The Clyde Iron Works was a Scottish-based ironworking plant which operated from 1786 to 1978. Clyde Iron occupied a large site near the Carmyle and Tollcross areas of Glasgow. The plant was built by William Cadell (1737–1819) and Thomas Edington (1742–1811) who were associated with the Carron Iron Works in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

as well as other ventures. The inventor David Mushet worked there for a period.

Carronades A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main fun ...

were produced at the works during the Napoleonic Wars period. Clyde Iron was the location of a key development in the Industrial Revolution in Scotland when James Beaumont Neilson successfully introduced the hot blast furnace in 1828, reducing the volume and carbon content of coal needed in the furnaces to produce the iron, which in turn meant that Scottish metal became cheaper to produce using local coal. From the 1860s the works was served by a major railway after the Whifflet Line between Glasgow and Coatbridge was constructed directly to the south of the site. Ironstone was obtained from Monklands and coal from local pits across Lanarkshire such as in Carmyle and

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

via connecting industrial railway lines, until the supply from those sources was eventually exhausted. "Miners row" cottages were also built for workers near to the iron works and the pits. In 1931 Clyde Iron was overtaken by Colvilles and extensively modernised; shortly afterwards in 1939 the works was integrated with the nearby Clydebridge Steelworks (producing both the hot metal and the finished steel). New furnaces were installed in 1948. By the late 20th century the facility included a research laboratory, a small power station to meet energy needs, and an on-site gas holder for the town gas produced in the coking processes – the excess electricity was able to be supplied to the national grid and the gas to the Scottish Gas Board. During the period when Clydebridge and the Clyde Iron Works were economically linked between the 1940s and 1970s, a gas pipeline and railway bridge were constructed over the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

which separated the two plants. Both plants were operated by British Steel Corporation from 1967 until 1977 when the Iron Works closed down after 191 years of operation – most of Clydebridge's operations also ceased at that time. During the 1980s the site was cleared (other than a few remaining small buildings close to Junction 2A of the M74 motorway) by the Glasgow Development Agency and Scottish Enterprise and is now an industrial estate (Glasgow East Investment Park, sometimes referred to as Cambuslang Investment Park although it is not in Cambuslang) that includes the local

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

distribution centre, and the printing facility of newspapers including The Herald and

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.Stewarts & Lloyds Stewarts & Lloyds was a steel tube manufacturer with its headquarters in Glasgow at 41 Oswald Street. The company was created in 1903 by the amalgamation of two of the largest iron and steel makers in Britain, A. & J. Stewart & Menzies, Coatbridge ...

empire) which too has closed and been cleared, with housing now on that site. Clyde Iron Works in Glasgow has no direct link to the factory of the same name in Duluth, Minnesota which is now redeveloped as a restaurant, nor any link to the 19th century firms of that name associated with Samuel Osborn & Company of Sheffield.

References

External links

Clyde Iron Works (at Clydebridge Steelworks history site)

Grace’s Guide – Clyde Iron Works

Images of Clyde Iron Works at Canmore.org.uk
{{authority control Ironworks and steelworks in Scotland Defunct iron and steel mills Economy of Glasgow History of Glasgow River Clyde 1786 establishments in Scotland 1978 disestablishments in Scotland Economic history of Scotland Buildings and structures in Glasgow Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland Demolished manufacturing buildings and structures Buildings and structures demolished in 1980 Industry in Scotland