Coatbridge
Encyclopedia
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire
, Scotland
, about 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Glasgow
city centre
, set in the central Lowlands
. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie
, is part of the Greater Glasgow
urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age
era. Foundations of the town can be traced back to the 12th century when a Royal Charter
was granted to the Monks of Newbattle Abbey
by King Malcolm IV. Coatbridge, along with its neighbour Airdrie
, forms the area known as the Monklands
.
It was during the last years of the 18th century that the area developed from a loose collection of hamlets into the town of Coatbridge. The town's development and growth have been intimately connected with the technological advances of the industrial revolution
, and in particular with the hot blast
process. Coatbridge was a major Scottish centre for iron works and coal mining during the 19th century and in this period Coatbridge was described as 'the industrial heartland of Scotland
' and the 'Iron Burgh'.
Coatbridge also had a notorious reputation for air pollution and the worst excesses of industry. By the time of the 1920s however coal seams were exhausted and the iron industry in Coatbridge was in rapid terminal decline. After the Great Depression
the Gartsherrie ironwork was the last remaining iron works in the town. One publication has commented that in modern day Coatbridge 'coal, iron and steel have all been consigned to the heritage scrap heap'.
Coatbridge today is best described as a working class
town anchored to Glasgow
, the largest city in Scotland. Coatbridge has also been described as 'uniquely populated largely by people of Irish
descent'.
1750 map notes 'Cottbrig' as a hamlet in the Old Monkland area. One source states 'Coatbridge' is either derived from the Middle English 'cote' (cottage) or from the Old Welsh 'coed' meaning 'wood'.
An alternate explanation is that from around the 13th century the local area was owned by the Colt family, sometimes known as Coats, and their estate generated place-names such as Coatbridge, Coatdyke, Coathill and Coatbank. Drummond and Smith suggest the name derives from the granting of land to Ranulphus le Colt around the time of the 12th century.
A circle of Bronze Age
stone coffins was found on the Drumpellier
estate in 1852. A number of other Bronze Age urns and relics have been found in Coatbridge. An Iron Age
wood and thatch crannóg
dwelling was sited in the Loch at the present day Drumpellier
Country Park. Dependant upon the water level in the loch, the remains can still be seen today.
Roman
coins have been unearthed in Coatbridge, and there are the remains of a Roman road on the fringes of the town near the M8 motorway.
The 'Monklands' area inherited its name after the area was granted to the Cistercian monks of Newbattle Abbey
by King Malcolm IV
in 1162. 1n 1323 the Monklands name appeared for the first time on Stewards’ charter. The Monks mined coal and farmed the land until the time of the reformation
when the land was taken from them and given to private landowners. In 1641 the parish of Monklands was divided between New Monkland (present day Airdrie
) and Old Monkland (present day Coatbridge). In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite
army seized Coatbridge from government troops on their march to Edinburgh
in an action described as the 'Canter of Coatbridge'. Coatbridge was described in the 1799 Statistical Account as an 'immense garden' with 'extensive orchards', 'luxurious crops' where 'rivers abound with salmon'.
was constructed at the end of the 18th century initially to transport coal to Glasgow from the rich local deposits. The invention of the hot blast
furnace process in 1828 meant that Coatbridge's ironstone
deposits could be exploited to the maximum by the canal link and hot blast process. The new advances meant that iron could be produced with two thirds less fuel. By the mid 19th century there were numerous hot blast furnaces in operation in Coatbridge.
The prosperous industry which had sprung up around the new iron industry required vast numbers of largely unskilled workers to mine ironstone and work in the blast furnace
plants. Coatbridge therefore became a popular destination for vast numbers of Irish
(especially from County Donegal
in Ulster
) arriving in Scotland. The iron bars and plates produced in Coatbridge iron works were the raw materials needed throughout the British Empire
for railways, construction, bridge building and shipbuilding. One example of uses Coatbridge’ iron was put to included armour plating for British ships fighting in the Crimean War
.
Over the course of the following forty years the population of Coatbridge grew by 600%. The character of the Coatbridge area changed from a rural, Presbyterian landscape of small hamlets and farmhouses into a crowded, polluted, Irish Catholic
industrial town. In 1840, The Rev.
William Park wrote that:
One contemporary observer at this time noted that Coatbridge is 'not famous for its sylvan beauties of its charming scenery' and 'offers the visitor no inducements to loiter long'. However, 'a visit to the large Gartsherrie works is one of the sights of a lifetime'.
Most of the town's population lived in tight rows of terraced house
s built under the shadow of the iron works. These homes were often owned by their employers. Living conditions for most were appalling, tuberculosis
was rife.
For a fortunate few though fortunes could be won 'with a rapidity only equalled by the princely gains of some of the adventurers who accompanied Pizarro to Peru', noted one observer. Among the most notable success stories were the six sons of Coatbridge farmer Alexander Baird. The Baird family had become involved in coal mining but opened an iron foundry in order to exploit the new hot blast process of iron smelting invented by James Beaumont Neilson. The Baird’s subsequently constructed numerous iron foundries in Coatbridge including the famous Gartsherrie iron works. The waste heap or 'bing' from the Baird's Gartsherrie works was said to be as large as the great pyramid in Egypt. One son, James Baird, was responsible for erecting sixteen blast-furnaces in Coatbridge between 1830 and 1842. Each of the six sons of Alexander Baird was reputed to have become a millionaire.
The town was vividly described by Robert Baird in 1845:
In the 19th century the Baird family wielded a pervasive influence over Coatbridge. They were responsible for the design of the lay out of present day Coatbridge town centre. The land for the Town Hall and the land which later came to form Dunbeth Park was gifted to the town by the Bairds. Gartsherrie church was built by the Baird family. The Bairds donated the site on the Main Street for the erection of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. However, they also used patronage of the Orange Order to try and undermine the local trade union
movement.
ironstone deposits had been largely exhausted by 1885. It became increasing expensive to produce iron in Coatbridge as raw materials had to be imported from as far afield as Spain
. The growth of the steel industry (in nearby Motherwell
) had also led to a start of a decline in demand for the pig iron Coatbridge produced. Living conditions remained grim. In the 1920s Lloyd George
's 'Coal and Power' report described the living conditions in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge:
George Orwell
's book The Road to Wigan Pier
was illustrated by a photograph of homes in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge. In 1934 there was an exodus to Corby
in England
when the local Union Plant relocated. This had the effect of a hammer blow impact on the town’s iron industry and ushered in the end of serious iron production. The decline of the Clydeside shipbuilding industry in the 1950s meant the demand for iron finally collapsed. A legacy of 'devastating' unemployment, appalling housing conditions and some of the worst overcrowding in Scotland left its stamp on the Coatbridge of the early 1930s. As late as 1936 Coatbridge was the most overcrowded place in Scotland.
In the 1930s and 1950s however massive programmes of state-sponsored house building saw thousands of new homes built in Coatbridge and some of the worst examples of slum housing were cleared away. By the early 1980s 85% of homes in Coatbridge were part of local authority housing stock.
The last of the blast furnaces, William Baird’s famous Gartsherrie works, closed in 1967.
Since the 1970s there have been various initiatives to attempt to regenerate Coatbridge. Urban Aid grants, European Union
grants and, more recently, Social Inclusion Partnership's have attempted to breathe new life into Coatbridge. Despite these efforts the town's population has continued to fall and in recent years the town has been dubbed the 'most dismal in Scotland'.
. The town lies 288 feet (88 m) above sea level
, 9 miles (14.5 km) east of Glasgow
, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Cumbernauld
and 2 miles (3 km) west of Airdrie
.
Although Coatbridge has no major river running through it, the North Calder Water
runs east-west to the south and the now defunct Monkland Canal
used to run straight through the centre of the town toward Glasgow. The canal route through Coatbridge can still be seen today. There are also several smaller burns which run through Coatbridge, most of which drain to the North Calder Water
. Coatbridge has four significant public parks. Dunbeth park, West End park, Whifflet
park and Drumpellier
Country park. Woodend and Witchwood Loch are situated on the north-west edge of Coatbridge.
of Coatbridge was an important feature in the towns development during the industrial revolution
. Coatbridge rests 60 metres below the ‘Slamannan
plateau’ which neighbouring Airdrie sits on the edge of. The low lying flat ground of Coatbridge was a vital factor in the siting of the towns’ blast furnaces and the Monkland Canal
route. Although Airdrie was an already established town and had local supplies of ironstone, the Monkland Canal link did not extend into Airdrie because of its higher elevation. The Clyde Valley plan of 1949 described Coatbridge as 'situated over a flooded coalfield'. Tenement buildings in Coatbridge were not built to the same level as Glasgow tenements due to danger of local subsidence from centuries of local mining.
