Airdrie, North Lanarkshire

Airdrie
Scottish Gaelic: An t-Àrd Ruigh[1]
Scots: Airdrie

Airdrie town centre
Airdrie
 Airdrie shown within North Lanarkshire
Population 55,326 
OS grid referenceNS761654
Council areaNorth Lanarkshire
Lieutenancy areaLanarkshire
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Airdrie
Postcode district ML6
Dialling code 01236
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentAirdrie and Shotts
Scottish ParliamentAirdrie and Shotts
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 55°52′N 3°59′W / 55.86°N 3.98°W

Airdrie (/ˈɛərdri/; Scottish Gaelic: An t-Àrd Ruigh) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006, the town had a population of 55,326.[2] Chapelhall, Calderbank, Caldercruix, Gartness, Glenmavis, Greengairs, Longriggend, Moffat Mills, Plains, Stand, Upperton and Wattston are generally considered satellite villages of Airdrie.

Name

The origin of Airdrie's name is not known for certain. It first appears in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland (Registrum Magni Sigilii Regum Scotorum) in 1373 as Ardre. By 1546 it has become Ardry and by 1587 Ardrie. It finally appears in the Register as Airdrie in 1630. Given the topography of the area, the most likely interpretation is that the name derives from the Gaelic An Àrd Ruigh meaning a level height or high pasture land. Another possibility is that it is from the Gaelic An Àrd Àirighe meaning a sheiling, a summer pasture/shepherd's hut. A third possibility is the Gaelic Ard Reidh meaning a high plain.

Geography

Neighbouring towns, villages and places.
Glenboig Glenmavis, Cumbernauld Greengairs, Falkirk
Coatbridge (Coatdyke), Glasgow Bathgate, Livingston
   Airdrie  
Coatbridge (Carnbroe) Calderbank Chapelhall, Lanark

Wards

North Lanarkshire Council divides Airdrie into the following wards and areas:

Ward 7 - Airdrie North: Glenmavis, Caldercruix, Plains, Burnfoot, Thrashbush, Rochsoles, Holehills, Clarkston, Greengairs, Longriggend

Ward 8 - Airdrie Central: Airdrie Town Centre, Whinhall, Coatdyke, Gartlea, North Cairnhill, Central Park Area, Rawyards

Ward 11 - Airdrie South: Craignuek, Petersburn, Moffat Mills, Chapelhall, Calderbank, Brownsburn, South Cairnhill, Gartness

Climate

Climate data for Airdrie, United Kingdom
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15
(56)		 17
(55)		 19
(59)		 23
(75)		 27
(81)		 29
(85)		 32
(86)		 36
(88)		 25
(78)		 21
(70)		 15
(59)		 13
(57)		 31
(88)
Average high °C (°F) 6
(43)		 6
(44)		 8
(47)		 11
(52)		 15
(59)		 17
(63)		 18
(66)		 18
(65)		 15
(60)		 12
(54)		 8
(48)		 6
(44)		 12
(54)
Average low °C (°F) 1
(34)		 1
(34)		 2
(36)		 3
(38)		 6
(43)		 8
(48)		 11
(52)		 10
(51)		 8
(47)		 5
(42)		 2
(37)		 1
(35)		 5
(41)
Record low °C (°F) −17
(1)		 −12
(9)		 −8
(16)		 −4
(24)		 −3
(25)		 0
(33)		 3
(38)		 1
(35)		 −2
(27)		 −7
(19)		 −10
(14)		 −17
(1)		 −17
(1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 86.9
(3.42)		 79
(3.11)		 74.4
(2.93)		 46.5
(1.83)		 33.5
(1.32)		 38.6
(1.52)		 49.5
(1.95)		 52.6
(2.07)		 56.6
(2.23)		 84.8
(3.34)		 84.8
(2.62)		 74.9
(2.95)		 762.1
(30)
Source: Weatherbase[3]

History

Early history

The claim of a link between the modern town of Airdrie and the ancient battle of Arderyth has no evidence to back it up and is therefore best regarded as spurious. Unified the patronage of King Malcolm IVth Cistercian monks established an abbey at Melrose in 1136. Five years later a daughter house was founded at Newbattle in Lothian. In 1160 Malcolm granted to the monks of Newbattle lands in central Scotland which became known as the "Munklands" (Register of the Great Seal 1323). Malcolm's Charter constitutes the oldest documentary record of place-names in the Monklands. The area of land granted by the Charter is clearly defined by direct reference to geographical and topographical features thus: Dunpeldre by its right boundaries, namely with Metheraugh and Mayeuth and Clarnephin as far as Dunduffes in the east. The name Dunpeldre is found in the modern name Drumpellier; Metheraugh is now Medrox; Mayeuth is now Myvot; Clarnephin refers to the North Calder Water in the east of the parish (from old Brittonic name claur n afon meaning plain of the river); and, finally, Dunduffes has become directly translated into the modern Black Hill which, as the Charter states, lies at the eastern extremity of the parish. The one thing this Charter does not make any reference to is anything resembling Airdrie yet this is where Airdrie is located.

