Lenzie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lenzie (len-zie) is a village situated by the Glasgow - Edinburgh railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland, approximately six miles north-east of Glasgow city centre and one mile south of Kirkintilloch. It has a population of approximately 10,000 - due to increase by several thousand when the Woodilee Housing Estate is built. It is now generally pronounced "Lenzie", but was formerly pronounced "lenyie", the "z" representing a "yogh".
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[edit] History
Lenzie was built in the 19th century as a commuter town for those traveling to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as Lenzie railway station is a stop between the two cities. The train station was originally named Campsie Junction, connecting the lines to Glasgow and Kirkintilloch (the latter of which no longer exists) and caused much confusion with people thinking they were at Milton of Campsie.
Lenzie means 'swamp land'[citation needed], and was formerly used for farming. Now it has several shops, schools, churches, parks and various sport clubs like any other suburb. Woodilee Hospital, once the largest psychiatric hospital in Scotland, opened in 1874 and was gradually closed down from the mid-1990s. Lenzie Hospital, which is on the road to Auchinloch and was for the elderly, also closed around this time.
Until World War II, housing was chiefly north of the railway station and south of the railway on the west side of Auchinloch Road. This consisted of Victorian and Edwardian villas, a few terraces, and some 1920s and 1930s bungalows at Middlemuir and Kirkintilloch Road in north Lenzie. From the 1950s some Council housing was built at Gallowhill Avenue and High Gallowhill as well as private housing. In the south, housing was built at Millersneuk and Claddens, changing the image and the face of the village into a town.
[edit] Schools
The secondary school for the town is Lenzie Academy, whose former pupils include Scotland rugby international, Andrew Henderson, Travis guitarist Andy Dunlop, the former Secretary of State for Scotland, Tom Johnston, and the former Chairman of the Labour Party, [[Ian McCartney], The plow known world wide for his "hand" skills.ross
The school was founded in 1886 and was originally both a primary and secondary school situated on Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie - now Lenzie Primary School. In 1960, the school moved to its present position on Myrtle Avenue, and became a comprehensive six-year secondary in 1971. in August 1997, the building of a new wing was completed, housing the departments of Mathematics, Computing, History, Geography, Modern Studies, Music, Art & Design together with offices and new toilet areas. The current school rector is Roderick J McLelland, BSc.
There are four primary schools in Lenzie: Lenzie Moss, Lenzie Primary, Millersneuk and Holy Family. Lenzie Primary is the oldest of the primary schools, and is the former Lenzie Academy building. It became a school for primary education only when the Lenzie Academy building was built in 1960. Lenzie Moss Primary School is located next to "The Moss", the only remaining boggy, marshy area of Lenzie that has not been built on, and is a sort of "mini-forest". Several forms of wildlife can be found there. Millersneuk Primary School was built in 1979, and celebrated its 25th Anniversary as a school concert in Summer 2004. Holy Family Primary is the only Catholic school in Lenzie, and is situated on the border of Lenzie and Kirkintilloch, so they count for both the Lenzie and Kirkintilloch Galas.The primary school is Lenzie Primary school.
[edit] Lenzie life
There are three churches in Lenzie: Lenzie Union Parish Church and Lenzie Old Parish Church (both Church of Scotland) and St Cyprian's (Scottish Episcopal Church). St. Cyprians is the oldest of the three churches - built in 1873, and celebrated its 125th anniversary in the year 1998.
Every year, like many other towns in East Dunbartonshire, Lenzie holds a Gala on the first Saturday in June at the local rugby club. Each year, a 'Queen' in Primary Seven is chosen from one of the local primary schools, and three attendants from the other schools.
There is a pub in the village named "Carriages" formerly known as "The Gallery" and before that "The Neuk and Cranny" at the end of Millersneuk Drive. Carriages was recently the focus of an investigation regarding payments made to the Labour leader Wendy Alexander's campaign to succeed former leader Jack McConnell as cited in The Herald 22 January 2008. However, the pub was found of no wrong doing and had in fact never donated any money to any political party.
There is one Scout Group the 1st Lenzie, 12th Glasgow. In addition there are two Boys' Brigade companies: 1st Lenzie (attached to Lenzie Union Parish Church) and 2nd Lenzie (attached to Lenzie Old Parish Church) along with Lenzie Crusaders.
There is a golf course in the village. Established in 1889, Lenzie Golf Club is situated at the East end of Gadloch, Lenzie.
There is a row of shops located near to the train station and includes a hairdresser, optician, pharmacy, florist, estate agent, baker, post office and a local branch of Peckham's the delicatessen and wine and spirits retailer.
