Giffnock
Encyclopedia
Giffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb
of Glasgow
in the East Renfrewshire
Council area, within the historic county
of Renfrewshire
in the west central Lowlands
of Scotland
. Giffnock forms part of the Greater Glasgow
metropolitan area.
In 1941, Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess
was locked in the Giffnock Scout hall after he parachuted from his aeroplane near Waterfoot
during his self styled envoy mission during World War II
.
Proposals were put forward in 2008 to expand the town with the building of 178 houses on Braidbar Quarries next to Huntly Park, involving the Park closing for a period of two years. However, following 2000 objections from local people and the opposition of the Scottish Government's reporter, East Renfrewshire Council abandoned the plans in October 2011.
, Woodfarm, Orchard Park, Muirend
, Netherlee
, Clarkston
, Newton Mearns
, Whitecraigs
, Deaconsbank
, and Thornliebank
.
main Glasgow
to Kilmarnock
road passes through the centre of the town and crosses the A727
from Paisley to East Kilbride
at the Eastwood Toll.
The area is served by Giffnock railway station
on the Glasgow South Western Line
branch to East Kilbride and also by Whitecraigs railway station
on the Neilston branch.
which was founded in September 1938 and many churches, Orchardhill Parish Church, Giffnock Reform Church and Giffnock South Parish Church.
Giffnock is the home to the 28th Glasgow (Giffnock) Scout Group, and the Scout Hall which has played a part in the community. Other youth organisations in Giffnock include the 86th Glasgow Company Boys' Brigade, Girl Guides and Brownies meet at Giffnock's Orchardhill Parish Church, situated at Church Road. The 254th Glasgow Company Boys' Brigade meets at Giffnock South Parish Church at Greenhill Avenue where the War Memorial is also situated. It is also home to St Ninian's High School, which is Scotland's top-performing Catholic school. Also in Giffnock are three primary schools, Giffnock Primary School, Braidbar Primary School and Robslee Primary School (which is sadly being closed despite strong local oppositon)all of which are top performing Primary Schools.
The Dramatic Arts have their place in Giffnock, primarily rooting from the Eastwood Park Theatre, but also in the local groups such as the Giffnock Players, the Drama Workshop, and the highly acclaimed Harlequin Eastwood Theatre for Youth.
Giffnock has been chosen as the location for the first Whole Foods Market store in Scotland. After a lengthy refurbishment, the former Safeway and Morrison's store on Fenwick Road opened to shoppers on November 16 2011, creating 150 local jobs in the process. The company is the world's biggest retailer of natural and organic foods and boasts 300 stores in the United States.
and Huntly Park. The district also boasts various sports facilities including swimming baths, various gyms, a tennis club, various bowling clubs and a rugby club.There is also Eastwood Park which has Eastwood House which can be used for Weddings and receptions and which is supposed to have a horse's grave with gravestone somewhere in it. This is where Eastwood Theatre, Eastwood Baths and East Renfrewshire Council offices are.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
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...
in the East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
Council area, within the historic county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
of Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire (historic)
Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a registration county, the Lieutenancy area of the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and one of the counties of Scotland used for local government until 1975. Renfrewshire is located in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde,...
in the west 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...
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...
. Giffnock forms 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...
metropolitan area.
History
The name Giffnock is thought to derive from the Old Norse 'geof', meaning hill or mound, and 'nuck', for tree or shrub,or a combination of geof and Scots Gaelic knock meaning a hill (plausible as there is a steep hill (Berryhill) there with (still) some ancient woodland on it which could be as old as 8000 years.In 1941, Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
was locked in the Giffnock Scout hall after he parachuted from his aeroplane near Waterfoot
Waterfoot, East Renfrewshire
Waterfoot is a small village in East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is situated on the B767 road between Clarkston and Eaglesham, which are approximately one mile north and south respectively, while Newton Mearns is about two miles to the west and East Kilbride about 3 miles to...
during his self styled envoy mission during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Proposals were put forward in 2008 to expand the town with the building of 178 houses on Braidbar Quarries next to Huntly Park, involving the Park closing for a period of two years. However, following 2000 objections from local people and the opposition of the Scottish Government's reporter, East Renfrewshire Council abandoned the plans in October 2011.