, Coatbridge experiences a temperate
maritime climate
with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The prevailing wind is from the west. Regular but generally light precipitation occurs throughout the year.
, which contains an insight into the life in industrial Coatbridge. A row of 1900-1960's cottages, a working tram line and a real coal mine can all be experienced on site. The park is situated on the remains of one of Coatbridge's historic blast furnaces. In recent years there has been something of a cultural renaissance in the town, largely rooted in the St. Patrick's Day Festival.
, the nineteenth century poet and essayist, died in Langloan in 1873. Present-day writers Anne Donovan
(Orange prize winner), Brian Conaghan, whose first novel The Boy Who Made it Rain was published in June 2011, and award-winning author Des Dillon
are all from Coatbridge. Coatbridge has regularly featured in Des Dillon's work. Two of his books about Coatbridge have been turned into plays.
Mark Millar
is a Coatbridge comic book writer whose Wanted
comic book series has been translated into a feature film starring Angelina Jolie
and Morgan Freeman
. Coatbridge born Dame Laurentia McLachlan
was the Benedictine
abbess of the Stanbrook Community whose correspondence with George Bernard Shaw
and Sydney Cockerell
was the subject of the film The Best of Friends
.
Coatbridge is also home to the annual Deep Fried Film Festival. Local filmmakers Duncan and Wilma Finnigan have been described by The List as 'the John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands of Coatbridge'.
' 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
'. Coatbridge brothers Greg Kane and Pat Kane
are the band Hue and Cry
. Coatbridge born Alan Frew
is the ex-pat lead singer of Canadian
group Glass Tiger
. Cha Burns
(deceased), Jimme O'Neill and JJ Gilmour of The Silencers
are from Coatbridge. Coatbridge sisters Fran and Anna
were a famous duo on the Scottish traditional music scene.
Coatbridge is especially noted for its historical links with Ireland
. This is largely due to large scale immigration into the town from Ulster
(especially from County Donegal
) in the 19th century and throughout most of the 20th century. Indeed, the town has been called 'little Ireland'. Within the town there are a number of Irish dance
schools, Irish language
classes, a Gaelic football
team (Sands McSwiney
), Gaelic Football Summer School, a branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
(Music and Musicians of Ireland) and an Irish genealogy project.
The most obvious manifestation of these links can be seen in the annual St. Patrick's Day Festival. The festival is sponsored by the Irish Government
and Guinness
. The festival currently runs for over a fortnight
and includes lectures, film shows, dance/Gaelic football competitions and music performances. The festival is the largest Irish celebration in Scotland.
Catholic
immigrants into Coatbridge.
Coatbridge's local football team are Albion Rovers. Albion Rovers play in the Scottish second division, and Cliftonhill
is where they play their home games. The 'wee rovers' were founded in 1882 when two local Coatbridge clubs, Rovers and Albion, amalgamated to form the club bearing the current name. The clubs greatest success came in 1920 when they reached the final of the Scottish Cup
at Hampden Park
. Noted Albion Rovers players from the past have included Jock Stein
, Bernie Slaven
and Tony Green
. Former Celtic players John Hughes, John McNamee
, Gerry Creaney
and Peter Grant
are all from Coatbridge. Current Scottish internationalist Chris Iwelumo
was born in Coatbridge.
Drumpellier Cricket Club has been in continuous existence for around 150 years and the club have a ground in the Drumpellier
area.
Speedway racing also took part in the town, using the Albion Rovers FC ground. The Edinburgh Monarchs rode there in 1968-69 (as the Coatbridge Monarchs) after losing their track at Meadowbank Stadium
to the developers for the 1970 Commonwealth Games
. Glasgow Tigers moved from Hampden Park to Coatbridge in 1973, and stayed there until June 1977, when they were forced out for the introduction of greyhound racing.
Coatbridge was the home of former boxer Bert Gilroy, Scotland's longest-reigning champion. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
in Los Angeles, California
, in 2006. Coatbridge is also home to the current WBO World Super-Featherweight Champion Ricky Burns
. Walter Donaldson, former World Snooker champion, also hailed from Coatbridge.
There are 2 golf courses: the municipal course bordering Drumpellier
Country Park and the nearby private member's club Drumpellier Golf Course. Clare Queen, Scotland's number one female golfer on the women's European tour, is from Coatbridge.
Coatbridge was given burgh
status in 1885. The arms have a black field and on it a flaming tower to represent a blast furnace and Coatbridge's industrial tradition. The crest of the demi-monk holds a stone in his left hand. The stone relates to the parish of Monklands being split into its two parts (Old and New Monkland) and to legend of the 'aul' Kirk stane'. The legend of the 'aul' Kirk stane' is that a pilgrim undertaking a penance from Glasgow
carried a stone in the direction of Monklands. When he could carry the stone no further (or in another version of the legend, when an angel spoke to him) he laid the stone down. It was where the stone came to rest that he was to build a church. The church is the present day Old Monkland Kirk. To this day the stone can still be seen.
The Latin motto 'Laborare est orare' translates as 'to work is to pray', which originates in the writings of St. Benedict and is commonly associated with the Cistercian Order whose monks came to Monklands in the 12th century.
, and is the executive
, deliberative
and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament
is responsible for devolved matters
such as education
, health and justice
, while reserved matters
are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom
.
Up until 1975, Coatbridge had its own Burgh Council. Between 1975 and 1996, Coatbridge was part of Monklands District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council. During the by-election campaign in Monklands East
of 1994, there were accusations of sectarianism and nepotism in favour of Coatbridge over neighbouring Airdrie by Monklands District Council. See Monklandsgate
and Monklands East by-election, 1994
. The fact that all 17 Labour
councillors were Roman Catholic led to Coatbridge being seen as a 'Catholic town'. Subsequent inquiries showed no evidence of sectarianism
, but allegations of nepotism
were shown to be true.
Coatbridge is presently part of the burgh constituency
of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, electing one Member of Parliament
(MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before the constituency's creation in 2005, Coatbridge lay in the Coatbridge and Chryston
constituency. Tom Clarke of the Scottish Labour Party
has been the MP since 1982 and currently holds the record for the largest UK parliamentary majority with 19,519. For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament
, Coatbridge forms part of the Coatbridge and Cryston
constituency, which is represented by Elaine Smith
MSP
, also Labour. Coatbridge is further represented by seven regional MSPs
from the Central Scotland electoral region
. A small part of the eastern fringes of the town forms part of the Airdrie
and Shotts
constituency.
Notable modern politicians from Coatbridge are The Rt. Hon.
The Baroness Liddell
, a former M.P. who was formerly both Secretary of State for Scotland
and Britain's High Commissioner
in Australia
, and The Rt. Hon. The Lord Reid
, also a former M.P. who was the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
and Home Secretary. Lord Reid is currently the Chairman of Celtic F.C.
.
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001
, the census locality of Coatbridge had a total resident population of 41,170, or 13% of the total of North Lanarkshire. This figure, combined with an area of 6.818 square miles (17.7 km²), provides Coatbridge with a population density
figure of 6038 PD/sqmi.
The median
age of males and females living in Coatbridge was 35 and 38 years respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland. Thirty four percent were married, 6.1% were cohabiting
couples, 14.7% were lone parent families and 32.5% of households were made up of individuals.
The place of birth of the town's residents was as follows: 98.7% United Kingdom (including 96% from Scotland), 0.32% Republic of Ireland
, 0.30% from other European Union
countries, and 0.72% from elsewhere in the world. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.3% in full-time employment, 9.4% in part-time employment, 3.6% self-employed, 5.3% unemployed, 2.5% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 13.4% retired, 5.7% looking after home or family, 12.0% permanently sick or disabled, and 5.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Compared with the average demography of Scotland, Coatbridge has low proportions of people born outside the United Kingdom, and people over 75 years of age.
During the 19th century, Irish people
began to arrive in large numbers in Coatbridge. The 1851 census recorded that the Irish
constituted 35.8% of the local population. Although while a significant proportion of these emigrants were Protestant, the majority were Catholic
. By 1901, the percentage of Irish-born people in Coatbridge had fallen to around 15%, but remained the highest of all the major towns in Scotland
. In the 2001 census Irish ethnicity was recorded at just over 1%, although just over half the population claimed their religious denomination as Roman Catholicism. In 1985, 56% of the population of Coatbridge were Roman Catholic.