Pont's "Nether Warde of Clyds-dail" map c.1654 depicting Ardry (Airdrie), Burnfyd (Burnfoot), Carnhil (Cairnhill), Gartly (Gartlea), and Ruchsols (Rochsoles) amongst others.


Airdrie owes its existence to its location on the 'Hogs Back' - a ridge of land running from east to west. One very important aspect of the town’s history were the Cistercian monks of Newbattle Abbey, hence a name for the wider area; Monklands. The monks were farmers and most of the land they used is known today as 'The Four Isles' (a housing estate named after four Scottish islands): Mull, Islay, Iona and Luing in the Petersburn area of modern Airdrie. The monks of Newbattle had numerous establishments throughout the area including a farm grange at Drumpellier, Coatbridge, a court house at Kipps, a chapel in the area of Chapelhall and a number of corn mills. The Monks were also expert in the construction of roads. In the 12th century they established the original Glasgow to Edinburgh road via Airdrie and Bathgate, to link up with their lands in Newbattle in East Lothian.

In those days travelling was often dangerous. Horses were still very rare and could only be afforded by the rich. Low lying ground was usually extremely difficult to navigate because of the numerous bogs, forests and burns - not to mention the possibility of ambush by a footpad or robber. Hence, it became much more practical to travel on the high ground (the 'High Way') where one could avoid the mud and the robbers. These roads (or rather tracks) became known as the King's Highway.

Definitive evidence of the existence of Airdrie as a tenantry was only made clear in 1503. The old monks' road was via Cliftonhill (an area now in neighbouring Coatbridge), Airdrie House (now the site of Monklands Hospital), Aitchison Street, High Street, Hallcraig Street, Flowerhill Street and Colliertree Road. It was along this road that the first houses in Airdrie were built. Development was slow and it was only around 1650 that evidence of the number of inhabitants was known at around 500 for the Airdrie area. A large contingent of Airdrieonians fought at the Battle of Bothwell Brig during the Covenanter Rebellion of 1679; their banner can still be viewed at the local library.

A significant event in Airdrie's history was the 1695 passing of a special Act of Parliament in the Scottish Parliament allowing Robert Hamilton of Airdrie to hold four fairs yearly and a weekly market in the town of 'Airdry'. This helped develop Airdrie from a 'farm town' into a thriving 'market town'.

However, Airdrie really came to prominence through its weaving industry. Airdrie Weavers Society was founded in 1781 and flax was being grown in sixteen farms in and around the burgh. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, coal mining was in progress and around thirty colliers were employed. Weaving continued to flourish making up a substantial part of the population of over 2,500 around the turn of the 19th century. Given its large number of weavers, its geographic location, and a large number of unemployed soldiers following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Airdrie became a major centre of support for the Radical War of 1820. The rapid pace of population growth continued and by 1821 there were 4,862 inhabitants. At this time the number of houses being built increased dramatically and in 1821, by a private Act of Parliament, Airdrie became a free and independent Burgh of Barony. Due to the fact it was 'independent', it had all the powers of a Royal Burgh.

Voting in the early part of the nineteenth century was rather hit or miss as not only locals but residents outside the burgh were allowed to vote. In 1821 the first election of a town council took place and by August it had appointed an assessor, procurator fiscal, master of police and a town crier.

In 1824 it was decided to build the Town House, which was originally designed by Alexander Baird and is now a local landmark known as the 'town clock'. In 1832 the Town House was used as a hospital due to the cholera outbreak of this year.

By 1850, the population had grown to 12,418.

