Barrhead (, ) is a town in
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
, Scotland, southwest of
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
city centre on the edge of the
Gleniffer Braes. At the
2011 census its population was 17,268.
History

Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-producing villages (Barrhead,
Arthurlie,
Grahamston and
Gateside) gradually grew into one another to form one continuous town. According to local historian James McWhirter, the name "Barrhead" first appeared in 1750.
Glanderston House, to the south, at one time belonged to the
Stewart kings of Scotland.
In 1851 there was an explosion at the Victoria Pit colliery in nearby
Nitshill, killing 63 men and boys who worked in the mine, many of whom lived in Barrhead. The victims were buried in a mass grave in the yard at St John's Church on Darnley Road, and although some bodies were later exhumed and reburied in other cemeteries, some may still reside at St John's in an unmarked grave.
In 1890, with a rapidly expanding population approaching 10,000, various local residents formed a Barrhead Burgh Formation Committee. The status of
police burgh was granted in 1894 and William Shanks, proprietor of a local company, was elected as the first
provost of Barrhead.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the town was a major centre for manufacturing, with industries including an iron
foundry, a
tannery, and the
Armitage Shanks porcelainware works, as well as Gaskell's carpet factory, employing generations of the town's residents. In the later 20th century, the decline and closure of nearly all of these industries caused a fall in local employment and population. In recent years, Barrhead has found new life as a popular residential commuter town for nearby
Paisley and Glasgow.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, several bombs fell on Barrhead from German planes headed towards
Clydebank and
Yoker.
Governance
In 1894 Barrhead became a
burgh of barony, meaning that it had its own town council. The council was based at
Barrhead Burgh Hall. The burgh status was abolished in 1975 under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 when
Strathclyde Regional Council and
Renfrew District Council were formed. Subsequent reorganisation to a single-tier local authority in 1996 placed Barrhead under the auspices of
East Renfrewshire Council
East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and many of the council ar ...
. Barrhead is a single council ward, electing four members to serve as part of East Renfrewshire Council.
Barrhead is part of the
county constituency
In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.
Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...
of
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
, electing one
Member of Parliament (MP) to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
.
Blair McDougall of
Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...
was elected to represent East Renfrewshire in the
2024 UK general election.
In the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
, Barrhead forms part of the
Renfrewshire South constituency, represented by
Tom Arthur of the SNP. Barrhead is also represented by seven
regional MSPs from the
West of Scotland electoral region.
Geography
Barrhead forms part of the
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 (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...
conurbation. Areas within the town include
Arthurlie, Auchenback, Gateside and Grahamston.
The town is about from the edge of the
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
urban area (
Hurlet and
Parkhouse neighbourhoods), separated by farmland and countryside, much of which is now part of the
Dams to Darnley Country Park, encompassing the Balgray and Waulkmill Glen Reservoirs and the course of the Brock Burn.
Economy
Major businesses within the town include Barrhead Travel, Kelburn Brewing Company, and JM Murdoch & Son, among others. The town's largest employer is East Renfrewshire Council and the public sector. In 2002, part of the administration of East Renfrewshire Council relocated from Eastwood Park to Barrhead Main Street.
East Renfrewshire Council committed nearly £100 million to a masterplan to redevelop and modernise Barrhead's economy between 2007 and 2017. The Glasgow Road corridor is being redeveloped into a dedicated business district which includes Crossmill Business Park, Blackbyres Court, and the former Bowerwalls housing area.
There are four industrial estates: Robertson Street Industrial Estate, Levern Industrial Estate at Cogan Street, Muriel Street, and the Barrhead Cargo Centre and Shanks Industrial Park, located on the former site of the Armitage Shanks factory.
In 2005 local businesses created the Barrhead Business Forum, which liaises with East Renfrewshire Council, Barrhead Community Council, and East Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.
The administration and collection of
business rates for Barrhead is undertaken by
Renfrewshire Council.
In October 2016, Barrhead businesses voted in favour of becoming a Business Improvement District (BID), which is a model proving successful for town centres across the UK and beyond. The Barrhead BID is called 'All About Barrhead' and is the third BID in East Renfrewshire, following
Giffnock which established in 2013 and
Clarkston which is now in its second term, establishing in 2010.
The town is part of the
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board. The nearest accident and emergency unit is located at the
Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
Transport
Barrhead is accessible via Junction 2 (Pollok) or Junction 3 (Darnley) of the
M77 motorway.
Local bus services,
McGill's Bus Services
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
, travel from Barrhead to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Paisley,
Neilston, and
Newton Mearns.
Barrhead railway station, which serves the town, is on the
Glasgow South Western Line. Trains from Barrhead run north-east to
Glasgow Central and south to
Kilmarnock,
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...