In 2006, Coatbridge (along with Port Glasgow
and Clydebank
) was voted 'the least Scottish town in Scotland' due to having the highest percentage of Irish names in the country. Reportedly more than 28% of adults in Coatbridge had names with Irish origins.
Other immigrants to Coatbridge have included in 1880s a small number Lithuanians. In 1905, part of a 'wave' of immigrants from Monte Cassino
in Italy
settled in Coatbridge. A small number of Polish people had stayed in Coatbridge after a Polish tank regiment was stationed in the town during WWII. The 1960 Coatbridge town plan forecast the population to reach 76,000 by 1990.
One local author argued that despite the population apparently remaining relatively static during the 1970s, Coatbridge's population has declined by around 15,000 due to emigration.
's inland container base. Coatbridge was chosen as the site in part due to the proximity of various rail and motorway networks. Makers of PA systems and loudspeakers Tannoy
Ltd. are headquartered in Coatbridge. Lees Foods Plc is a local confectionery and bakery products company and are the manufacturers of the Lees macaroon bar. William Lawson’s Scotch Whisky
distillery has been located in Coatbridge since 1967. Coatbridge was home to one of the first B&Q Depots, which was closed in 2006 and moved to the new retail park.
In terms of housing, property prices in Coatbridge have undergone rapid growth in recent years. In 2005, house prices rose by 35%, reportedly the largest such increase in Scotland.
The built environment
around Coatbridge's town centre is characterised by its mixture of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century sandstone
buildings and late twentieth-century precast concrete
shops. The leafy Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation areas to the west and north of the town centre comprise detached, semi-detached
and terraced
sandstone residential buildings. The bulk of the remaining surrounding areas consist of various twentieth-century local authority housing
buildings. Several high rise flats dominate the skyline. Due to the decline of industries, several private housing estates have been built on reclaimed land.
In 2007 Coatbridge was awarded Prospect architecture magazine’s carbuncle award for being the ‘most dismal town in Scotland’. The town was also recently described by Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle
as 'like Bladerunner... without the special effects'.
Drumpellier
Country Park is set around Woodend Loch. There are extensive woodlands, a visitor centre and a butterfly house. Monkland Canal
runs through a section of the park.
The Time Capsule is a multi-purpose leisure centre containing a swimming pool, an adventure pool set in a prehistoric environment, an ice skating facility, suana/steam room and a sports complex with gym halls and other facilities. The Showcase Leisure Park contains a 12-screen cinema, a 10-pin bowling complex and numerous restaurants.
Architecturally noteworthy landmarks in Coatbridge include:
(completed 1791) was used in the 19th and 20th century to transport coal and iron to Glasgow
. The town centre section of the canal was interred in pipe between Sikeside and Blair Road in the mid 1970s. Some sections of the Monkland Canal can still be seen today between Townhead and Drumpellier. Coatbridge is adjacent to the M8 and M73
motorways. The M74 motorway
is also a short drive away. The major cities of Edinburgh
, Stirling
and Glasgow are all within commuting distance.
Due to the number of rail lines running through Coatbridge it was once dubbed the 'Crewe
of the North'. There are six railway stations on the four railway lines that bisect the town: Motherwell-Cumbernauld Line
; Argyle Line
; Whifflet Line
; and North Clyde Line
. The six stations within Coatbridge and on these lines are: ; ; ; ; ; and .
Coatbridge has had additional passenger stations, such as and Calder Station (Greenend). However these stations have however been closed for many years. A bus transit terminus is situated along both sides of the South Circular Road.
published in Johan Blaeu's Nether warde of clyds-dail (1654). The districts of Dunpelder, Gartshary, Kangloan, Kirkwood, Kirkshawes, Wheatflet are all evident.
The present day neighbourhoods of Coatbridge are Barrowfield, Blairhill, Brownshill, Carnbroe, Cliftonville, Cliftonhill, Coatbank, Coatdyke, Cuparhead, Drumpellier, Dunbeth, Dundyvan, Espieside, Gartsherrie, Greenhill, Greenend, Kirkshaws, Kirkwood, Langloan, Old Monkland, Rosehall, Shawhead, Sikeside, Summerlee, Sunnyside, Townhead and Whifflet
. Victoria Park is a relatively new area close the town centre which was built on a brownfield site once occupied by heavy industry. The Blairhill and Dunbeth neighbourhoods are part of the Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area.
Whitelaw is the area which the town centre is in but is a term which has not been used for many years. The fountain which is situated at the town centre on the corner of main street/south circular road is officially called the Whitelaw Fountain.
Coatbridge College was built as Scotland’s first college in the late 19th century. As Coatbridge has moved away from the traditional heavy industries the teaching focus has shifted from traditional industry courses towards commerce, care and the arts.
St. Ambrose, St. Andrew's and Coatbridge High are the three mainstream secondary schools serving Coatbridge. St. Ambrose was the subject of an HMI follow-up assessment visit in January 2009. The sports journalist, broadcaster and erstwhile Brain of Britain
Bob Crampsey
was formerly headmaster of St Ambrose High School. Singer and television presenter Michelle McManus
and musician Tony Donaldson are former pupils of the school.
Coatbridge has several special needs school's including Pentland School (Primary school), Portland High School and Willowbank School (High School).
is provided by the North Lanarkshire local authority. Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water
, a government-owned corporation
of the Scottish Government. Coatbridge's Distribution Network Operator
for electricity is Scottish Power
. Coatbridge is served by Monklands Hospital
, sited on the Airdrie side of the Coatbridge/Airdrie border. The NHS board is NHS Lanarkshire
. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
is the statutory fire and rescue service
which operates in Coatbridge. Policing in Coatbridge is provided by the Strathclyde Police force
, N-Division. The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
, a public body in Scotland
, has direct operational responsibilities, such as supporting (and in some cases running) local bus services, and managing integrated ticketing in Coatbridge and other areas from the former Strathclyde
region. Transport Scotland
manages the local rail network.
The local authority responsible for community based service in Coatbridge is North Lanarkshire Council. The council provides local services related to education
, social work
, the environment, housing
, road maintenance and leisure
.
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, 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...
, about 10 miles (16.1 km) east 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...
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...
, set in the central Lowlands
Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south...
. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, is part of the Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
era. Foundations of the town can be traced back to the 12th century when a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
was granted to the Monks of Newbattle Abbey
Newbattle Abbey
Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.-Monastery:...
by King Malcolm IV. Coatbridge, along with its neighbour Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, forms the area known as the Monklands
Monklands
Monklands may refer to:*Monklands was formerly a local government district in the Strathclyde region of Scotland*Monklands Hospital in the area...
.
It was during the last years of the 18th century that the area developed from a loose collection of hamlets into the town of Coatbridge. The town's development and growth have been intimately connected with the technological advances of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and in particular with the hot blast
Hot blast
Hot blast refers to the preheating of air blown into a blast furnace or other metallurgical process. This has the result of considerably reducing the fuel consumed in the process...
process. Coatbridge was a major Scottish centre for iron works and coal mining during the 19th century and in this period Coatbridge was described as 'the industrial heartland of 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...
' and the 'Iron Burgh'.
Coatbridge also had a notorious reputation for air pollution and the worst excesses of industry. By the time of the 1920s however coal seams were exhausted and the iron industry in Coatbridge was in rapid terminal decline. After the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
the Gartsherrie ironwork was the last remaining iron works in the town. One publication has commented that in modern day Coatbridge 'coal, iron and steel have all been consigned to the heritage scrap heap'.
Coatbridge today is best described as a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
town anchored to 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...
, the largest city in Scotland. Coatbridge has also been described as 'uniquely populated largely by people of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent'.
History
There are various explanations for the origin of the town's name. The place name Coatbridge first appears on a number of 19th century maps, although Roy'sWilliam Roy
Major-General William Roy FRS was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Great Britain....
1750 map notes 'Cottbrig' as a hamlet in the Old Monkland area. One source states 'Coatbridge' is either derived from the Middle English 'cote' (cottage) or from the Old Welsh 'coed' meaning 'wood'.
An alternate explanation is that from around the 13th century the local area was owned by the Colt family, sometimes known as Coats, and their estate generated place-names such as Coatbridge, Coatdyke, Coathill and Coatbank. Drummond and Smith suggest the name derives from the granting of land to Ranulphus le Colt around the time of the 12th century.
Early history: from Bronze Age to Middle Ages
Settlement of the Coatbridge area dates back 3000 years to the Mesolithic Age.A circle of Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
stone coffins was found on the Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
estate in 1852. A number of other Bronze Age urns and relics have been found in Coatbridge. An Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
wood and thatch crannóg
Crannog
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,...
dwelling was sited in the Loch at the present day Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
Country Park. Dependant upon the water level in the loch, the remains can still be seen today.
Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
coins have been unearthed in Coatbridge, and there are the remains of a Roman road on the fringes of the town near the M8 motorway.
Middle Ages to late 18th century
Newbattle Abbey
Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which has subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution.-Monastery:...
by King Malcolm IV
Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...
in 1162. 1n 1323 the Monklands name appeared for the first time on Stewards’ charter. The Monks mined coal and farmed the land until the time of the reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
when the land was taken from them and given to private landowners. In 1641 the parish of Monklands was divided between New Monkland (present day Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
) and Old Monkland (present day Coatbridge). In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
army seized Coatbridge from government troops on their march to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in an action described as the 'Canter of Coatbridge'. Coatbridge was described in the 1799 Statistical Account as an 'immense garden' with 'extensive orchards', 'luxurious crops' where 'rivers abound with salmon'.
19th century
The Monkland CanalMonkland Canal
The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
was constructed at the end of the 18th century initially to transport coal to Glasgow from the rich local deposits. The invention of the hot blast
Hot blast
Hot blast refers to the preheating of air blown into a blast furnace or other metallurgical process. This has the result of considerably reducing the fuel consumed in the process...
furnace process in 1828 meant that Coatbridge's ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
deposits could be exploited to the maximum by the canal link and hot blast process. The new advances meant that iron could be produced with two thirds less fuel. By the mid 19th century there were numerous hot blast furnaces in operation in Coatbridge.
The prosperous industry which had sprung up around the new iron industry required vast numbers of largely unskilled workers to mine ironstone and work in the blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
plants. Coatbridge therefore became a popular destination for vast numbers of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
(especially from County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
) arriving in Scotland. The iron bars and plates produced in Coatbridge iron works were the raw materials needed throughout the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
for railways, construction, bridge building and shipbuilding. One example of uses Coatbridge’ iron was put to included armour plating for British ships fighting in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
.
Over the course of the following forty years the population of Coatbridge grew by 600%. The character of the Coatbridge area changed from a rural, Presbyterian landscape of small hamlets and farmhouses into a crowded, polluted, Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
industrial town. In 1840, The Rev.
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
William Park wrote that:
One contemporary observer at this time noted that Coatbridge is 'not famous for its sylvan beauties of its charming scenery' and 'offers the visitor no inducements to loiter long'. However, 'a visit to the large Gartsherrie works is one of the sights of a lifetime'.
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s built under the shadow of the iron works. These homes were often owned by their employers. Living conditions for most were appalling, tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
was rife.
For a fortunate few though fortunes could be won 'with a rapidity only equalled by the princely gains of some of the adventurers who accompanied Pizarro to Peru', noted one observer. Among the most notable success stories were the six sons of Coatbridge farmer Alexander Baird. The Baird family had become involved in coal mining but opened an iron foundry in order to exploit the new hot blast process of iron smelting invented by James Beaumont Neilson. The Baird’s subsequently constructed numerous iron foundries in Coatbridge including the famous Gartsherrie iron works. The waste heap or 'bing' from the Baird's Gartsherrie works was said to be as large as the great pyramid in Egypt. One son, James Baird, was responsible for erecting sixteen blast-furnaces in Coatbridge between 1830 and 1842. Each of the six sons of Alexander Baird was reputed to have become a millionaire.
The town was vividly described by Robert Baird in 1845:
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement.
20th/21st centuries
By the end of the 19th century the once plentiful MonklandsMonklands
Monklands may refer to:*Monklands was formerly a local government district in the Strathclyde region of Scotland*Monklands Hospital in the area...
ironstone deposits had been largely exhausted by 1885. It became increasing expensive to produce iron in Coatbridge as raw materials had to be imported from as far afield as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The growth of the steel industry (in nearby Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
) had also led to a start of a decline in demand for the pig iron Coatbridge produced. Living conditions remained grim. In the 1920s Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
's 'Coal and Power' report described the living conditions in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge:
George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's book The Road to Wigan Pier
The Road to Wigan Pier
The Road to Wigan Pier is a book by the British writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions amongst the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World...
was illustrated by a photograph of homes in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge. In 1934 there was an exodus to Corby
Corby
Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
when the local Union Plant relocated. This had the effect of a hammer blow impact on the town’s iron industry and ushered in the end of serious iron production. The decline of the Clydeside shipbuilding industry in the 1950s meant the demand for iron finally collapsed. A legacy of 'devastating' unemployment, appalling housing conditions and some of the worst overcrowding in Scotland left its stamp on the Coatbridge of the early 1930s. As late as 1936 Coatbridge was the most overcrowded place in Scotland.
The last of the blast furnaces, William Baird’s famous Gartsherrie works, closed in 1967.
Since the 1970s there have been various initiatives to attempt to regenerate Coatbridge. Urban Aid grants, European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
grants and, more recently, Social Inclusion Partnership's have attempted to breathe new life into Coatbridge. Despite these efforts the town's population has continued to fall and in recent years the town has been dubbed the 'most dismal in Scotland'.
Geography
At 55°51′44"N 4°1′46"W (55.861°, -4.047°), Coatbridge is situated in Scotland's Central LowlandsCentral Lowlands
The Central Lowlands or Midland Valley is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and the Southern Uplands Fault to the south...
. The town lies 288 feet (88 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, 9 miles (14.5 km) east 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...
, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
and 2 miles (3 km) west of Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
.
Although Coatbridge has no major river running through it, the North Calder Water
North Calder Water
The North Calder Water is a river in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It flows for 12 miles from the Black Loch to the River Clyde at Daldowie south-east of Glasgow....
runs east-west to the south and the now defunct Monkland Canal
Monkland Canal
The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
used to run straight through the centre of the town toward Glasgow. The canal route through Coatbridge can still be seen today. There are also several smaller burns which run through Coatbridge, most of which drain to the North Calder Water
North Calder Water
The North Calder Water is a river in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It flows for 12 miles from the Black Loch to the River Clyde at Daldowie south-east of Glasgow....
. Coatbridge has four significant public parks. Dunbeth park, West End park, Whifflet
Whifflet
Whifflet is now a suburb of Coatbridge, Scotland, which once formed its own distinctive village. Presently located in the North Lanarkshire Council area it was originally known as wheat flats but over time the name appears to have developed into Whifflet...
park and Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
Country park. Woodend and Witchwood Loch are situated on the north-west edge of Coatbridge.
Topography
The topographyTopography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
of Coatbridge was an important feature in the towns development during the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Coatbridge rests 60 metres below the ‘Slamannan
Slamannan
Slamannan is a village in the south of the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is south-west of Falkirk, east of Cumbernauld and north-east of Airdrie....
plateau’ which neighbouring Airdrie sits on the edge of. The low lying flat ground of Coatbridge was a vital factor in the siting of the towns’ blast furnaces and the Monkland Canal
Monkland Canal
The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
route. Although Airdrie was an already established town and had local supplies of ironstone, the Monkland Canal link did not extend into Airdrie because of its higher elevation. The Clyde Valley plan of 1949 described Coatbridge as 'situated over a flooded coalfield'. Tenement buildings in Coatbridge were not built to the same level as Glasgow tenements due to danger of local subsidence from centuries of local mining.
Geology
Dunbeth hill where the present local authority municipal buildings stand is a wedge of rock which was probably squeezed upwards by the force of two (now-extinct) fault lines. There are the remains of spreads of glacial sands along the crest of Drumpellier, the west bank of Gartsherrie Burn and along modern day Bank Street. Kirkwood, Kirkshaws and Shawhead sit on a sandstone capped ridge looking south over the Clyde Valley. The vital Coatbridge black band coal field extended from Langloan to beyond the eastern edge of the town.Climate
Like much of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, Coatbridge experiences a temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
maritime climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The prevailing wind is from the west. Regular but generally light precipitation occurs throughout the year.
Culture
Coatbridge is the home of 'Scotland's Noisiest Museum', Summerlee Heritage ParkSummerlee Heritage Park
Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, formerly known as Summerlee Heritage Park is an award-winning industrial museum in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland...
, which contains an insight into the life in industrial Coatbridge. A row of 1900-1960's cottages, a working tram line and a real coal mine can all be experienced on site. The park is situated on the remains of one of Coatbridge's historic blast furnaces. In recent years there has been something of a cultural renaissance in the town, largely rooted in the St. Patrick's Day Festival.
