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Burnbank is an area in the town of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
, Scotland. It was formerly a separate
mining village A pit village, colliery village or mining village is a settlement built by colliery owners to house their workers. The villages were built on the coalfields of Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution where new coal mines were developed in ...
before being absorbed into the town.


Location and governance

Burnbank, previously an independent settlement, then part of Hamilton Burgh (in the historic County of
Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...
) and then Hamilton District (in the historic
Strathclyde Region Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath
alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...
of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...
) is now a district of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
within the
South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
Unitary Council. Today Burnbank is surrounded by other suburban neighbourhoods, bordered by Hillhouse and Udston to the south, the western part of Hamilton to the east, Whitehill to the north and the town of
Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...
to the west, with the Park Burn denoting the boundary. Burnbank is named after a tributary of the
River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
- the Wellschaw Burn (also known as the Shawburn) which flows through the eastern areas of the district. This has been culverted for most of its passage through modern Burnbank. In historic times this stream's confluence with the Clyde lay within the district but now lies in neighbouring Whitehill. The area around the burn was still open country in some regards as late as the 1901 Census which records a Romany family "living in a field near Shawburn, Burnbank. Burnbank was a division (later ward) of the Hamilton Constituency in 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 ...
between 1918 and 1997. It then became part of the short-lived Hamilton North and Bellshill Constituency between 1997 and 2005. Since 2005 it has been part of
Rutherglen and Hamilton West Rutherglen and Hamilton West was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was created for the 2005 general election. It covered almost all of the former constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen and ...
. Burnbank was part of the Hamilton North and Bellshill Constituency for the Scottish Parliament but is now part of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.


History

It was predominantly rural, with a number of plantations (Whistleberry Plantation and Backmuir Plantation being most prominent) to feed the lace industry in Burnbank and Hamilton which had been sponsored since before 1778 by the then Duchess of Hamilton
Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, 1st Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon ( December 1733 – 20 December 1790), earlier Elizabeth Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, Gunning, was a celebrated Anglo-Irish beauty, lady-in-waiting to Charlotte of Mec ...
. With the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
Burnbank lost its rural identity becoming a
mining village A pit village, colliery village or mining village is a settlement built by colliery owners to house their workers. The villages were built on the coalfields of Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution where new coal mines were developed in ...
. The population of Burnbank had grown so great by the 1870s that a committee of citizens decided to apply for the erection of a Burgh of Burnbank. At the same time residents of Burnbank's western neighbour
Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...
reacted by petitioning for the erection of a Burgh of Blantyre. Both cases came before the
Sheriff Court A sheriff court () is the principal local civil and criminal court in Scotland, with exclusive jurisdiction over all civil cases with a monetary value up to , and with the jurisdiction to hear any criminal case except treason, murder, and ra ...
sitting at Glasgow. The Sheriff gave extra time for the petitioners for both causes to familiarise themselves with the arguments of their opponents and to respond in turn. The Provost and Burgesses of the existing Burgh of Hamilton, alarmed at the prospect of one (or possibly both) petitions being successful and thus creating a heavily industrialised, modern and vibrant western rival in turn petitioned 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 ...
giving rise to the Burgh of Hamilton Act 1878. By this Act Burnbank was absorbed into Hamilton - ending its own burghal aspirations.


Industry

Prior to the nineteenth century agriculture and lace making were important local industries. Burnbank was home to a number of coalmines or pits.Scottish Mining Website Miners' cottages or "pit rows" were erected by mine owners to house their employees. Many of these were built by local builder
Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (13 February 1847 – 3 November 1934) was a Scottish businessman who founded the British construction firm which is now known as Sir Robert McAlpine. He was made a baronet in June 1918, the first of the M ...
early in his career and the foundation of his later wealth.Wallace: A History of Burnbank. MS in Hamilton Central Library Collection The
Udston mining disaster The Udston mining disaster occurred in Hamilton, Scotland on Saturday, 28 May 1887 when 73 miners died in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery. Caused, it is thought, by unauthorised shot firing the explosion is said to be Scotland's second ...
occurred in Hamilton, Scotland on Saturday, 28 May 1887 when 73 miners died in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery. Caused, it is thought, by unauthorised shot firing the explosion is said to be Scotland's second worst coal mining disaster.
Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...
, then Secretary of the Scottish Miners' Federation, denounced the deaths as murder a few days later. In August 1918 a fire at Albany Buildings (an apartment block owned by the mining company John Watson Ltd) burned to the ground causing £10,000 of damage and leaving 24 families homeless. In September 1919 strike action in the Lanarkshire coal fields led to the closure of the Greenfield Colliery. In May 1932 300 men at John Watson's Earnock Colliery in Burnbank were thrown out of work because of "bad trace." In January 1935 Greenfield Colliery, Burnbank, became the last pit in Hamilton to shut permanently. Earnock Colliery also in Burnbank but out-with Hamilton's boundaries continued working. During the
Second World War 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 ...
Burnbank suffered at least one attack by the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
when a bomb was dropped on tenements (known locally as Sing-Sing) near the railway works on the Whitehill Road. In addition to mining a number of other medium-sized industrial concerns have operated within Burnbank including the Stevenson Carpet Factory, Burnbank, at which Jock Stein had his first job in 1935. This is recorded in the Hamilton Advertiser as opening a new factory worth £85,000 in 1958. MEA also operated a factory in the area for many years. A railway wagon cleaning works is located near Whitehill Road.


