Springburn

Infobox UK place
official_name= Springburn
gaelic_name=
scots_name=
local_name=
country= Scotland
population= 14,863 (2004)
population_density=
os_grid_reference=
edinburgh_distance= mi to km|34|
london_distance= convert|403|mi|km
latitude= 55.884
longitude= -4.226
post_town= Glasgow
postcode_area= G
postcode_district= G21
dial_code= 0141
constituency_westminster= Glasgow North East
unitary_scotland= City of Glasgow
lieutenancy_scotland= Glasgow
constituency_scottish_parliament= Glasgow Springburn
website=

Springburn is a semi-suburban (partly suburban) area in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working- and middle-class families.

Springburn developed from a small hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. By the mid-century, an influx of tradesmen enlarged the village, and with the arrival of the railway the village became a parish in its own right.

It has a strong historical link to heavy industry, particularly railways, with the manufacturing of locomotives. In the past, Springburn produced 25% of all the trains in the world, thanks to its many train workshops.

These included Cowlairs, Walter Neilson's Hyde Park Works, Sharp Stewart and Company's Atlas works, Eastfield and the Caledonian Railway's St. Rollox works. Later it became the headquarters of the North British Locomotive Company. Also in Springburn was Eastfield running shed, built by the North British Railway. St. Rollox became the largest works, and is the only one still in operation today. In 2007 Railcare limited, who also own the Wolverton Railway Works site in Milton Keynes, took over operations at St. Rollox. After a significant refurbishment programme the site currently operates as a busy repair and maintenance facility.

The highest point in Springburn and of the City of Glasgow is its famous park on Balgrayhill, donated to Glasgow by James Reid, a business colleague of Walter Neilson, in 1892; a statue in honour of Reid was erected in the park in 1903. Cowlairs F.C. were a founder member of the Scottish Football League in 1890 but were bankrupt by 1896.

The old suburb of Springburn was virtually obliterated by the redevelopment of the area in the 1960s. Selected as one of Glasgow's "Comprehensive Development Areas", Springburn became a sequence of housing estates and a major dual carriageway, the A803 (originally designed to be the northern link to the aborted Glasgow Inner Ring Road) transformed the area completely. The handful of Victorian villas which remain around Balgrayhill gives only a glimpse of what had gone before. The vision remained incomplete, and by the mid-1970s Springburn had become one of Glasgow's most notorious areas, exacerbated by decaying housing. Since then, substantial activity has ensured a degree of regeneration for the area, but Springburn's core social problems remain. Scattered through Springburn are various suburban areas (Forest Hall, Fernbank, Colston), which refrain from mingling with the shadier parts of its society.

Springburn is served by Springburn railway station, offering regular commuter services on the North Clyde and Cumbernauld lines of the Glasgow suburban rail network. The area is also served by numerous bus routes. It also incorporates a smaller area called Balornock.

Many people from Springburn have left their mark on the world, some of more the famous being Scottish International footballer James McFadden, singer Sydney MacEwan, broadcasters and writers Tom Weir and his sister Molly, the railway author John Thomas, and the politician John McAllion.

More recently the area of Keppochill Road in Springburn has been regenerated through the work of West of Scotland Housing Association Ltd, many of the tenement flats in Gourlay Street, Carlisle Street and of course Keppochill Road have been renovated and work continues to maintain and improve housing in the area. A new build development in recent years has seen old Glasgow City Council flats demolished and new modern low rise houses built in the area. West of Scotland housing Association now has a head office based at 252 Keppochill Road however the interest of the charitable organisation extends into Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.

Springburn's current MP, Michael Martin, is Speaker of the House of Commons.

References

* Lowe, J.W., (1989) "British Steam Locomotive Builders," Guild Publishing
* Thomas, John, (1964) "The Springburn Story: The History of the Scottish Railway Metropolis," David & Charles
* Weir, M., (1970) "Shoes Were For Sunday," Hutchinson
* Williamson, Elizabeth, et al (1990) "The Buildings of Scotland: Glasgow", Penguin

External links

* [http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/springburn/springindexrailways.html Springburn Virtual Museum]
* [http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Parks_Outdoors/Parks_gardens/springburnpark.htm Glasgow City Council's Springburn Park site]
* [http://oldspringburn.wetpaint.com History of Springburn with photographs and discussion]