Literature, theatre and film
Janet HamiltonJanet Hamilton
Janet Hamilton was a nineteenth century Scottish poet.She was born as Janet Thomson at Carshill, Shotts parish, Lanarkshire in 1795, the daughter of a shoemaker. During her childhood the family moved to Hamilton, and then to Langloan, in the parish of Old Monkland, Lanarkshire...
, the nineteenth century poet and essayist, died in Langloan in 1873. Present-day writers Anne Donovan
Anne Donovan (author)
Anne Donovan is a Scottish author from Coatbridge most known for her award-winning Buddha Da. She also wrote the short story collection Hieroglyphics...
(Orange prize winner), Brian Conaghan, whose first novel The Boy Who Made it Rain was published in June 2011, and award-winning author Des Dillon
Des Dillon
Des Dillon is an internationally acclaimed award-winning writer. He was born in Coatbridge and studied English Literature at Strathclyde University before becoming a teacher. He was Writer-in-Residence at Castlemilk from 1998-2000. He is a poet, short story writer, novelist, dramatist, broadcaster,...
are all from Coatbridge. Coatbridge has regularly featured in Des Dillon's work. Two of his books about Coatbridge have been turned into plays.
Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
is a Coatbridge comic book writer whose Wanted
Wanted (comics)
Wanted is a comic book limited series written by Mark Millar, with art by J. G. Jones. It was published by Top Cow in 2003 and 2004 as part of Millarworld...
comic book series has been translated into a feature film starring Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
. Coatbridge born Dame Laurentia McLachlan
Laurentia McLachlan
Dame Laurentia McLachlan, OSB was born in 1866 in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1884 she joined the Benedictine Abbey at Stanbrook Abbey. In 1931 she was elected Abbess of Stanbrook...
was the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbess of the Stanbrook Community whose correspondence with George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and Sydney Cockerell
Sydney Cockerell
Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell was an English museum curator and collector.-Life:Sydney Cockerell made his way initially as clerk in the family coal business, George J. Cockerell & Co, until he met John Ruskin. According to John Ruskin by Tim Hilton , around 1887 Cockerell sent Ruskin some sea...
was the subject of the film The Best of Friends
The Best of Friends (play)
The Best of Friends is an epistolary play by Hugh Whitemore about the friendship of George Bernard Shaw, Sydney Cockerell, and Dame Laurentia McLachlan, based in the lengthy correspondence that passed between them for over 25 years...
.
Coatbridge is also home to the annual Deep Fried Film Festival. Local filmmakers Duncan and Wilma Finnigan have been described by The List as 'the John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands of Coatbridge'.
Music
Thomas McAleese (alias Dean Ford) was the lead singer of The Marmalade who had a U.K. number one single in 1969 with a cover of The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles...
'. Coatbridge brothers Greg Kane and Pat Kane
Pat Kane
Pat Kane is a Scottish musician, and half of the pop duo Hue and Cry with his younger brother Greg.Independently of Hue & Cry, lead singer Kane writes on politics and culture...
are the band Hue and Cry
Hue and Cry
Hue and Cry is a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat Kane and Greg Kane . They had a number of modest hits in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, and have released sixteen albums from 1987 to date.-Career:Their first single "Here Comes...
. Coatbridge born Alan Frew
Alan Frew
Alan Frew is the lead singer for the Canadian band, Glass Tiger, and has also released two solo albums...
is the ex-pat lead singer of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
group Glass Tiger
Glass Tiger
Glass Tiger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1983, in Newmarket, Ontario.-Biography:Originally named 'Tokyo', the band produced several hit singles in Canada and placed two songs on Billboard magazine's top 10: "Don't Forget Me " and "Someday," both of which came from their debut album, The Thin...
. Cha Burns
Cha Burns
Cha Burns was the guitarist for the Scottish band, The Silencers.-Biography:Born Charles Burns, in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire in 1957, Burns became a guitarist on the London punk and new wave scene of the mid 1970s...
(deceased), Jimme O'Neill and JJ Gilmour of The Silencers
The Silencers (band)
The Silencers are a Scottish rock band formed in London in 1986 by two ex-members of the post-punk outfit Fingerprintz. Their music is characterized by a melodic blend of pop, folk and traditional Celtic influences...
are from Coatbridge. Coatbridge sisters Fran and Anna
Fran and Anna
Frances Watt, BEM and Anna Watt, BEM were two Scottish sisters from Coatbridge, Glasgow, who formed a singing duo. They came from a show-biz family, and were child performers touring Lanarkshire clubs from an early age. They initially joined their sister Lily, a pianist, on stage as puppeteers...
were a famous duo on the Scottish traditional music scene.
The Only Way Is Coatbridge
The only way is coatbridge is a facebook page created by local man Stephen Shaw in April 2011. The page was primarily created as a mock protest to "The only way is Essex" but soon became a place for people of the town to share memories. Now it has locally taken off with interest from the local media and with almost 6000 members to date, the page has became an online community. Stephen, with the help of a committee and fellow admin Tony Rossetti brought the town together to raise money for a young local boy who needed a life changing operation in America. The page is going from strength to strength with its creator and fellow adminlooking to change the perception of the town.Coatbridge and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. This is largely due to large scale immigration into the town from Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
(especially from County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
) in the 19th century and throughout most of the 20th century. Indeed, the town has been called 'little Ireland'. Within the town there are a number of Irish dance
Irish dance
Irish dancing or Irish dance is a group of traditional dance forms originating in Ireland which can broadly be divided into social dance and performance dances. Irish social dances can be divided further into céilí and set dancing...
schools, Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
classes, a Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
team (Sands McSwiney
Sands McSwiney
Sands McSwiney is a Gaelic football team formed in 1986 and based in the Lanarkshire town of Coatbridge. The club play home matches on a Gaelic football pitch on the local Townhead municipal playing fields.- History :...
), Gaelic Football Summer School, a branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The name of the organisation is often abbreviated to Comhaltas or CCÉ...
(Music and Musicians of Ireland) and an Irish genealogy project.
The most obvious manifestation of these links can be seen in the annual St. Patrick's Day Festival. The festival is sponsored by the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
and Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
. The festival currently runs for over a fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
and includes lectures, film shows, dance/Gaelic football competitions and music performances. The festival is the largest Irish celebration in Scotland.
Coatbridge accent
The Coatbridge accent has been categorised as making less use of the Scots tongue and exhibiting a tendency to stress the 'a' vowel differently from general Scots usage. Examples of this are seen the pronunciation of the words stair (sterr), hair (herr), fair (ferr) and chair (cherr). This different enunciation has been attributed to the impact of successive influxes of UlsterUlster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
immigrants into Coatbridge.
Sports
Cliftonhill
Cliftonhill Stadium is the home ground of the Scottish Football League team Albion Rovers. The ground is situated in the town of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.-History:...
is where they play their home games. The 'wee rovers' were founded in 1882 when two local Coatbridge clubs, Rovers and Albion, amalgamated to form the club bearing the current name. The clubs greatest success came in 1920 when they reached the final of the Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
. Noted Albion Rovers players from the past have included Jock Stein
Jock Stein
John 'Jock' Stein CBE was a Scottish association football player and manager. He became the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967...
, Bernie Slaven
Bernie Slaven
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Slaven is a Scottish-born former Republic of Ireland international footballer. A striker, with 162 goals in 423 league games, in a 12 year career, he also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland....
and Tony Green
Tony Green (footballer)
Anthony "Tony" Green is a Scottish former professional footballer.-Club career:Glasgow-born Green began his career at Albion Rovers in his native Scotland.-Blackpool:...
. Former Celtic players John Hughes, John McNamee
John McNamee
John McNamee is a Scottish formerprofessional football player who played in more than 50 league games as a defender for Hibernian, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers....
, Gerry Creaney
Gerry Creaney
Gerard 'Gerry' Creaney is a Scottish former footballer who played as a striker.-Career:Creaney began his career with Celtic, signing from the boys club and making his debut in the first team in 1989. He played 113 times for the club, scoring 36 goals...
and Peter Grant
Peter Grant (footballer)
Peter Grant is a Scottish former footballer and was, until October 2007, manager of Norwich City. This was Grant's first role in management, but he had previously held coaching jobs at Bournemouth, West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion...
are all from Coatbridge. Current Scottish internationalist Chris Iwelumo
Chris Iwelumo
Christopher Robert "Chris" Iwelumo is a Scottish footballer who plays for Watford as a striker.Iwelumo started his career with St Mirren before moving to Danish club Aarhus Fremad for two years. A move to Stoke City in 2000 saw him sent out on loan to several teams before a short-lived spell with...
was born in Coatbridge.
