Baldernock is a small parish in East Dunbartonshire

East Dunbartonshire

This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...

 (formerly in Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

), Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, ten miles (16 km) to the north of Glasgow's

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...

 city centre.

Geography

The parish is approximately 12 square miles (31.1 km²), bounded by the Campsie Fells

Campsie Fells

The Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne, in Stirlingshire. . The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high...

 to the north and east, the Allander Water

Allander Water

The Allander Water is a river in East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, and one of the three main tributaries of the River Kelvin, the others being the Glazert Water and the Luggie Water.The Allander Water flows through Milngavie...

 and River Kelvin

River Kelvin

The Kelvin rises on watershed of Scotland on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth - . At almost 22 miles long, it initially flows south to Dullatur Bog where it falls into a man made trench and takes a ninety degree turn flowing west along the northern boundary of the bog...

 to the south, and the Pow Burn to the west. It is centred around Baldernock Parish Church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Dumbarton. However, it also encompasses the hamlets of Baldernock, Bardowie, Barnellan, Balmore, and Barraston. Other landmarks include Bardowie Loch and Bardowie Castle

Bardowie Castle

Bardowie Castle is located 2 miles east of Milngavie, in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The building overlooks Bardowie Loch.The castle was built in 1566, with additions made in various centuries thereafter. Originally the estate was owned by the Galbraith family, then passed to the Hamiltons of...

.

History

In 1200, Baldernock was called Bathernock or Buthirnok. By the early 18th century, it was known as Badernock. There had been a church on the present-day site for at least a century and a half. Certainly, the oldest gravestone is from 1644, and the oldest gravestone that can be deciphered is from 1665. However, by the late 18th century, the church was in severe disrepair. Thus, in 1795, a new 406-person church was built, incorporating some of the stonework of the previous church. Later, a vestry projection was added to the north side. In 1905, a railway station, called Bardowie Station, was opened, and a housing development of 500 houses was planned. However, less than 10 were actually built, and in 1951, the station was closed.