Gartcosh
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Gartcosh () is a village in
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
, Scotland. The village lies about east 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 ...
, and about northwest of the town of
Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...
. According to a 2012 estimate, the population of Gartcosh was 2,130 people. Expansion of the village including 300 homes in the Heathfield Park estate built by Redrow Homes and new developments by Oak NGate (Gartloch Avenue/Bishop Loch), Avant Homes (Johsnton Loch) and Bellway Homes (Oakwood) have increased the population.


History

The name Gartcosh might be derived perhaps from the
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
meaning 'field' and meaning 'hollow'. Alternatively 'enclosure of the foot' has been suggested. Several old documents show Gartcosh (spelled Gartcash), including maps by
Timothy Pont Reverend Timothy Pont () was a Scottish minister, cartographer and topographer. He was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. Pont's maps are among the earliest surviving to show a European country in minute detail, from an actual surve ...
, Forrest, and
William Roy Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Gr ...
. Though originally an agricultural village, Gartcosh is better known for its role in Scottish industry. In the early 19th century there were a number of mines in the local area, and the first railway to service Gartcosh was used to transport coal to Glasgow. By 1837 there was a railway station, or to be more accurate a stopping place as there were no platforms or waiting rooms. From the mid-19th century onwards, Gartcosh became prominent in industry with the opening of
ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...
and
fire clay Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumi ...
works. Gartcosh Fireclay Works was established by James Binnie in 1863. Although mostly concerned with firebrick manufacture, during the early years its output was much more varied, extending to garden vases and pedestals, garden edges, fountains, chimney cans, roof tiles, cattle troughs, sewage pipes and other products. It was one of a group of such businesses in the area, with others at Cardowan,
Garnkirk Garnkirk is a settlement in North Lanarkshire, located a mile (1.5 km) southwest of Muirhead, North Lanarkshire, Muirhead. It is located 10 km northeast of Glasgow's city centre and 23 km southwest of Falkirk. Garnkirk is connecte ...
,
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
, Heathfield and
Glenboig Glenboig (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Bhog) is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland lying north of Coatbridge and to the south east of Kirkintilloch and is approximately from Glasgow, Glasgow City Centre. According to a estimate, the popula ...
. The fire clay works at Garcosh at the end of the 19th century was owned by the Glenboig Union Fireclay Company Limited. Gartcosh Fireclay Works eventually closed down in the 1950s, when local supplies of fireclay were exhausted. In 1865, Gartcosh became the home of Woodneuk Iron Works owned by William Gray & Co. It was bought by Smith & McLeans in 1872 and subsequently David Colville & Sons' steel mills.
British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...
took ownership of the Colville's steel mill in Gartcosh in 1967 and operated until its closure in February 1986. The main steel mill building was demolished around 1994–95. The galvanising plant — latterly a storage shed for oversized products produced in the mill building — was used by a
paper recycling The recycling of paper is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. It has several important benefits: It saves waste paper from occupying the homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Because paper fibr ...
company, Stirling Fibre, between October 1990 and October 2001. After this company relocated, the building was demolished in 2002. Smith & McLeans had considerable trouble purchasing the land for the extension of the steelworks from the original land owners. Most of Gartcosh at the time was owned by two strict
presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
spinster sisters who were unswayed by the considerable financial offerings of the company. They eventually relented, on the condition that no public house, betting shop or Catholic church would ever be housed within the Gartcosh boundaries. This agreement still holds to this day. For this reason, Chapman's public house is built immediately outside of the natural boundary of Gartcosh (a small burn running to Glenboig). In the 1960s, there was a successful application for licensed premises, under the label of Gartcosh Works Social Club. There has never been a licensed bookmakers in Gartcosh. The resident Roman Catholic population travel to the neighbouring towns of Muirhead, Glenboig or
Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...
to practise their faith. The Co-operative store was established in the late 19th century, situated at the junction between Old Gartloch Road and Lochend Road. The store closed down, date unknown, and has had a variety of uses since then. The building, known locally as the old Co-op Building, has three flats above the shop which are now privately owned and occupied. Gartloch Hospital was opened as in 1896. It was built on the Gartloch Estate which had been bought by the
Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...
for nearly £8,600. It was then handed over to the Glasgow District Lunacy Board as a site for an asylum for the poor people of Glasgow.