, and
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England.
Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...
. However a new train station,
Balgray railway station is set to open in Spring 2026, to serve the south of Barrhead.
At the beginning of the 20th century, several railway lines ran through Barrhead to accommodate the town's manufacturing industries: the Glasgow Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway, which merged to become the
Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway; the
Glasgow & South Western Railway, which built
Barrhead Central railway station as the terminus of its short-lived Barrhead branch; and the
Caledonian Railway. Evidence of these lines can still be seen within the town, including two standalone sections of railway viaduct, one near the Tesco store and the other now carrying a footpath between Springhill Road and the Woodside Park in Upper Auchenback (known locally as the Jerry Park).
Barrhead was formerly served by routes 14 and 28 of the once extensive
Glasgow Corporation Tramways system. Trams ran from Barrhead to Glasgow and Paisley. Glasgow tram service 14 was once the longest in Great Britain, running from Milngavie on the far north-western edge of Greater Glasgow, through the city centre and then through Thornliebank, Spiersbridge, Barrhead and Paisley to reach Renfrew Ferry on the south side of the Clyde. Tramway services in Paisley and Barrhead were withdrawn in 1957; the entire system was dismantled by September 1962.
Future
A new railway station,
Balgray railway station, to the south of Barrhead, has finished the planning stage and construction has started and is on track to be finished and opened in spring 2026.
Education
Barrhead has five primary schools: Carlibar Primary School, Cross Arthurlie Primary School, Hillview School, St. John's Roman Catholic Primary School and St. Mark's Roman Catholic Primary School. In 2007, St. Mark's received an outstanding report from HM Inspectorate of Education with 11 "excellents" – the most ever recorded by HMIE – making St. Mark's officially the best primary school in Scotland.
The new Carlibar Primary School, opened in the autumn of 2006 to replace an outdated building, hosts a family centre, a pre-school assessment unit, community and adult learning services, and a state-of-the-art language and communication unit which serves nearly 50 children with
autism
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
from across East Renfrewshire.
The town has two secondary schools:
St. Luke's High School and
Barrhead High School, both in the Auchenback area. In 2018, a £30 million replacement building for Barrhead High was opened.The new Barrhead High School, opened in 2018 to replace an old building, now hosts a wide range of courses with state of the art resources and equipment, with the new building Barrhead High School is very lucky to be one of the few schools in Scotland to be able to offer vocational courses.
Culture

The
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
has staged full performances in Barrhead five times, most recently "
The Canterbury Tales" in 2006, using a mobile performance venue set up in Barrhead Sports Centre.
There are several public houses in Barrhead. These include Cross Stobs, The Kelburn, The Arthurlie Inns, and The Brig Inn. The Cross Stobs dates back to at least 1695.
Sports
An active
Scottish Junior football team,
Arthurlie, plays in Barrhead, with a previous club of the same name having played as a
senior league side until 1929. The earlier team was renowned for its 4–2 defeat of
Celtic in the 1897 Scottish Cup. Arthurlie's
Johnny Kelly went on to play for Celtic and
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...
and won several
caps for Scotland. The team won the
Scottish Junior Cup
The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...
in 1998.
Alex McLeish
Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...
, Scotland's most capped defender with 77 caps and national team coach, went to school in Barrhead. In the early 20th century, the town produced three brothers,
Alec Logan,
James Logan and
Tommy Logan who all played for either Scotland or the
Scottish League XI.
Barrhead Boys Club, founded in 1972 and recently renamed as Barrhead Youth Football Club, caters for children as young as 6 years old, up to 21, and also has adult and veteran teams.
Barrhead is home to four bowling clubs: Barrhead, Arthurlie, Shanks, and St John's. Founded in 1904, the Fereneze Golf Club is the town's mature moorland 18-hole course boasting spectacular panoramic views over the Clyde Valley. Barrhead Boxing Club has produced several contenders at Scottish Amateur level as well as several professional contenders in recent years, while the town's several
Muay Thai
Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...
clubs have produced some notable championship fighters.
A
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
track, was opened on ground off the Aurs Road on Saturday 7 July 1934. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club) known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The track raced over 300 and 325 yards.
The date of closure is not known.
Churches
Major churches in Barrhead include St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church on Aurs Road, the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
parish churches of Bourock and St. Andrew's, both on Main Street, and the United Reformed Church on Arthurlie Street.
There is also a Methodist church and several small Evangelical churches. There is also a small Church of God in Barrhead.
In literature
Barrhead Station features in
The Five Red Herrings, a detective novel by
Dorothy L Sayers.
Notable people
References
External links
*
Barrhead News
{{authority control
Towns in East Renfrewshire
Burghs
Populated places established in the 1750s
Greater Glasgow