centred on the General Refractories and Glenboig Union Fireclay Co. Star Fireclay Works, which made refractory products for the steel and iron industries. Aerial photographs of the works are available. However another important spoke in the industrial revolution was its railways. The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was started in 1824, and opened in 1826, running from Palacecraig up through Coatbridge and Gartsherrie, and immediately to the east of Glenboig village. It claims to be Scotland's first actual "railway", putting it among the first few in the world. A few years later, in 1831, the Glasgow and Garnkirk line opened, running on the other side of Glenboig, joining the Monkland and Kirkintilloch at Gartsherrie. These were the earlier Scottish lines to use locomotives. Both were built almost exclusively to carry coal but each, however, developed an increasing volume of other freight and of passenger traffic.
Bedlay Colliery (1905-1981)
On December 11th 1981, Bedlay Colliery in the nearby village of Annathill was closed under the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.
Bedlay was a two shaft coal "pit" with modern enclosed headgear on one shaft and an older open type on the other. A large diameter chimney may have been for mine ventilation. Previous
Owners: William Baird & Company Limited, later Bairds & Scottish Steel Limited
Types of Coal: Coking, Manufacturing and House.
Sinking/Production Commenced: 1905
Year Closed: 1981
Year Abandoned: 1982
Average Workforce: 792
Peak Workforce: 870
Peak Year: 1959
Shaft/Mine Details: 3 mineshafts
Shaft No. 1 372m deep (1220 ft) deep. Shaft No. 2 372m deep (1220 ft) deep. Shaft No. 3 362 m (1188 ft) deep.
Coal lifted in Numbers 1 & 2, and men up and down No. 3.
Details in 1948: Output 540 tons per day, 145,800 tons per annum (year). 683 employees.
Campbell Binnie jig washer. No baths. Canteen, first-aid room. Electricity supplied by overhead power lines from Gartsherrie Iron Works, but 90% bought from Clyde Valley Supply. Report dated 19-08-1948.
Other Details: New coal preparation plant installed by Simon Carves in 1957 as part of a £1.25 million reconstruction project completed in 1958, which included the construction of a new shaft and concrete winding tower, and the introduction of battery-locomotive underground haulage. A gassy pit with a methane drainage system, but important producer of coking coal for the iron and steel industry, particularly Ravenscraig. Latterly the coal preparation plant processed output from Auchengeich. [NS67SE 28].[2]
Glenboig Village Park
In 1999, residents got together to discuss the problems affecting their local environment. As a result, the Glenboig and North Central Environmental Group was established with the aim of addressing local environmental issues resulting in the construction of the original (now demolished) Glenboig Village Park in 2003. In 2009 Glenboig Village Park was completely rebuilt after several million pounds of funding from The National Lottery dramatically increasing its size and including state of the art equipment.
Population
The Last Census: March 2011
The United Kingdom Census 2011 reported the population as approximately 2681, an increase of 844 from 2001.[3]
Census: April 2001
The Population of Glenboig recorded by the April 2001 Census was 1,837, an increase of 94 from 1991.
Census: April 1991
The April 1991 Census recorded Glenboig's population as 1743. Glenboig and surrounding areas were then part of Monkland's District Council 1975-1996, before it later became North Lanarkshire Council.
Glenboig Today
In recent years the village has grown, with the addition of two new Redrow and Barrat housing estates in the early to mid part of the 2000's, With plans of building another 2000 (approx) houses in the near future, as well as various other facilities to compensate for the increase in population. The village used to have 2 pubs - 'The Big Shop' and 'The Village Inn' formerly known as 'The Garnqueen' (after the neighbouring Loch) but colloquially among locals known as 'The Wee Shop' which closed circa 2009, and subsequently, became derelict. In 2015 it was put up for sale as a development opportunity but was demolished in June 2016 a few weeks after a fire which dramatically worsened the condition of the structure.
Glenboig also has a post office, hair salon, beauty salon, newsagents, a Chinese food takeaway, Indian food takeaway, a fish and chip shop, and a Londis store.
Within the community there are many small businesses including a flower arrangers, architectural design service and mortgage brokers and professional tree surgeons
See also
Notes
- ↑ Newton, Michael. From Clyde To Callander.
- ↑ http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/128929/details/bedlay+colliery/
- ↑ "Comparative Population Profile: Glenboig Locality". SCROL. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
External links
Coordinates: 55°53′34″N 4°02′25″W / 55.8927°N 4.0403°W
