Brucehill, Dumbarton

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Brucehill is a medium-sized council estate in the west of Dumbarton, in the West Dunbartonshire area of Scotland. The area has always had a high degree of deprivation, with poor housing stock, around 40% of the properties lying vacant, boarded-up, and some even with roofs missing. Brucehill has always had high rates of anti-social behaviour. Despite the poor housing, there are currently no plans for regeneration, which nearby areas such as Renton and Bellsmyre have benefited from. It takes its name from Robert the Bruce who is linked to the town of Dumbarton by having captured Dumbarton Castle in 1311 and having had a house built near the town on the River Leven towards the end of his life, and where he died. The Brucehill area is in the Western part of the town, next to the Castlehill area. Brucehill is largely an Irish Catholic area, and a Catholic school, Our Lady and St Patrick's, is located nearby. The area has a massive flagpole in it, on top which sits a replica of the axe Bruce reputedly used to kill Henry de Bohun at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.