1850 to 1920

The enormous growth in population was not due to high birthrate, but instead due to an influx of residents from the Highlands and predominantly Ireland. This followed the Highland potato famine of the mid-1840s and also reflected the change from cottage industry to heavy industry in the area. Most of the Irish immigrant population were involved with mining and labouring. This led to an increase in ironwork foundries around the area. Because of this explosion in industry, railway links were soon established (circa 1830) and by 1862, the Airdrie and Bathgate Junction Railway provided a direct link to Edinburgh with Airdrie South Station providing the starting point for trains to Glasgow.

In August the Public Libraries Act (Scotland) 1853 was passed, and in November Airdrie Public Library became the first in Scotland.

The dramatic rise in population and industry prompted the need for more accessible water supplies. Until the mid-1800s, various wells were put in place feeding from surrounding streams in the area. These served to provide many houses with private wells. By 1846 Airdrie and Coatbridge Water Company was founded to construct (along with Forth and Clyde Canal Company) the reservoir at Roughrigg.

Around the mid-1800s, several local newspapers began appearing and notably the Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser, which is still the most popular local paper today. Also at this time, football and cricket began to emerge as popular sports. Following the codification of association football rules a local team called Excelsior was formed in 1878 which would later be renamed Airdrieonians Horse race meetings were also held in the town (1851–1870) but this land became the golf course for the newly formed Airdrie Golf Club in 1877.

Education posed a major problem with severe overcrowding in the few schools available, therefore three new school boards were established. Fees were routinely charged within the schools with the belief they should be self-supporting until a parliamentary act of 1889 relieved some of the infant classes in schools of this burden. Airdrie Academy was built in 1895 and by 1919 all school boards were dissolved and Lanarkshire Education Authority took over responsibility for education throughout Lanarkshire.

Airdrie Public Observatory, one of only four public observatories in the UK (Second Oldest and Smallest)- all in Scotland, was founded in the first library building in 1896, and is still operated in the present building by the Airdrie Astronomical Association a Scottish astronautic and astronomy society and registered charity.

By the turn of the century variety shows were becoming popular in the area and by 1911 the Pavilion in Graham Street was built which after initially being used as a music hall started showing cinematographic pictures. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1917 but was rebuilt in 1919 and finally closed in 1970. The New Cinema was opened in 1920 in Broomknoll Street but too has since closed. The town had no suitable venue for larger functions so in 1912 the Sir John Wilson Town Hall was opened (following a generous offer from Sir John Wilson covering the total cost of £13,500). This still stands and is used for major events in the town.

1920 onwards

At the end of the First World War, Airdrie was hard hit with many casualties from the war. Many inhabitants also chose to emigrate around this time. Consequently the population only rose by 3% to around 26,000 by 1931. The depression years had made a great impact on the town and several well known manufacturers ceased to exist and few replaced them. It was reported that 50% of the registered population were unemployed. Church groups tried to provide some comfort for the poor folk in the area and set up educational and work experience projects to help and by 1936 the Airdrie Churches Council had attracted national interest through their work culminating in a building in Graham Street being provided for them (the Mutual Service Club). This is now Airdrie Community Centre.

The current Airdrie Public Library building was eventually constructed on its present site in 1925 after years of moving from one site to another.

The first AIirdrie Public Library building, a Carnegie library opened 1894.

Conditions in the town did not really improve until well after the Second World War but in 1949 the Boots pharmaceutical company and Banner Textiles Ltd were attracted to the town (between them employing 1200). With this impetus, new companies began to consider Airdrie as a viable option for business and in 1958 Pye opened employing over 1000 people. The emergence of industrial estates was also prevalent around this time (Newhouse, Chapelhall, and Brownsburn). The Airdrie Arts Centre opened in 1967 in the former Airdrie Library building and remained a popular venue for concerts and plays till it was closed in 2012 by North Lanarkshire Council.

The 1970s saw the opening of Monklands Hospital, which replaced an older hospital on the Airdrie House estate that had been closed in 1962 and demolished in 1964.

Modern Airdrie

Airdrie town centre has changed much in the last ten years with a new road scheme and a shift in emphasis with the type of shopping it offers. Graham Street, the main pedestrianised street, has recently been refurbished and has had the pedestrian precinct area upgraded. New housing complexes are being built around this suitably situated commuter town, notably in Chapelhall, Rochsoles and Glenmavis, the former Boots factory site in Rawyards and the former Imperial Tube Works in Cairnhill.

Airdrie also has signage in the Scots Gaelic language around the town centre, (alongside English) this was first introduced for the 1993 Royal National Mòd. The signs were originally erected by Monklands District Council, but have been maintained by North Lanarkshire Council.

