Langbank is a village on the south bank of 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 ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It is 9.3 miles/15 km northwest from Paisley (Renfrewshire) and 3.4 miles/5.5 km east from

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most rece ...

(Inverclyde) on the A8.

History

Langbank evolved as a dormitory settlement for

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 ...

after the opening of the Glasgow and Greenock Railway in 1841, a function it still performs. Prior to that it was a scattered collection of farms with access to the river. An 1800 map makes reference to Longbank. It remains on the busy A8 trunk road, a few hundred yards from the start of the M8 motorway. Langbank railway station is on the

Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it conne ...

. There are two crannogs on the shoreline of the village; Langbank East crannog is at Westferry, by the start of the M8 motorway, Langbank West crannog is immediately beside the A8 dual carriageway opposite Langbank Parish Church. Both crannogs are only visible at lower states of the tide. Visible along the shoreline west of Langbank and stretching all the way to Port Glasgow are the remains of the timber ponds where the shipyards of the lower Clyde stored timber for use in shipbuilding during the 18th Century.

Landmarks

* Langbank Parish Church (1866) has a spire which was rebuilt three times. * Formakin House (begun 1903) is a curious mansion which was never actually completed as the owner ran out of money. Features include tiny stone monkeys which clamber over the rooftops and a datestone carved with the date "1694" and the letters "DL" (standing for "Damned Lie"). * Finlaystone House (c. 1760) was built as the seat of the Cunningham Earls of Glencairn, but since the 1920s has been home to the MacMillan family and to the chief of

Clan MacMillan Clan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan. The Clan was originally located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands during the 12th century. The clan supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, but later supported ...

. The estate is now a popular country park and garden centre. It is located between Langbank,

and

Kilmacolm Kilmacolm () is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, southeast of Greenock and around ...

. * Gleddoch House was the home of Port Glasgow Shipbuilder, Col. Sir James Lithgow Bt. It is now a hotel and leisure complex.

St Vincent's College

From 1961 to 1978, St Vincent's College was situated in the village. It was a

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. After being firmly established in Scotland for nearly a millennium, the Catholic Church was outlawed fo ...

. It was opened on 3 October 1961.St. Vincent's College, Langbank: Solemn Opening of the College, Tuesday, 3 October 1961
(The College, 1961) The first rector was Charles McDonald Renfrew, who was a

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Abula and an Auxiliary Bishop of Glasgow. One of its students was the

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of th ...

Philip Tartaglia Filippo "Philip" Tartaglia (11 January 1951 – 13 January 2021) was a Scottish prelate who served as a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow from 2012 until 2021. He previously served as Bishop of Pais ...

. It closed in 1978 and the students were transferred to

Blairs College St Mary's College, Blairs (commonly known as Blairs College), situated near Aberdeen in Scotland, was from 1829 to 1986 a junior seminary for boys and young men studying for the Priesthood (Catholic Church), Roman Catholic priesthood. Part of ...

near

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

.To Close
from the

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of ab ...

retrieved 18 September 2013 The chapel was listed as a category B listed building on 9 August 1995.British listed buildings
retrieved 17 September 2013 In 2003, after restoration work by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

, the site was converted into accommodation, but maintained its original outwards appearance.The Free Library by Farlax
retrieved 17 September 2013

Governance

Part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

Erskine Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the l ...

, Langbank also became a quoad sacra parish in the 19th century. For modern local government purposes, Langbank is part of the

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...

. Langbank was previously linked with its nearby and larger neighbour,

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

but is now part of a local council

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

with Bishopton and

Bridge of Weir Bridge of Weir is a village within the Renfrewshire council area and wider historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying within the Gryffe Valley, Bridge of Weir owes its name to the historic crossing point t ...

Ward 10
. Langbank has its own

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

.http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/cs-pmcd-langbank-community-council-profile The community council is chiefly a consultative body, forming a focus for local views, and has no statutory powers of its own.

Gallery

File:Langbank Lodge - geograph.org.uk - 31445.jpg, The Wheelhouse File:Visitor Centre at Finlaystone Estate - geograph.org.uk - 307751.jpg, Visitor Centre at Finlaystone House File:Langbank west crannog - geograph.org.uk - 842378.jpg, Langbank West Crannog File:Langbank west crannog - geograph.org.uk - 842349.jpg, Langbank West Crannog File:Westferry Crannog - geograph.org.uk - 579736.jpg, Langbank East Crannog File:Westferry crannog - geograph.org.uk - 634487.jpg, Langbank East Crannog File:Langbank Church - geograph.org.uk - 607452.jpg, Langbank Parish Church File:Former Langbank East Church - geograph.org.uk - 467529.jpg, Former Langbank East Church, Station Road File:A8 Langbank bypass - geograph.org.uk - 956210.jpg, The A8 dual carriageway Langbank Bypass File:Timber ponds and Langbank - geograph.org.uk - 842318.jpg, The old timber ponds near the village File:Langbank playing field - geograph.org.uk - 607469.jpg, The sloping playfield by the railway station

References

External links

Langbank Community Portal
(Langbank Community Council)
Finlaystone Estate
{{authority control Langbank