Caldercruix is a semi-rural village in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

, Scotland. The nearest major town is Airdrie, to the west. It has a population of about 2,440. The village is about east of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and west of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The local

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

congregation is the Caldercruix and

Longriggend Longriggend is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, with a population of approximately 200. It is situated on moorland 8 km north-east of Airdrie, in the parish of New Monkland. It is roughly half way between Upperton and Calde ...

Parish Church and the local Roman Catholic Church is Saint Mary's located on Glen Road. The village is home to an active community council. There is a combined primary school (Glengowan/St. Mary's Primary School) which serves the village and surrounding rural area.

History

Caldercruix developed in the 19th century as the

papermaking Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...

and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

industries grew. The village was formerly home to a large paper mill, which closed in 1970. The village is situated by the

North Calder Water The North Calder Water is a river in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It flows for from the Black Loch (in the Falkirk council area) via the Hillend Reservoir, Caldercruix, Plains, Airdrie, Calderbank, Carnbroe and Viewpark to the River Clyde at Da ...

and probably takes its name from the bends or crooks (''cruiks'') in the river. North Calder Water was dammed in the late 18th century to create Hillend Loch, which is used recreationally by angler and sailors. Caldercruix is mentioned in the song “Glasgow” by rock band

You Me at Six You Me at Six are an English rock band from Weybridge, Surrey. The band consists of lead singer Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, bassist Matt Barnes and drummer Daniel Flint. Formed in 2004, the name for the group orig ...

on their 2021 album Suckapunch. This is believed to be in reference to frontman

Josh Franceschi Joshua James Alphonse Franceschi (born 7 August 1990) is an English singer and songwriter. He is lead vocalist of rock band You Me at Six. Early life Josh was born to parents Anne Franceschi and Christian Franceschi in Weybridge, Surrey. He i ...

's former spouse from the village: “Caldercruix called and said//that she don’t want//the same thing”.

Railway

Caldercruix railway station was built in 1863, on the

Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway The Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, also known as the "New Monkland Line", was built by Monkland Railways. It opened on 28 July 1863. The line was absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway on 31 July 1865. The following day (1 August 1865) ...

. The line closed to passengers in January 1956, and reopened in December 2010 as the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link, although the opening of Caldercruix station itself (alongside Drumgelloch and Armadale) was delayed until February 2011 due to bad weather conditions. Trains run east to and , and west to and (usually continuing to and ).

References

External links

Airdrie MuseumCaldercruix and Longriggend Parish ChurchMonklands Online: The Story of Caldercruix
Villages in North Lanarkshire Airdrie, North Lanarkshire {{NorthLanarkshire-geo-stub