Immigration

Since the 19th century immigrants from many parts of the world have settled in Burnbank. Immigration from other parts of Scotland during the period of the
Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...
occurred. The most significant to date numerically were undoubtedly the Irish immigrants who arrived between the mid 19th century and the mid 20th century mainly to work in the coal-fields and heavy industry. Immigration to Burnbank from Italy was mainly from the Lucca and Frosinone in the Abruzzi. Some of the
Italian Scots Italian Scots () are Scottish people of Italian descent. They can either be those whose ancestors emigrated to Scotland or Italian-born people residing in Scotland. This term can also refer to people of mixed Scottish and Italian descent. A rece ...
in Burnbank owned ice-cream parlours (which later became fish and chip shops) and operated ice-cream carts (later vans) to such an extent that the local term for an ice-cream seller became "tally" (derived from Italian) as in "tally van". Immigration to Burnbank from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and the
Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
first came to prominence between the world wars (linked to the mining industry) and was sustained by individuals escaping from the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
and
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
occupation of those countries. Further immigration from Poland (and Central Europe generally) has taken place following the collapse of the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
. Immigration from the former territories of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
has occurred in the final decades of the 20th century with immigrants from these countries following in the footsteps of the Italians by entering the catering industry.


Transport

Burnbank was formerly the site of a railway station (originally called Greenfield Station) of the Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway (later the London and North Eastern Railway's Hamilton Branch situated on Glasgow Road (today part of the A724). The station was opened 1 April 1878 as Greenfield, and was closed during the First World War on 1 January 1917. It was re-opened after the war on 2 June 1919 and finally closed on 15 September 1952. The track bed remained until the 1980s but has since been landscaped. The line ran from the North British Railway's Hamilton Station to Shettleston and Whifflet and, although passenger and general freight services were provided, was primarily intended to take coal from Hamilton, Burnbank and Blantyre to the ironworks at Parkhead Forge and Coatbridge. Sir Robert McAlpine (see notable people below) was the principal builder throughout the line and designed the station and signal boxes at Burnbank. Today, trains run through the area on the
Argyle Line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Arg ...
. The nearest railway station today is Hamilton West. Trams were operated in Burnbank by the Hamilton, Motherwell and Wishaw Tramways Company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A number of bus routes were operated by Chieftain Buses from their depot on High Blantyre Road, Burnbank. Following the takeover of Chieftain by Central SMT (itself a subsidiary of the London Midland and Scottish Railway) the depot continued in use until 1962. The routes served continued under Central SMT and its successors including the current operator First Glasgow (No.2) Ltd who have opened a new depot on the borders of Burnbank and Blantyre.


Religion

Burnbank has historically been a predominantly (and is today at least nominally) a largely Christian area, with the main denominations represented being
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 ...
which has two parishes in the area and
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
which has one. The Church of Scotland Gilmour and Whitehill parish is recognised by the Church as one of the most economically deprived in Scotland. This parish's Church, has a square tower which was supposed to have a spire on top this was not built however as the ground being undermined by the coal pits in the area it was feared that the weight would cause collapse both to the mine and to the tower itself. The Church of Scotland's Burnbank parish also had its own Parish Church. It is situated on the junction at Udston Road and High Blantyre Road, and is now a
Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...
church under the dedication of St Michael and St Mary. The Roman Catholic parish of St Cuthbert's was established in 1893, and was originally part of the
Archdiocese of Glasgow The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annan ...
before passing to the
Diocese of Motherwell The Diocese of Motherwell () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. History The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, along with the D ...
when that diocese was erected in 1947. The church building dated from 1908. According to the diocesan authorities it had a congregation of some 3,000 souls. In the decades after the second world war visiting Polish priests provided services to the Polish immigrant community. From 2011 until 2021, the parish was also home to the
Syro-Malabar Catholic The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Catholi ...
community. Their procession through the streets as part of the celebrations for the
Feast of the Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...
took place annually. The parish was closed in October 2022 and came under the care of the nearby St Ninian's, Hillhouse. The church, hall and presbytery were demolished in late 2023.