Sport

Angling

Airdrie is a popular destination for anglers from across the Central Belt, due to its lochs and reservoirs. These include:

The Lilly Loch *, run by Clarkston Angling Club. Roughrigg Reservoir, run by Roughrigg Angling Association.

Athletics

Bowls

There are a number of bowling clubs in the town. All are members of the Lanarkshire Bowling Association and the Scottish Bowling Association, district 27.

Football

The town's major football club is Airdrieonians F.C., who play in the Scottish Football League Second Division, and are based at the Excelsior Stadium. They were formed as a replacement for the original Airdrieonians, who folded in 2002 and were at the time known as Airdrie United. They dropped the 'United' part from their name on their website in July 2012 but were still officially known as Airdrie United F.C. until their move back to the Airdrieonians name in June 2013.

In addition there are a number of teams competing in the various Scottish Amateur Football Association leagues.

Golf

Airdrie Golf Club was established in 1877. It is a wooded parkland par 69 course with tight fairways and well protected greens.

Motor Sport

The Monklands Sporting Car Club runs it events at the Forrestburn Hillclimb situated about 5 miles east of Airdrie.

Rugby Union

Airdrie was home to its own rugby union team called Waysiders RFC. This team was amalgamated to form Waysiders Drumpellier RFC which currently play out of Drumpellier RFC’s traditional home ground in Langloan, Coatbridge.

They presently play in the West Regional Leagues Division One (Level five).

Sailing

The Monklands Sailing Club is based at Hillend Loch by Caldercruix.

Skateboarding/Rollerblading/BMX

Swimming

Tennis

Culture

Airdrie hosted the National Mòd in 1993.[4]

Places of interest

Organisations

Community Centres

These community centres are maintained by North Lanarkshire Council:

Governance

Airdrie is represented by several tiers of elected government. North Lanarkshire Council, the unitary local authority for Airdrie, is based at Motherwell, and is the executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for devolved matters such as education, health and justice,[5] while reserved matters are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Westminster

The town forms part of the burgh constituency of Airdrie and Shotts, electing one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons. In 2005, changes to the constituency boundaries saw part of its area transferred to Motherwell and Wishaw, offset by the addition of part of Hamilton North and Bellshill.

Pamela Nash has been MP for Airdrie and Shotts since the 2010 general election; currently she is also the youngest member of the House of Commons. The location has been represented by several prominent Labour MPs in recent years:

Scottish Parliament

For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament, Airdrie forms part of the Airdrie and Shotts constituency. This has slightly different boundaries than that of the UK Parliament constituency of the same name. The current member of the Scottish Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts is Alex Neil MSP (Scottish National Party), who won this seat in the 2011 Scottish Parliament from the LAbour Party who had held the seat since the instatement of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

In addition to this Airdrie is represented by seven regional MSPs from the Central Scotland electoral region.[6] They are: Linda Fabiani (Scottish National Party, SNP), Jamie Hepburn (SNP), Christina McKelvie (SNP), Margaret Mitchell (Scottish Conservative Party), Alex Neil (SNP), Hugh O'Donnell (Scottish Liberal Democrats), and John Wilson (SNP).

Local government

Up until 1975, Airdrie had its own Burgh Council. Between 1975 and 1996, Airdrie came under Monklands District Council operating in conjunction with Strathclyde Regional Council. Monklands District Council was headquartered in the Coatbridge Municipal Building. Many Airdrieonians felt short-changed by MDC's actions and a significant political scandal known as Monklandsgate greatly tarnished the Council's reputation. After 1996, it came under the authority of the unitary North Lanarkshire Council. Currently, the council is in control of the Labour group and the leader of the council is Jim McCabe, councillor for Thorniewood.

Law

Police

Policing in Airdrie is undertaken by Police Scotland. Airdrie is part of Coatbridge Area Command[7] with Chief Inspector Kenny MacLeod as the Area Commander. Airdrie also forms part of NA (or Monklands) sub division which includes Coatbridge and the surrounding area. There is one police office in Airdrie and this is open 24 hours.[8]

Sheriff Court

Airdrie Sheriff Court provides a comprehensive local court service for the area including civil actions and criminal cases. It is administered by the Scottish Court Service and part of the South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway Sheriffdom headed by a Sheriff Principal.

