Arden is the location of a medium-sized housing estate

Housing estate

A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...

 on the very edge of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, southwest of the city centre

Glasgow city centre

Glasgow city centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. Is bounded by the High Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to the west and north which was built through the Townhead, Charing Cross, Cowcaddens and Anderston areas in the 1960s...

.

History

The S.S.H.A (Scottish Special Housing Association) built the estate between 1953 and 1957, to rehouse families from the old overcrowded inner city tenements. Historically, Arden was a farm and formed part of Sir John Maxwell's land. One of approximately 7 adjoining holdings. Situated on ancient Stewart land, originally granted to Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland

Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland

Walter Stewart was the 6th hereditary High Steward of Scotland. He was also the father of King Robert II of Scotland.-Biography:...

 by Robert the Bruce, upon his marriage to Marjorie Bruce

Marjorie Bruce

Marjorie Bruce or Marjorie de Brus was the eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by his first wife, Isabella of Mar, and the founder of the Stewart dynasty. Her marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland gave rise to the House of Stewart...

, the King's eldest daughter. Arden is near Thornliebank

Thornliebank

Thornliebank is a small suburban village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, south of Glasgow. It is served by Thornliebank railway station and lies to the east of the M77 motorway.-History:...

 a village formed on the river to manufacture cloth and a specialized printing of cloth known as beetling. Thornliebank linen was quite famous in the 1800s until the closure of the facility in or around 1920. The building adjoining part of what is now Arden was used as a prisoner of war camp during the second world war. The nearest Railway Station is Kennishead

Kennishead railway station

Kennishead railway station is a railway station in Kennishead, a district of Glasgow, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Glasgow South Western Line.-Services:...

 named after another of Sir John's farms.

Arden became very rundown during the 1970s and 80s and grants were made for its refurbishment. It is not quite completed but is much improved. The shopping area containing around six businesses is in immediate need of investment and refurbishment. In 1999 the estate was bought by Glen Oaks Housing Association for a rumoured £6m, but the association has since acknowledged this may have been a rather inflated sum, and they have struggled to make necessary repairs as they are funded only by rents.

Amenities

Arden boasts the new Ashpark Primary which opened on 2 December 2008 and replaced the former Arden Primary School and Carnwadric Primary School. The second school, St. Louise Primary was merged with the newly rebuilt St. Vincent's Primary in Carnwadric

Carnwadric

Carnwadric is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde.Carnwadric was a farm owned by Sir John Maxwell, one of approximately seven such large holdings owned by him and rented to others. The land was formerly owned by the Stuart kings and queens of Scotland...

, St. Louise closed in June 2009 and the buildings subsequently demolished. Arden became the first housing scheme to have a public house (The Cuillins) privately built in 1964-5 which then became a brewery pub in 1968.

In popular culture

Arden was featured in the T.V Programme Colin and Justin on the Estate which looked at their efforts to improve the area. Some of the residents of Arden, and also some former residents were concerned about the slant of the show, and were particularly annoyed by the fact that the producers of the show concentrated their attention on housing units that were scheduled for demolition and not on housing that has seen extensive and successful renovation. Alasdair McKee, Glen Oaks chief executive, concluded however, that the program was a success and "the improvements have helped to convince people that we can make a difference" and contributed to a waiting list of people wanting to get into the estate.