Community services

The former Victorian Police Station (dating from in 1894) was for many years divided between the Public Library and local authourity housing offices. It is now part of the Burnbank Centre complex and houses the local Library.


Education

Burnbank is home to two present day primary schools - St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary and Glenlee Primary (which is non-denominational). In addition a Comprehensive Secondary School, St John Ogilvie High School, is located within Burnbank on Farm Road although it has a much broader catchment area which includes
Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...
. A previous primary school, Dykehead Primary School at Udston, Burnbank, was closed in the 1930s following pit closures. A previous non-denominational secondary - Greenfield School was located in the area until the mid-1970s when it became an annexe to John Ogilvie High School. This site has now been re-developed as housing.


Amenities

Burnbank has a number of retail outlets including a small Co-operative grocery which is the remnant of a much larger department store that belonged to the Burnbank Co-operative Society. There is also a post-office, butchers, newsagents, bakery and a number of public houses. The last Bank to have a branch in the area was the Clydesdale- this was closed in the early years of the 21st century and the building is now one of a number of betting shops in the area. Previously in addition to the Co-operative there was a large fancy goods store serving the community. At various times there have been florists, and haberdasheries in the area. There was a cinema in Burnbank called the Plaza which later became a Bingo Hall before demolition. The centre of Burnbank was re-developed in the mid-1970s with one half of the centre being pedestrianised. The largest area of Burnbank is Udston, built on former colliery land, in the 1950s. It consists of a large number of streets, roads and crescents.


Notable people

Sir
Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...
worked in various pits in the Hamilton area including Burnbank before launching his stage career. Robert (''Concrete Bob'') McAlpine was the founder of the major British construction firm now known as Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. His initial builder's business was based in Burnbank. In addition to the construction of the Glasgow Bothwell Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway which runs through Burnbank he later gained fame for the Mallaig Extension Railway famous for the concrete structures built along the line, the most notable of which is Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Jock Stein John Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He was the first manager of a club from a Northern European country to win the European Champio ...
CBE was a football player with Albion Rovers FC, Llanelli Town FC and Celtic FC before becoming a legendary football manager who managed Dunfermline Athletic FC, Hibernian FC and Celtic FC. With the latter he twice reached the final of the European Cup, winning against Inter Milan in Lisbon in 1967 and losing against Feyenoord Rotterdam to a goal in the last three minutes of extra time at the San Siro in Milan was born in Burnbank. He twice managed the Scotland national team in 1965 and again between 1978 and 1985.
Jim Bett James Bett (born 25 November 1959) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played in central or left midfield. He played with Aberdeen for nine seasons and had shorter spells at other clubs in Belgium, Iceland and Scotland. He earned 26 ...
- was a football player with Airdrieonians FC, K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (twice), Glasgow Rangers FC, Aberdeen FC, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, Heart of Midlothian FC and Dundee United FC. He gained 26 international caps for Scotland.
Willie Savage William Savage (1888–1961) was a Scottish footballer who played as a full back for Queen of the South from 1932 to 1946. Early days Savage was a native of Burnbank, Lanarkshire, who began his football as an inside forward at the local St Cut ...
- footballing long time servant of
Queen of the South F.C. Queen of the South Football Club is a Scottish professional football club formed in 1919 in Dumfries. The club plays in , the third tier of Scottish football. They are traditionally nicknamed the '' Doonhamers'' but are more usually referred ...
in the club's days in Scotland's top division.
Walter McGowan Walter McGowan, MBE (13 October 1942 – 15 February 2016), was a Scottish boxer born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. He was known for having been the world flyweight champion (Lineal champion. Recognized by European Boxing Union, British Boxi ...
MBE - 1960s World Flyweight Boxing Champion, was also born in Burnbank, and used the old Glenlee House as a training base. The Reverend Scott J Brown CBE - Chaplain of the Fleet, Royal Navy. Both his parents, Margaret and Jim Brown, were born in Burnbank. Garry Lee McCallum Founder of the history website Historic Hamilton was brought up in Burnbank
Historic Hamilton


References

{{South Lanarkshire Settlements Neighbourhoods in South Lanarkshire Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Mining communities in Scotland www.Historic-Hamilton.co.uk