Drumpellier Cricket Club has been in continuous existence for around 150 years and the club have a ground in the Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
area.
Speedway racing also took part in the town, using the Albion Rovers FC ground. The Edinburgh Monarchs rode there in 1968-69 (as the Coatbridge Monarchs) after losing their track at Meadowbank Stadium
Meadowbank Stadium
Meadowbank Stadium is a multi-purpose sports facility located at Meadowbank, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It hosted the Commonwealth Games of 1970 and 1986.-Layout:...
to the developers for the 1970 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
. Glasgow Tigers moved from Hampden Park to Coatbridge in 1973, and stayed there until June 1977, when they were forced out for the introduction of greyhound racing.
Coatbridge was the home of former boxer Bert Gilroy, Scotland's longest-reigning champion. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
World Boxing Hall of Fame
The World Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Riverside, California, United States, in Southern California. The WBHF is one of two recognized international boxing halls of fame with the other being the International Boxing Hall of Fame , with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, in 2006. Coatbridge is also home to the current WBO World Super-Featherweight Champion Ricky Burns
Ricky Burns
Ricky Burns is a boxer from Coatbridge in Scotland who fights in the lightweight division and is currently the WBO interim lightweight champion of the world becoming only the 13th Scottish boxing world champion. He is also a former WBO Super-Featherweight champion, Commonwealth super featherweight...
. Walter Donaldson, former World Snooker champion, also hailed from Coatbridge.
There are 2 golf courses: the municipal course bordering Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
Country Park and the nearby private member's club Drumpellier Golf Course. Clare Queen, Scotland's number one female golfer on the women's European tour, is from Coatbridge.
Governance
Heraldry
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
status in 1885. The arms have a black field and on it a flaming tower to represent a blast furnace and Coatbridge's industrial tradition. The crest of the demi-monk holds a stone in his left hand. The stone relates to the parish of Monklands being split into its two parts (Old and New Monkland) and to legend of the 'aul' Kirk stane'. The legend of the 'aul' Kirk stane' is that a pilgrim undertaking a penance from 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...
carried a stone in the direction of Monklands. When he could carry the stone no further (or in another version of the legend, when an angel spoke to him) he laid the stone down. It was where the stone came to rest that he was to build a church. The church is the present day Old Monkland Kirk. To this day the stone can still be seen.
The Latin motto 'Laborare est orare' translates as 'to work is to pray', which originates in the writings of St. Benedict and is commonly associated with the Cistercian Order whose monks came to Monklands in the 12th century.
Local government
Coatbridge is represented by three tiers of elected government. North Lanarkshire Council, the unitary local authority for Coatbridge, is based at MotherwellMotherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
, and is the executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
, deliberative
Deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. In legal settings a jury famously uses deliberation because it is given specific options, like guilty or not guilty, along with information and arguments to evaluate. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and...
and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
is responsible for devolved matters
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
such as education
Education in Scotland
Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from the other countries of the United Kingdom...
, health and justice
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
, while reserved matters
Reserved matters
In the United Kingdom reserved matters and excepted matters are the areas of government policy where Parliament had kept the power to make laws in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales....
are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
.
Up until 1975, Coatbridge had its own Burgh Council. Between 1975 and 1996, Coatbridge was part of Monklands District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council. During the by-election campaign in Monklands East
Monklands East (UK Parliament constituency)
Monklands East was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system...
of 1994, there were accusations of sectarianism and nepotism in favour of Coatbridge over neighbouring Airdrie by Monklands District Council. See Monklandsgate
Monklandsgate
Monklandsgate was the name of a political scandal in the former Scottish local government district of Monklands which dominated the Monklands East by-election in 1994....
and Monklands East by-election, 1994
Monklands East by-election, 1994
The Monklands East by-election was held on 30 June 1994, following the death of the Leader of the Labour Party John Smith, Member of Parliament for Monklands East in Scotland, on 12 May....
. The fact that all 17 Labour
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
councillors were Roman Catholic led to Coatbridge being seen as a 'Catholic town'. Subsequent inquiries showed no evidence of sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
, but allegations of nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
were shown to be true.
Coatbridge is presently part of the burgh constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, electing one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before the constituency's creation in 2005, Coatbridge lay in the Coatbridge and Chryston
Coatbridge and Chryston (UK Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Chryston was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returned one Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2005.It was then replaced by the Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill constituency....
constituency. Tom Clarke of the Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
has been the MP since 1982 and currently holds the record for the largest UK parliamentary majority with 19,519. For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, Coatbridge forms part of the Coatbridge and Cryston
Coatbridge and Chryston (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Coatbridge and Chryston is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
constituency, which is represented by Elaine Smith
Elaine Smith
Elaine Smith is a Scottish Labour politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Coatbridge and Chryston constituency since 1999....
MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
, also Labour. Coatbridge is further represented by seven regional MSPs
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....
from the Central Scotland electoral region
Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Central Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. A small part of the eastern fringes of the town forms part of the Airdrie
Airdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
and Shotts
Shotts
Shotts is a small rural town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh . As of the 2001 census, the population was 8,235...
constituency.
Notable modern politicians from Coatbridge are The Rt. Hon.
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
The Baroness Liddell
Helen Liddell
Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Monklands East from 1994 to 1997, and then for Airdrie and Shotts until 2005, whereafter she became the British High Commissioner to Australia until 2009...
, a former M.P. who was formerly both Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
and Britain's High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and The Rt. Hon. The Lord Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
, also a former M.P. who was the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
and Home Secretary. Lord Reid is currently the Chairman of Celtic F.C.
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
.
Demography
| Coatbridge | North Lanarkshire | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 41,170 | 321,067 | 5,062,011 |
| Foreign born British nationality law British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:... |
1.3% | 1.7% | 3.8% |
| Over 75 years old | 6.1% | 5.6% | 7.1% |
| Unemployed | 5.3% | 4.5% | 4.0% |
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the census locality of Coatbridge had a total resident population of 41,170, or 13% of the total of North Lanarkshire. This figure, combined with an area of 6.818 square miles (17.7 km²), provides Coatbridge with a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
figure of 6038 PD/sqmi.
| Year | Population figure |
|---|---|
| 1755 | 1,813 |
| 1831 | 9,580 |
| 1851 | 27,333 |
| 1901 | 36,991 |
| 1911 | 43,286 |
| 1921 | 43,909 |
| 1931 | 43,056 |
| 1951 | 47,685 |
| 1961 | 54,262 |
| 1971 | 51,493 |
| 1981 | 48,445 |
| 2001 | 41,170 |
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
age of males and females living in Coatbridge was 35 and 38 years respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland. Thirty four percent were married, 6.1% were cohabiting
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
couples, 14.7% were lone parent families and 32.5% of households were made up of individuals.
The place of birth of the town's residents was as follows: 98.7% United Kingdom (including 96% from Scotland), 0.32% Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, 0.30% from other European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
countries, and 0.72% from elsewhere in the world. The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 39.3% in full-time employment, 9.4% in part-time employment, 3.6% self-employed, 5.3% unemployed, 2.5% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 13.4% retired, 5.7% looking after home or family, 12.0% permanently sick or disabled, and 5.7% economically inactive for other reasons. Compared with the average demography of Scotland, Coatbridge has low proportions of people born outside the United Kingdom, and people over 75 years of age.
During the 19th century, Irish people
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
began to arrive in large numbers in Coatbridge. The 1851 census recorded that the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
constituted 35.8% of the local population. Although while a significant proportion of these emigrants were Protestant, the majority were 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"...
. By 1901, the percentage of Irish-born people in Coatbridge had fallen to around 15%, but remained the highest of all the major towns in 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...
. In the 2001 census Irish ethnicity was recorded at just over 1%, although just over half the population claimed their religious denomination as Roman Catholicism. In 1985, 56% of the population of Coatbridge were Roman Catholic.
In 2006, Coatbridge (along with Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...
and Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
) was voted 'the least Scottish town in Scotland' due to having the highest percentage of Irish names in the country. Reportedly more than 28% of adults in Coatbridge had names with Irish origins.
Other immigrants to Coatbridge have included in 1880s a small number Lithuanians. In 1905, part of a 'wave' of immigrants from Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
settled in Coatbridge. A small number of Polish people had stayed in Coatbridge after a Polish tank regiment was stationed in the town during WWII. The 1960 Coatbridge town plan forecast the population to reach 76,000 by 1990.
One local author argued that despite the population apparently remaining relatively static during the 1970s, Coatbridge's population has declined by around 15,000 due to emigration.
Economy
Present day Coatbridge is the site of ScotlandScotland
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...
