Erskine

Erskine
Scottish Gaelic: Arascain
The River Clyde from the Erskine Bridge
Erskine  Erskine shown within Renfrewshire
Population	15,437
OS grid reference	NS460667
Council area	Renfrewshire
Lieutenancy area	Renfrewshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ERSKINE
Postcode district	PA8
Dialling code	0141
Police	Scottish
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
Scottish Parliament	Renfrewshire North and West
List of places UK Scotland

Erskine (/ˈɜrskɨn/) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.

It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lowest crossing to the north bank of the river at Erskine Bridge connecting the town to Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Erskine is a commuter town at the western extent of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, bordering Bishopton to the north and Renfrew, Inchinnan, Glasgow International Airport and Paisley to the south.

Originally a small village settlement, the town has expanded since the 1970s as a new town, boosting the population to over 15,000.

History

Archeological evidence states that agricultural activity took place within the area as far back as 3000 BC and that it has been inhabited by humans since 1000 BC. The name "Erskine" derives from the Scottish Gaelic phrase "Ard Sescenn", meaning "High Marsh". The first recorded mention of Erskine is at the confirmation of the church of Erskine in 1207 by Florentius, Bishop of Glasgow.^[1] The land around the town was first part of the estate of Henry de Erskine in the 13th century. Sir John Hamilton of Orbiston held the estate in the 17th century until 1703 when it was acquired by the Lords Blantyre.^[2] In 1900 it passed into the ownership of William Arthur Baird, who inherited it from his grandfather, Charles Stuart, 12th Lord Blantyre.^[1]

In the late 18th century, the town of Erskine was a hamlet. During this time, stone quays were constructed to support a ferry service to Old Kilpatrick and Dumbartonshire. This replaced the river ford which had been in place since Medieval times. In light of increased industry and infrastructure in the surrounding area, it gradually became a village in the following century. The small church community grew to having 3,000 residents in 1961, when Renfrewshire County Council unveiled its "New Community" plan for the town's development which involved the Scottish Special Housing Association.^[2]

The development began in 1971 with the building of both privately owned and rented accommodation which boosted the town's population by around 10,000. Having established itself as a thriving commuter town, the 1990s saw the building of larger and more expensive housing, aimed at more affluent property buyers. Due to apprehension about further expansion of the town, several proposals for further large housing developments have been rejected. This is largely because the town has only one secondary school.

Geography

The town expanded in the 1970s with the construction of housing association stock. Since that decade, considerable private development has continued. As more private houses were built in the 1980s, Erskine started to become an attractive place to live due to location factors and accessibility to main road and motorways. Due to this there was a major boom in property development in the 80s and 90s. Most ex-and existing housing association houses are found in the Bargarran, North Barr, Mains Drive and Park Mains areas of the town.

Private housing is mostly found in the West part of the town Garnieland, Flures Drive, Hawthorn, Parkvale, Parkinch, St. Annes, West Freelands. Many house builders that have been attracted to the area include Miller, Avonside, Beazer, Cala, Kier and Tay Homes. Due to the fact there is only one high school in the proximity, there has been no further housing development in the late 2000s

Garnieland, Private

East Freelands, Barhill Road

The town borders a number of nearby settlements, some separated by a rural hinterland.

Neighbouring towns, villages and places.

	Bishopton	Old Kilpatrick	Clydebank
	Kilmacolm		Renfrew
	Erskine
	Houston	Paisley	Inchinnan

Economy

The town's Bridgewater complex provides a range of tertiary sector business, chiefly retail and leisure facilities. This includes two supermarkets, a newsagent, a bakery, a butcher, a chip shop, a Subway restaurant, a pub with a dining area, a Chinese takeaway, an optician, a chemist, a doctor's surgery, hardware store, bookmakers, salon, an estate agency, a dry-cleaner and key cutting service, a swimming pool, funeral parlour, bank and a public library. There is also a smaller retail area in the Bargarran and Mains Hill areas, where there are a few shops and restaurants as well as a community centre.

