Priesthill () is a neighbourhood in the south 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 ...

in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

city 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 ...

. It falls under the Greater Pollok ward of the city council area. The

Darnley Darnley is an area in south-west Glasgow, Scotland, on the A727 just west of Arden (the areas are separated by the M77 motorway although a footbridge connects them). Other nearby neighbourhoods are Priesthill to the north, Southpark Village ...

neighbourhood is located to the south, on the opposite side of the

Glasgow South Western Line The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway almost entirely in Scotland (the only exception being the final section into Carlisle in North West England) that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer ...

railway (both areas are served by Priesthill and Darnley railway station), while

Nitshill Nitshill () is a district on the south side of Glasgow. It is bordered by South Nitshill to the south, Darnley to the east, Crookston and Roughmussel to the north-west, Hurlet to the west and Househillwood and Priesthill to the north, with ...

lies to the west and

Househillwood Househillwood is a residential neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, situated in the south-west of the city. Location and history Househillwood is close to the centre of the Pollok district and is often considered to be part of ' Greater Pollo ...

and the Silverburn Centre shopping complex to the north. The M77 motorway runs to the east of Priesthill with open farmland beyond.

History

Priesthill was first mentioned in ancient text as a farm community owned by Walter Steward the progenitor of later Stuart kings and queens.

Lord Darnley Lord Darnley is a noble title associated with a Scottish Lordship of Parliament, first created in 1356 for the family of Stewart of Darnley and tracing a descent to the Dukedom of Richmond in England. The title's name refers to Darnley in Scot ...

, husband of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, owned the land where Priesthill is located. During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, it is alleged a Catholic priest was hanged from a tree near Darnley Lane on the edge of the area, which is now called Priesthill to commemorate the occasion. More than likely the area was named after Priesthill Near Muirkirk, some twenty miles to the south over open country in Ayrshire. Others allege that Priesthill was named after an ancient church that stood at the top of the hill on Stewart land. However, there is no historical or viva voce testimony to validate the claim. It is also said that Mary and Darnley did their courting near Darnley Lane. An ancient tree still stands at the end of the Darnley lane, which is now adjacent to a main highway (

A726 The A726 road in Scotland is a major route with several distinct sections with different characteristics and names; owing to its stages of construction, since 2005 it has two separate parts, the first running between Strathaven in South Lanar ...

). Once part the parish of Eastwood in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, the area was encompassed within Glasgow at the same time as

Pollokshaws Pollokshaws () is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse, Glasgow, Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood, Glasgow, Eastwood and Hillpark, Glasgow, Hillpark to the south ...

in the 1910s. Priesthill was one of the earliest attempts made by the Glasgow local government to relocate families from the outdated central tenements of

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

and other districts. Several homeless families were housed there in or around 1948–1950. St Robert Bellarmine Secondary and other public schools were built to educate the influx of new residents in the early 1950s. The hills beyond Priesthill were farmed until the 1960s and formed part of the

Kennishead Kennishead (, )
is a neighbourhood in the

Glasgow Corporation Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also kno ...

for housing purposes and the

development was built there. Eastwoodmains, adjacent to Arden and Priesthill, was being farmed by the MacDonald family into the 1960s; this land was taken partially to make way for the new M77 motorway. The houses built by the local government in the 1950s were mostly condemned and levelled in the 2000s and the land used for a mixture of private and public housing developments. Others were refurbished in the 1980s, but required further substantial investment by the 2010s.

Notable residents

Limmy Brian Limond (born 20 October 1974), known as Limmy, is a Scottish comedian, author, and Twitch streamer. While working as a website designer and Flash developer, Limmy began releasing comedy on his website and blog, Limmy.com, which containe ...

References

External links

*
Priesthill and Househillwood Thriving Place
Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, October 2017
Priesthill and Househillwood
Understanding Glasgow, 2012 {{Areas of Glasgow Areas of Glasgow