Geography
Giffnock has a population of about 9,300 people and borders the areas of MansewoodMansewood
Mansewood is a residential district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde and is surrounded by the districts of Pollokshaws, Hillpark, Thornliebank, and Giffnock.- Geography :...
, Woodfarm, Orchard Park, Muirend
Muirend
Muirend is an area on the Southside of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Although most of the district falls within the city proper, part of Muirend lies outwith the city boundary in the adjoining council area of East Renfrewshire...
, Netherlee
Netherlee
-Education:There is one non-denominational primary school in the area, Netherlee Primary School. It was opened in 1933 to serve the growing population and was extensively modernised and expanded in the 1990s. It currently has 25 classes and a roll of around 730. It is one of the highest ranked...
, Clarkston
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
, Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, Whitecraigs
Whitecraigs
Whitecraigs is an affluent, dormitory area of the towns of Giffnock and Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire within the county of Renfrewshire, in the West central Lowlands of Scotland. It is located South of Glasgow. Its' close proximity to Glasgow effectively makes it a suburb, although it is...
, Deaconsbank
Deaconsbank
Deaconsbank is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde. The main feature of the area is an estate of around 639 Private houses built in the late 1970s by Barratt homes...
, and Thornliebank
Thornliebank
Thornliebank is a small suburban village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, south of Glasgow. It is served by Thornliebank railway station and lies to the east of the M77 motorway.-History:...
.
Transport
The area has a number of high-volume road links to neighbouring Glasgow. The A77A77 road
The A77 road is a major road in Scotland. It runs in a southwesternly direction from the city of Glasgow, past the towns of Giffnock, Newton Mearns, Kilmarnock, Prestwick, Ayr, Maybole, Girvan and Stranraer to the town of Portpatrick on the Irish Sea...
main 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...
to Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
road passes through the centre of the town and crosses the A727
A727 road
Until the 1980s, the A727 number applied to what is now the B767, north of Clarkston. In 2006, following the opening of the Glasgow Southern Orbital route, the A727 number was recreated and took over part of what was formerly numbered as the A726....
from Paisley to East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
at the Eastwood Toll.
The area is served by Giffnock railway station
Giffnock railway station
Giffnock railway station is a railway station in the town of Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the East Kilbride branch of the Glasgow South Western Line.- History :...
on the Glasgow South Western Line
Glasgow South Western Line
The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.- History :...
branch to East Kilbride and also by Whitecraigs railway station
Whitecraigs railway station
Whitecraigs railway station is a railway station serving the Whitecraigs and Davieland areas of the towns of Giffnock and Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland...
on the Neilston branch.
Religion
Giffnock has various places of worship including the Giffnock SynagogueGiffnock Synagogue
Giffnock and Newlands Synagogue, located at 222 Fenwick Road in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire , is the largest Jewish religious congregation in Scotland...
which was founded in September 1938 and many churches, Orchardhill Parish Church, Giffnock Reform Church and Giffnock South Parish Church.
Culture and Community
The Dramatic Arts have their place in Giffnock, primarily rooting from the Eastwood Park Theatre, but also in the local groups such as the Giffnock Players, the Drama Workshop, and the highly acclaimed Harlequin Eastwood Theatre for Youth.
Giffnock has been chosen as the location for the first Whole Foods Market store in Scotland. After a lengthy refurbishment, the former Safeway and Morrison's store on Fenwick Road opened to shoppers on November 16 2011, creating 150 local jobs in the process. The company is the world's biggest retailer of natural and organic foods and boasts 300 stores in the United States.
Recreation
Giffnock is home to Rouken GlenRouken Glen
Rouken Glen is a park in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, to the south-west of Glasgow, Scotland.- History :The lands of Rouken Glen Park originally belonged to the Scottish Crown, and then to the Earl of Eglinton, presented to Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton on the marriage of his son in the...
and Huntly Park. The district also boasts various sports facilities including swimming baths, various gyms, a tennis club, various bowling clubs and a rugby club.There is also Eastwood Park which has Eastwood House which can be used for Weddings and receptions and which is supposed to have a horse's grave with gravestone somewhere in it. This is where Eastwood Theatre, Eastwood Baths and East Renfrewshire Council offices are.