Barlanark is a district

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

 in the Scottish

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...

 city 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...

. It is east of the districts of Shettleston

Shettleston

Shettleston is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Like many of the city's districts, Shettleston was originally a small village on its outer edge. Today Shettleston lies between the neighbouring districts of Parkhead to the west, and Baillieston to the east, and is about 2 and a...

, Budhill and Springboig

Springboig

Springboig is a district in the east end of the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde.Springboig lies to the north of Shettleston, Budhill and east of Greenfield, Carntyne and Lightburn Hospital and Greenfield Park, and is just south of Edinburgh Road and Cranhill...

, north west of Baillieston

Baillieston

Baillieston is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about 7 miles east of the city centre.It is also the name of Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council...

, west of Swinton

Swinton, Glasgow

Swinton is an eastern suburb of the Scottish city of Glasgow, north of the areas of Baillieston and Garrowhill and is now concurrent with the nineteenth century Easterhouse village. Easterhouse train station gives direct access to the centre of Glasgow....

 and Springhill and south of Easthall, Wellhouse (separated by Edinburgh Road (A8)) and Easterhouse

Easterhouse

Easterhouse is a suburb about east of Glasgow city centre, Scotland. It was partially built on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of a boundary expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. Building began in the mid-1950s by the then local authority, Glasgow Corporation...

.

Name

The name Barlanark is an apparently hybrid Gaelic-Brythonic name suggesting the hill at the clearing from the Gaelic bàrr and Brythonic lanerc meaning "clearing".

History

Barlanark housing scheme was developed in response to the city's grave post-war housing needs: In 1952/53 over 2300 3/4-bedroom apartments were constructed and rented out to 'Corporation' tenants. There were also 5-apartment semi-detached houses, and 3-apartment terraced houses built, next to the Estate of Barlanark House, which was constructed by David Hamilton in 1822, demolished in 1954. These tenement blocks were characterised by brick balconies, had good-sized gardens and modern toilet and bathroom facilities. Originally under local authority control, many are now under co-operative ownership.

Problems

Although relatively quiet and safe in its early years, the area later produced its share of gang-culture and violence. The most notorious of these was the so-called 'BAR-L team', made up of members from Barlanark and the surrounding areas. One of the best known members was Tam "the Licensee" McGraw (Thomas McGraw

Thomas McGraw

Thomas "Tam" McGraw , also known as "The Licensee" or "Wan-Baw McGraw", was a gangster involved in organised crime including extortion, narcotics and drug trafficking in Glasgow, Scotland....

). The area became involved in the Glasgow Ice Cream Wars

Glasgow Ice Cream Wars

The Glasgow Ice Cream Wars were conflicts in the East End of Glasgow in Scotland in the 1980s between rival ice cream van operators, over lucrative territory and suggested use of ice cream vans as a cover for selling drugs...

 of the 1980s.

Schools and churches

The main schools of the area include Barlanark Primary, Sandaig Primary and St Jude's Primary. Barlanark Primary has merged with Sandaig. Barlanark Primary was demolished to make way for a new Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 primary school called our Lady of Peace, which replaced St Jude's Primary where houses are currently being built.

Barlanark Greyfriars Parish Church is located at the junction of Edinburgh Road and Hallhill Road. It is the local Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 parish church. Greyfriars is home to a number of youth and adult organisations, including the 284th Glasgow Company of the Boys' Brigade, and Greyfriars Pipes and Drums, the only active pipe band in the East End of Glasgow.

Economy

Hallhill Road contains a row of small size shops and a Community Centre. The road also includes a local pub, Angies Bar.

Regeneration

Since the 1980s, the area has seen substantial redevelopment, with most of the 1950s tenements replaced by housing cooperatives. After the implementation of a re-generation program, the area has changed significantly, and nowadays the houses have all been refurbished to make Barlanark a much better place to live.

Well known people

Well-known people from Barlanark include the actress Kathleen McDermott

Kathleen McDermott

-Biography:Kathleen is an experienced vocalist, who also enjoys martial arts and snowboarding. She was working as a hairdresser when spotted by the casting director for Morvern Callar. She is best known for her appearance as Shaz in Wedding Belles and Pippa in E4's 2008 series Dead Set...

, the former footballer Pat Nevin

Pat Nevin

Patrick Kevin Francis Michael "Pat" Nevin is a retired Scottish footballer. In a 20-year career, he played for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell as a winger. Nevin was a fans' favourite at Chelsea during the 1980s...

 and Pat Fairlie, from the pop group Marmalade

Marmalade (band)

Marmalade were a successful Scottish pop rock group, from the east end of Glasgow, originally formed in 1961 as "The Gaylords", later "Dean Ford and The Gaylords". In 1966, they changed the group name to 'The Marmalade'. The most successful period for the band, in terms of UK chart success, was...

. Others include the Swansea football player Steven Dobbie, West Brom's Graham Dorrans

Graham Dorrans

Graham Dorrans is a Scottish footballer who currently plays as an Attacking Midfielder for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion and the Scotland national side. He has a wife and 1 daughter Leah Dorrans...

, and Michelle O'Brien who stars in the TV show River City

River City

River City is a Scottish television soap opera, first broadcast in Scotland on BBC Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch in Glasgow...

. Paul Harvey, who used to play for Airdrie

Airdrieonians F.C.

Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, were a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire....

, also comes from Barlanark.