's inland container base. Coatbridge was chosen as the site in part due to the proximity of various rail and motorway networks. Makers of PA systems and loudspeakers Tannoy
Tannoy
Tannoy Ltd is a Scottish-based manufacturer of loudspeakers and public-address systems. The company was founded in London, England as Tulsemere Manufacturing Company in 1926, but has been based in Coatbridge, Scotland, since the 1970s...
Ltd. are headquartered in Coatbridge. Lees Foods Plc is a local confectionery and bakery products company and are the manufacturers of the Lees macaroon bar. William Lawson’s Scotch Whisky
Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
distillery has been located in Coatbridge since 1967. Coatbridge was home to one of the first B&Q Depots, which was closed in 2006 and moved to the new retail park.
In terms of housing, property prices in Coatbridge have undergone rapid growth in recent years. In 2005, house prices rose by 35%, reportedly the largest such increase in Scotland.
Landmarks
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
around Coatbridge's town centre is characterised by its mixture of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
buildings and late twentieth-century precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
shops. The leafy Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation areas to the west and north of the town centre comprise detached, semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
and terraced
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
sandstone residential buildings. The bulk of the remaining surrounding areas consist of various twentieth-century local authority housing
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
buildings. Several high rise flats dominate the skyline. Due to the decline of industries, several private housing estates have been built on reclaimed land.
In 2007 Coatbridge was awarded Prospect architecture magazine’s carbuncle award for being the ‘most dismal town in Scotland’. The town was also recently described by Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle
Frankie Boyle
Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a British comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic, often controversial sense of humour...
as 'like Bladerunner... without the special effects'.
Drumpellier
Drumpellier
Drumpellier is a country park situated within North Lanarkshire Council, to the west of Coatbridge. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands...
Country Park is set around Woodend Loch. There are extensive woodlands, a visitor centre and a butterfly house. Monkland Canal
Monkland Canal
The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
runs through a section of the park.
The Time Capsule is a multi-purpose leisure centre containing a swimming pool, an adventure pool set in a prehistoric environment, an ice skating facility, suana/steam room and a sports complex with gym halls and other facilities. The Showcase Leisure Park contains a 12-screen cinema, a 10-pin bowling complex and numerous restaurants.
Architecturally noteworthy landmarks in Coatbridge include:
- Coatbridge Leisure Centre – Peter Womersley 1970's brutalist, modernist cantilevered building sited on the main road into Coatbridge.
- Coatbridge LibraryCoatbridge LibraryCoatbridge Library is a public library in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building was designed by Alexander Cullen and built in 1905. It is a Carnegie library; its construction was financed by money donated by the Scottish-American entrepreneur Andrew Carnegie...
– An Andrew CarnegieAndrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
-sponsored 1905 pink sandstone structure. Imposing B-listed structure sited on Academy Street. - St. Augustine's Church and buildings - Built in 1873 and located in the Dundyvan area. A red sandstone B listed Rowand Anderson GothicGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
church. - The Quadrant Shopping Centre - Has been described in one article; '...from the set of Camberwick GreenCamberwick GreenCamberwick Green is a British children's television series, originally seen on BBC One, featuring stop-motion puppets. It was one of the first British television series to be filmed in colour.-Background:...
. A new clock tower, which looks as if it was designed on the back of a beer mat, marks the town centre, a throwaway gesture compounded by the addition of some appalling public art-cum street furniture'. - St Andrew’s Church - 1839 early VictorianVictorian architectureThe term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
GothicGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
church by Scott Stephen & Gale in the Whitelaw hill area. Its steeple towers over the town centre. - Coatbridge railway bridges - The B-listed 1898 bridges span Bank Street, West Canal Street and the former Monkland CanalMonkland CanalThe Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
. The bridges are currently undergoing specialist restoration. - St Mary’s Church - B listed GothicGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
church in WhiffletWhiffletWhifflet is now a suburb of Coatbridge, Scotland, which once formed its own distinctive village. Presently located in the North Lanarkshire Council area it was originally known as wheat flats but over time the name appears to have developed into Whifflet...
designed by Pugin and Pugin in 1896. Contains an elaborate and ornate interior ceiling. - the former Cattle Market Building - Erected in 1896, B listed façade of the sandstone cattle market building within the Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area. Now part of a modern housing development.
- Summerlee Heritage Park 2008 Extension - Spaceship style glass and metal addition to existing building by North Lanarkshire Council's in-house Design Services Team. Part of a two year £5 million renovation project.
Transportation
The Monkland CanalMonkland Canal
The Monkland Canal was a 12.25-mile canal which connected the coal mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. It was opened in 1794, and included a steam-powered inclined plane at Blackhill. It was abandoned for navigation in 1942, but its culverted remains still supply water to the Forth...
(completed 1791) was used in the 19th and 20th century to transport coal and iron to 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...
. The town centre section of the canal was interred in pipe between Sikeside and Blair Road in the mid 1970s. Some sections of the Monkland Canal can still be seen today between Townhead and Drumpellier. Coatbridge is adjacent to the M8 and M73
M73 motorway
The M73 is a motorway in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is long and connects the M74 motorway with the M80 motorway, providing an eastern bypass for Glasgow. The short stretch between Junctions 1 and 2 is part of unsigned international E-road network E05, where it continues along the M8 through...
motorways. The M74 motorway
M74 motorway
The A74 and M74 motorways form a major motorway in Scotland. Following an extension opened on 28 June 2011, it connects the M8 motorway west of Glasgow to the English border at Gretna, creating an alternative route for traffic moving from the south to the west of the city...
is also a short drive away. The major cities of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
and Glasgow are all within commuting distance.
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
of the North'. There are six railway stations on the four railway lines that bisect the town: Motherwell-Cumbernauld Line
Motherwell to Cumbernauld Line
The Motherwell to Cumbernauld Line is a suburban railway line linking Motherwell and Cumbernauld in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network.-History:The line was built as part of the:...
; Argyle Line
Argyle Line
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. It connects the Lanarkshire towns of Lanark, Larkhall and Motherwell to West Dunbartonshire via central Glasgow using sub-surface running...
; Whifflet Line
Whifflet Line
The Whifflet Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland.- History :The line was built between 1863 and 1865 as the Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway, part of the Caledonian Railway. It opened to goods traffic in September 1865 and to passengers in August...
; and North Clyde Line
North Clyde Line
The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by First ScotRail, on behalf of Transport Scotland...
. The six stations within Coatbridge and on these lines are: ; ; ; ; ; and .
Coatbridge has had additional passenger stations, such as and Calder Station (Greenend). However these stations have however been closed for many years. A bus transit terminus is situated along both sides of the South Circular Road.
Neighbourhoods
The earliest map showing Coatbridge is by Timothy PontTimothy Pont
Timothy Pont was a Scottish topographer, the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual survey.-Life:...
published in Johan Blaeu's Nether warde of clyds-dail (1654). The districts of Dunpelder, Gartshary, Kangloan, Kirkwood, Kirkshawes, Wheatflet are all evident.
The present day neighbourhoods of Coatbridge are Barrowfield, Blairhill, Brownshill, Carnbroe, Cliftonville, Cliftonhill, Coatbank, Coatdyke, Cuparhead, Drumpellier, Dunbeth, Dundyvan, Espieside, Gartsherrie, Greenhill, Greenend, Kirkshaws, Kirkwood, Langloan, Old Monkland, Rosehall, Shawhead, Sikeside, Summerlee, Sunnyside, Townhead and Whifflet
Whifflet
Whifflet is now a suburb of Coatbridge, Scotland, which once formed its own distinctive village. Presently located in the North Lanarkshire Council area it was originally known as wheat flats but over time the name appears to have developed into Whifflet...
. Victoria Park is a relatively new area close the town centre which was built on a brownfield site once occupied by heavy industry. The Blairhill and Dunbeth neighbourhoods are part of the Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area.
Whitelaw is the area which the town centre is in but is a term which has not been used for many years. The fountain which is situated at the town centre on the corner of main street/south circular road is officially called the Whitelaw Fountain.
- Click here to access, an interactive map of the neighbourhoods and landmarks of Coatbridge.
Education
St. Ambrose, St. Andrew's and Coatbridge High are the three mainstream secondary schools serving Coatbridge. St. Ambrose was the subject of an HMI follow-up assessment visit in January 2009. The sports journalist, broadcaster and erstwhile Brain of Britain
Brain of Britain
Brain of Britain is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.-History:It began as a slot in What Do You Know? in 1953 before becoming a programme in its own right in 1967. It was chaired by Franklin Engelmann until his death in 1972.-Format:The format of the quiz is simple...