Present day

Gartcosh is now primarily a residential area. In recent years, new housing by Redrow Homes, Thomas Mitchell Homes and other smaller developers has been built in and around the old village. There are plans for further developments in the surrounding areas of farm land. Gartcosh Business Interchange is currently being developed on the site of the old strip mill and steel works. As of 2006, Scottish Enterprise and North Lanarkshire council had invested £18m on land reclamation and upgrading transport access. This project will provide over of business space serviced by the transport links detailed below. The Scottish Crime Campus is located within Gartcosh Business Interchange. The development of this facility was originally administered by the Scottish Police Services Authority but following police reform in 2013 all of their undertakings, including the Crime Campus, were transferred to the Scottish Police Authority. The facility was originally scheduled for completion in 2010 with cost of the development put at approximately £65 million. However the budget for the project ultimately reached £75 million and the facility was opened by
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
on 20th June 2014. The Scottish Crime Campus houses elements of several of Police Scotland's partner agencies in the Criminal Justice system at Serious and Organised Crime level. These are parts of the
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under t ...
, the
National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...
,
HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...
and the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Laboratory for 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 ...
area. Next to the campus is the Gartcosh Local Nature Reserve. Although relatively small, it contains a variety of wildlife, including protected species such as a great crested newt colony (the largest in Scotland). There is a
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 in Gartcosh which has Bible Study, Sunday services and a Sunday Club for children. The church hall is used for various community projects, including 1st Gartcosh
Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...
and both slimming and exercise groups. The defunct Anglican church at the top of the hill on Lochend Road was demolished in 1997 for property development. The original Gartcosh Police Station closed in the 1990s. However, most of Gartcosh continues to be served by the Cumbernauld Sub-division of
Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...
. Gartcosh railway station and its access roads, Chapman's
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
and a small number of houses in the village to the south of the railway line are served by Monklands Sub-division, operating from Coatbridge Police Office.


Future development

North Lanarkshire Council North Lanarkshire Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland, covering the North Lanarkshire council area. The council is the second largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 77 members. Political control The counci ...
have identified open space areas around Gartcosh and Glenboig as potential sites for a "Community Growth Area". This, in effect, means there is potential for up to 3000 homes to be built in Gartcosh and Glenboig, of which approximately 1800 are to be built in the Gartcosh area. At least 25% of this must be "affordable housing". Provisions will be made for infrastructure and amenities to support such a large development. Such a development will have significant impact on the local landscape with much of the green belt and farmland being developed into housing and retail areas. Plans for a new road between Gartcosh and Glenboig were approved in 2016. This road opened June 2018. New homes are being built at Gartcosh with the first of the 78 due in 2018.


Transport


General Transport Information

The M73 motorway is the main transport link, with Junction 2A providing road access to the village. Gartcosh also benefits from a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
which was built at a cost of £3.5 million and officially opened in March 2005 by
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
.


Road and Rail Links

* M73 - north to A80(M) providing motorway access to North Glasgow,
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
,
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...
,
Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
and The North * M73 - south to M74 providing motorway access to South Glasgow,
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 ...
,
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
,
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 ...
and The South * A752 - north to Muirhead * A752 - south to A89 providing access to
Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...
and
Baillieston Baillieston () is a working class suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geographical ...
and continuing south to
Uddingston Uddingston (, ) is a small town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is on the north side of the River Clyde, south-east of Glasgow city centre, and acts as a dormitory suburb for the city. Geography and boundaries Uddingston is located to t ...
and
Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...
* A752 - south to A8(M) providing motorway access to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
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 ...
and the
Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demographics of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...
. * B806 - West to Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre * Gartcosh railway station providing direct rail service to Glasgow Queen Street,
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
and Falkirk Grahamston, and to
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
via either Glasgow or Falkirk stations.


Film, TV and other media

* ''The Big Mill'' (1963) colour, sound 25 mins - dir. Laurence Henson shows steel being produced at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh * ''Make Way For Steel'' (1966) colour, sound 29 mins by Templar Film Studios shows the building of the steel works at Ravenscraig and Gartcosh Gartcosh is often mentioned as the location of a fictional police station in the ''Inspector Rebus'' novels by
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
.


References


External links


Gartcosh
at
Gazetteer for Scotland The ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland. It was conceived in 1995 by Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh and David Munro of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and co ...
{{Authority control Villages in North Lanarkshire Greater Glasgow