Viewpark
Encyclopedia
Uddingston
Uddingston is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, about seven miles south-east of Glasgow...
in North Lanarkshire
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...
. Viewpark is adjacent to Tannochside
Tannochside
Tannochside is an area of Uddingston and is located approximately 8 miles south-east of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Although considered part of Uddingston, it lies within a separate local authority area...
, and is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Bellshill
Bellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
. Viewpark is often considered a district of Uddingston despite falling under the jurisdiction of a separate local authority.
Viewpark was originally built to house miners and was erected quickly. The older houses were originally called the "Electric scheme". Viewpark then grew steadily to support housing demand in the area which was thriving with Industry at the time with companies such as the Mining and the Caterpillar Tractor Co opening its doors in 1959 creating a boom in the population of the area which is known as Viewpark today.
1956 and the main thoroughfare in Viewpark, Laburnum Road, often referred to as "The Burma Road", in reference to its length, was well underway in its construction. That same year, the local council set up what has now become Burnhead Bowling Club, along with an adjacent tennis court. A new church was built, Burnhead Parish Church, on Laburnum Road, opposite its junction with Burnhead Street.
The demolition of the miners homes, referred to as The Miners Rows, in Tannochside, which released land for the erection of the Caterpillar Tractor Co. led to an influx of displaced families into the Viewpark area. However, no one was complaining, gone was the "hole in the wall bed", and in its place, a brand new home, with separate bedrooms, kitchen areas, and indoor bathing and toilet facilities. A modern wonder indeed!
A similar fate befell the Miners Rows at Cockhill, located due east of Laburnum Road. That land has now been utilised as a football field, with a shopping area on the north side of Old Edinburgh Road.
Kerrs Farm at Cockhill, also disappeared, and that land, which extended between Laburnum Road and the new bypass road, the A725, was used to create Righead Industrial Estate.
A shopping complex was added, aptly located in Market Place, just off Burnhead Street, and the old rose gardens are now long gone, replaced by the Community Centre, a Sports Complex, and a Medical Centre.
Thorniewood United
Thorniewood United F.C.
Thorniewood United Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in Viewpark, Lanarkshire near Glasgow. Nicknamed the Wood, they were formed in 1924 and play at Robertson Park, having moved from Thorn Park in nearby Tannochside in 1957 when the giant Caterpillar Tractor Company acquired the...
, a junior football club, is based in the area.