Bob Crampsey
Bob Crampsey
Robert "Bob" Crampsey was a Scottish association football historian, author and broadcaster, described as a "much loved Scottish cultural institution" by The Times...
was formerly headmaster of St Ambrose High School. Singer and television presenter Michelle McManus
Michelle McManus
Michelle McManus is a Scottish singer-songwriter, actress, radio DJ and television presenter, who rose to fame after winning the second series of the UK talent show Pop Idol....
and musician Tony Donaldson are former pupils of the school.
Coatbridge has several special needs school's including Pentland School (Primary school), Portland High School and Willowbank School (High School).
Public services
Coatbridge forms part of the Western water and sewerage regions of Scotland. Waste managementWaste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
is provided by the North Lanarkshire local authority. Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water
Scottish Water
Scottish Water is a statutory corporation in Scotland that provides water and sewerage services. Unlike in England and Wales, water and sewerage provision in Scotland continues as a public corporation accountable to the public through the Scottish Government....
, a government-owned corporation
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
of the Scottish Government. Coatbridge's Distribution Network Operator
Distribution Network Operator
Distribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....
for electricity is Scottish Power
Scottish Power
ScottishPower Ltd. is a vertically integrated energy company with its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 2006 it became a subsidiary of the Spanish utility Iberdrola...
. Coatbridge is served by Monklands Hospital
Monklands Hospital
Monklands District General Hospital, is a district general hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Administered by NHS Lanarkshire, it serves a population of approximately 260,000 people of North and South Lanarkshire council areas...
, sited on the Airdrie side of the Coatbridge/Airdrie border. The NHS board is NHS Lanarkshire
NHS Lanarkshire
NHS Lanarkshire is responsible for improving the health of more than 553,000 people living within the council areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire in Scotland. NHS Lanarkshire employs approximately 12,000 staff...
. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Strathclyde, Scotland. It is the largest fire and rescue service in Scotland, and one of the largest in Europe...
is the statutory fire and rescue service
Fire services in Scotland
Fire services in Scotland are provided by Fire and Rescue Services each under the control of a Fire and Rescue Authority or a joint fire board ....
which operates in Coatbridge. Policing in Coatbridge is provided by the Strathclyde Police force
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
, N-Division. The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland...
, a public body in Scotland
Scottish public bodies
Public bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. It includes executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ; tribunals; and nationalised industries....
, has direct operational responsibilities, such as supporting (and in some cases running) local bus services, and managing integrated ticketing in Coatbridge and other areas from the former Strathclyde
Strathclyde
right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...
region. Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland was created on 1 January 2006 as the national transport agency of Scotland. It is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government's Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department and accountable to Scottish Ministers...
manages the local rail network.
The local authority responsible for community based service in Coatbridge is North Lanarkshire Council. The council provides local services related to education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
, the environment, housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, road maintenance and leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
.
Notable people from Coatbridge
- Admiral Sir James StirlingJames Stirling (Australian governor)Admiral Sir James Stirling RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia...
, first Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
. - Jock CunninghamJock CunninghamJock Cunningham was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He became a battalion and brigade commander....
, miner, mutineer and Republican Brigade commander during the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939... - Margaret SkinniderMargaret SkinniderMargaret Skinnider was a revolutionary and feminist born in Coatbridge, Scotland. She fought during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. Her part in the Easter Rising was all the more notable because she was a woman, a sniper and the only female wounded in the action...
, Coatbridge teacher; IRA operative who later became paymaster general of the Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
. - Neil Smith, Air Chief Marshal of the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(DBS squadron; the hero of 'Pipe Ridge' (DFC and bar) - Charlie Doyle, Coatbridge-born union organiser and Communist in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who was imprisoned and deported as an undesirable alien; in 1953 he led strike action at Battersea power stationBattersea Power StationBattersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Battersea, South London. The station comprises two individual power stations, built in two stages in the form of a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built first in the...
and was tagged “the most hated man in Britain”. - Anti-child sexual abuseChild sexual abuseChild sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
and bullying activist, Sandra BrownSandra Brown (campaigner)Sandra Brown, OBE, is a Scottish campaigner and leading expert on child protection issues. She has also achieved wide recognition as a writer, broadcaster and actress.-Biography:...
, attended Coatbridge High School - The Reverend Dr Peter MarshallPeter Marshall (preacher)Dr. Peter Marshall was a Scottish-American preacher, former pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, and twice served as Chaplain of the United States Senate...
(27 May 1902 — 26 January 1949) Chaplain of the United States SenateChaplain of the United States SenateThe Chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for Senators, their staffs, and their families. The Chaplain is appointed by a majority vote of the members of the Senate...
, whose biography was the basis of the Oscar-nominated film A Man Called PeterA Man Called PeterA Man Called Peter is a 1955 American drama film directed by Henry Koster and starring Richard Todd. The film is based on the life of preacher Peter Marshall, who served as chaplain of the U.S. Senate late in his life, in an account written by his wife Catherine Marshall...
, was born in Coatbridge. - Hue and CryHue and CryHue and Cry is a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat Kane and Greg Kane . They had a number of modest hits in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, and have released sixteen albums from 1987 to date.-Career:Their first single "Here Comes...
a successful band from the 1980s; brothers Greg and Pat KanePat KanePat Kane is a Scottish musician, and half of the pop duo Hue and Cry with his younger brother Greg.Independently of Hue & Cry, lead singer Kane writes on politics and culture...
are from the Blairhill area of Coatbridge - Bill Carroll, radio host
- Vera Weisfield, Founder of now closed chain of "What Every Woman Wants" stores
- Heather SuttieHeather SuttieHeather Suttie is a Glasgow-based presenter.In the 1990s she presented BBC Children's Saturday morning show Live & Kicking, children's science programme Hyperlinks, ITV2's youth entertainment show Bedrock and appeared on Channel 4's' 'MovieWatch'....
, DJ and radio presenter - Mark KerrMark Kerr (footballer)Mark Kerr is a Scottish professional football player who currently plays for Greek club Asteras Tripolis.-Falkirk:Kerr began his career with Falkirk, where he played from 1998 until 2003...
, Scottish footballer, currently playing for Aberdeen F.C - Hugh MurrayHugh Murray (rugby union)Hugh Martin Murray was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for at centre. He was capped twice in 1936. He was born in Coatbridge.-References:* on scrum.com...
, rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player - Johnny Russell (footballer)Johnny Russell (footballer)Johnathon "Johnny" Russell is a Scottish footballer who currently plays for Dundee United.-Club career:Russell, who had featured just five times for Dundee United's under-19 side in 2006–07, made his professional debut on 12 May 2007 in the 2–0 defeat at Falkirk, coming on as an 80th-minute...
, Scottish footballer, currently playing for Dundee Utd, attended coatbridge high school - Joe KissockJoe KissockJoseph Gartshore Kissock is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.He played for Vale of Clyde in his native Scotland, before moving to England in 1919 to join Bury...
, former New Zealand international footballer - Ricky BurnsRicky BurnsRicky Burns is a boxer from Coatbridge in Scotland who fights in the lightweight division and is currently the WBO interim lightweight champion of the world becoming only the 13th Scottish boxing world champion. He is also a former WBO Super-Featherweight champion, Commonwealth super featherweight...
(boxer), World Super Featherweight Champion - Edward Reid (comedy singer), reached the live semi-finals of Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
in 2011. Finished 2nd in public vote to reach the final, but lost on judges vote 3-1.
Further reading
- Dillon, Des (2007). Monks. Luath Press Ltd.
- Drummond, Peter and James Smith (1982). Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change. Monkland Library Services
- Drummond, Peter (1985). The Population of Monklands in the 1980’s. Monkland Library Services Dept.
- Miller, Andrew (1864). The Rise of Coatbridge and the Surrounding Neighbourhood. Glasgow.
- Miller, Thomas Roland (1958). The Monkland Tradition. Thomas Nelson and Sons.
- Moir, Helen (2001). Coatbridge (Images of Scotland). The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-2132-8.
- Van Helden, Oliver (2000). Old Coatbridge. Stenlake Publishing
External links
- Coatbridge Museum
- North Lanarkshire Council
- Albion Rovers FC website
- Coatbridge Film Festival
- St. Patrick's day festival website
- Evening Times Article on Coatbridge's industrial past
- RTE documentary about the Coatbridge Irish
- Coatbridge Irish Genealogy Project website
- Sands McSwiney Gaelic Football Club
- Drumpellier Cricket Club
- Best Small City