Other

Economy

Overview

As outlined in the history section Airdrie's traditional economic activities of weaving, coal mining, and heavy industry have ceased to exist. Whilst the Glenflagler Distillery is now closed the town still retains a strong involvement in the whisky industry. Airdrie was also home to a Crimpy Crisps factory. It is fair to say that, given its location near to Glasgow and other commercial or industrial areas, Airdrie might now be considered something of a commuter town. In fact housing construction in Airdrie has been very prominent in recent years with builders developing a number of brownfield sites following the closure of various factories such as Boots who closed their factory in 2004. Nonetheless it does retain significant economic activity.

Notable Airdrie employers

Trading estates

Demographics

According to the 2001 Census,[10] Airdrie's population of 36,326 was:

Religion

Christian

Flowerhill Church

Church of Scotland - Airdrie's Church of Scotland churches are part of the Presbytery of Hamilton.

Roman Catholic Church - Airdrie's Roman Catholic churches are immediately governed by the Diocese of Motherwell, currently led by Bishop Joseph Toal. The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (effectively the Church's headquarters in Scotland) is situated in Airdrie.

Congregational Church - Airdrie's Congregational churches are associated with the Congregational Federation.

Other

Transport

Airdrie railway station is on the electrified North Clyde Line. This railway provides a frequent train service to Glasgow via Coatbridge Sunnyside and Easterhouse. In 2010, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link opened providing Airdrie with a direct commuter train service to Bathgate, Livingston North and Edinburgh Waverley. Drumgelloch railway station serves the eastern end of the town.

Airdrie has road links to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Motherwell, and Cumbernauld and is situated close to the M8 motorway. Bus services are largely undertaken by local operators, and links to Glasgow are provided by First Glasgow.

Airdrie is connected to the UK National Cycle Network by National Cycle Route 75. This route provides a path between Glasgow and Edinburgh. According to the Sustrans website, this path has yet to fully reopen . Other than the Sustrans path, there are no cycle lanes in Airdrie.

Healthcare

Monklands District General Hospital with the medical tower, the surgical tower and the A&E entrance

NHS Lanarkshire is responsible for the healthcare of Airdrie residents. Airdrie is home to Monklands District General Hospital with a 24-hour Accident & Emergency department. The hospital has over 400 beds and provides a comprehensive service with specialist renal, infectious diseases and ENT departments.

Adjacent to Monklands is Maggie's Lanarkshire part of the renowned Maggie's Centres cancer support charity.

The Beatson Lanarkshire cancer treatment centre is currently under construction in Airdrie.

Another NHS hospital, Wester Moffat, provides long term care for the elderly.

The West Central division of the Scottish Ambulance Service provides accident and emergency, and patient transport services for the town.

Also located in the town is St Andrews's Hospice which is operated by the Sisters of Charity and partly funded by NHS Lanarkshire. The hospice is a palliative care unit with a strong emphasis on cancer care.

The Parkinson's Self Help Group (North Lanarkshire) is based in the Weavers' Cottages (1780) and provides support for people with Parkinson's disease.

The SVGCA - Houses for Heroes, a charity providing suitable accommodation for permanently disabled armed forces, police and fire service personnel, maintains four houses in the town.

The Scottish Association for Mental Health and the Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health maintain offices in the town.

In addition there are several medical practices including the state of the art Airdrie Community Health Centre, dental surgeries, nursing homes and opticians throughout Airdrie.

Education

There are three secondary schools, 13 primary schools, two dedicated nursery schools, and one special needs school in Airdrie, all of which are run by North Lanarkshire Council.

Secondary schools

Primary schools

Nursery schools

Private nursery schools

Special needs school

Notable people

Footballers

Airdrie has produced more than its fair share of good footballers over the years.

Twinned towns

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland
  2. ↑ North Lanarkshire Population Estimates
  3. ↑ "Historical Weather for Airdrie, Scotland, United Kingdom". Weatherbase. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  4. ↑ List of Mod's places for each year on Sabhal Mòr Ostaig website
  5. ↑ "Reserved and devolved matters". Scotland Office. Archived from the original on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
  6. ↑ Paterson, Colin (6 May 2011). "Scottish Election 2011: Seven MSPs on Central Scotland list". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Police Scotland - Coatbridge Area Command
  8. ↑ Airdrie Police Station - Police Scotland
  9. ↑ "The Bartlett brothers' entry in The Sunday Times Rich List 2008". London: timesonline.co.uk. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  10. ↑ "Profile of Airdrie from Scotland's Census 2001". scrol.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-28.

Sources

External links

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