Linwood, Renfrewshire

This article is about the town in Scotland. For other uses, see Linwood (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 55°50′49″N 4°30′07″W / 55.847°N 4.502°W / 55.847; -4.502

Linwood
Linwood  Linwood shown within Renfrewshire
Population	9,453
OS grid reference	NS435645
Council area	Renfrewshire
Lieutenancy area	Renfrewshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PAISLEY
Postcode district	PA3
Dialling code	01505
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Paisley & Renfrewshire North
Scottish Parliament	West Renfrewshire
	West of Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Linwood is a small town in Renfrewshire, Scotland, 14 miles south-west of Glasgow.

Linwood is a commuter town, with proximity to Glasgow International Airport and the M8 motorway to Glasgow and Edinburgh. There are frequent daily bus services to Paisley, Johnstone and Glasgow.

Shopping and entertainment needs are supplied by the Phoenix retail park and easily accessible Paisley and Glasgow.

History

The Linwood economy relied heavily on the Rootes, later Chrysler then Peugeot Talbot, car plant and the Pressed Steel Company, both of which ceased production in 1981, leaving mass unemployment in their wake. It is estimated that 13,000 workers were left jobless as both direct and indirect consequences of these closures.^{[citation needed]}

Construction of the car factory began in 1961 to produce the Hillman Imp, a revolutionary small car which went into production when the factory was opened on 2 May 1963 and was not discontinued until 1976. The factory, opened by the Duke of Edinburgh,^[1] had the advantage of a direct rail link, which allowed cars to be transported by rail to places all over Britain. It later produced the Chrysler Avenger and the Imp's successor, the Sunbeam, and when both models finished production in late 1981, factory production ended after less than 20 years. Most of the factory was demolished soon afterwards, but the final part of the factory wasn't demolished until 1996.http://www.imps4ever.info/linwood/linwood.html

From 1980 to 1995 Linwood had one of the highest unemployment rates in Scotland.^{[citation needed]} A new retail and leisure park development opened in 1996. Linwood is a deprived area and many buildings have fallen into disrepair. New council houses are being developed in place of the old high rise flats.

Education

There are three primary schools, two non-denominational; Woodlands Primary School, and East Fulton Primary School and one Roman Catholic; Our Lady of Peace, and by two nearby secondary schools; one Roman Catholic, St Benedicts, one non-denominational; Linwood High School, newly rebuilt on its former site.

Transport

Linwood is linked to Glasgow via the A737 which also links Linwood to Ayrshire via Garnock Valley

For a small town Linwood has many bus services linking the local areas with Paisley and Glasgow.

Famous people

• Paul Lambert: Former Scotland, Celtic, Borussia Dortmund and St. Mirren midfielder and former Livingston manager. He held the captaincy for both Scotland and Celtic. He was also manager of Wycombe Wanderers FC until recently. Currently manager of Norwich City.
• Billy Thomson: Former Scotland, Rangers, Dundee United and St. Mirren goalkeeper. He is the current Rangers Goalkeeping coach..
• Darryl Duffy: Current Swansea City and Scotland Under 21 Striker.
• John Hillcoat: Current Alloa Athletic goalkeeping coach and former Goalkeeper.
• David Lowing: Ayr footballer

References

1. ^ [1]

Linwood has been immortalised in the song "Letter from America" by The Proclaimers, the lyrics "linwood no more" referring to the car factory being demolished and the stint in the industrialisation of many scottish towns.

External links