On the riverside, there are several recently built office blocks. Erskine has one hotel on the banks of the Clyde, the Erskine Bridge (formerly Crest) hotel. There is also a private golf club, Erskine Golf Club, located on the borders between Bishopton.

In addition to a number of local playing fields, the area has two recently constructed sporting facilities: the Erskine Community Sports Centre and the astroturf at Park Mains High School.

Erskine Bridge from the Earl Of Mar Course

Erskine is generally associated with the suspension bridge towering high over the western limit of the town, the Erskine Bridge. The bridge is the furthest west crossing point on the river and it soon expands to become the Firth of Clyde estuary.

Erskine House

Erskine House (1828–45) was designed by Sir Robert Smirke, the architect of the British Museum.^[3] During the First World War it became the Princess Louise Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers.^[4]

It is now the 5-star Mar Hall Hotel, recalling the estate’s former ownership by the Earl of Mar.

Erskine Hospital

The town is home to the Erskine Hospital, a facility that still provides long-term care for veterans of the British Armed Forces. The hospital opened as the Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers in 1916 due to the urgent need to treat the thousands of military personnel that lost their limbs in the First World War. Sir William Macewen was its first chief surgeon, and with the help of engineers and workers of the nearby Yarrow Shipbuilders, he designed the Erskine artificial limb. He trained a team of pattern-makers to manufacture them for the hospital.

In 2000, the Erskine Hospital moved to two new purpose built sites within the town. In April, 2000, The Princess Royal officially opened Erskine Mains Home, in the heart of the town. With 34 beds, it heralded the completion of the first phase of ‘Erskine 2000’ a strategy to replace the existing building and take Erskine care Scotland-wide.

Following a nationwide appeal for support, Prince Charles officially opened the new Erskine Home in October 2000. The new building, no longer a hospital, is located on the site of the former nursery gardens, the £16 million centre of nursing care excellence will serve for many years.

The Princess Royal has maintained her strong links, opening Erskine Edinburgh in 2001, The Erskine Park Home in 2006 and The Erskine Glasgow Home in 2007.

Erskine Hospital is also in the process of rebuilding over 50 veteran’s cottages at Bishopton – suitable for ex-Service people and their families. It also has partnership arrangements with care homes in Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

Newshot Isle

Erskine also boasts the unique natural habitat of Newshot Island Nature Reserve, a salt marsh which juts out into the River Clyde. Contrary to its name, it is now a peninsula, created from silt left over from the widening and deepening of the river in the 1930s, connected the island to Erskine. The nature reserve acts as a feeding and resting point for a wide array of migratory birds traveling to and from regions such as North America, Siberia and West Africa.

Transport

Erskine is served by Glasgow International Airport, which is located 4 km south of the town.

Old Greenock Road connects Erskine to the M8 motorway, the M898 and the A898 (Erskine Bridge) and to Bishopton. The last tip at the northern side of the A726 also connects to the Erskine bridge, cuts through the centre of Erskine itself and is also the primary road for traveling into the Paisley Area. Erskine is serviced by McGill's buses. Buses operate to Glasgow, Paisley, Renfrew, Inchinnan, Clydebank, Glasgow Airport.

Education

The town's secondary school, Park Mains High School, is the largest school in Renfrewshire and one of the biggest in Scotland with over 1,400 students. It is a non-denominational state school. For Roman Catholic denomination state education, the town falls within the catchment area of Trinity High School in nearby Renfrew.

Erskine has five primary schools. All are state schools, with Rashielea, Bargarran and Barsail providing non-denominational education and St John Bosco and St Anne's providing Roman Catholic denomination education.

Notable residents

• John MacKay, Journalist
• Dougie Vipond, Deacon Blue drummer and broadcaster
• Jimmy Reid, journalist and trade union activist
• John McArthur, Union general during the American Civil War
• John Smeaton, apprehender of terrorists during the Glasgow Airport Attacks
• Eileen Catterson, former Miss Scotland
• Marcus Campbell, snooker player
• Stevie Jackson, Belle & Sebastian Erskine born guitarist

References

External links

• National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE (selection of archive films about Erskine)