Kirkintilloch

Toponymy

"Kirkintilloch" comes from the Gaelic Cair Cheann Tulaich or Cathair Cheann Tulaich, meaning "fort at the end of the hill". This, in turn, may come from a Cumbric name, Caer-pen-taloch, which has the same meaning. A possible reference to the site is made in the 9th century Welsh text Historia Brittonum, in which the Antonine Wall is said to end at 'Caerpentaloch'. The fort referred to is the former Roman settlement on the wall and the hillock is the volcanic drumlin which would have offered a strategic viewpoint for miles to the West, North and East. The etymology is sometimes taken literally as "Kirk in tilloch" ("church in the field"). Its long name is often shortened by locals to the colloquial Kirkie or Kirky, as reflected in a number of business names in the town.

History

The first known settlement on the site of what is now Kirkintilloch was a Roman fort established in what is now the Peel Park area of the town. Dating from the mid-2nd century, the Antonine Wall, one of the northernmost frontiers in Roman Britannia was routed through Kirkintilloch; its course continues through the centre of the town to this day, although little trace can now be seen above ground. A digital reconstruction of the fort has been created. There are many archeological artifacts found in Kirkintilloch on display at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. There is no strong evidence of habitation on the site for the following thousand years until Clan Cumming established a castle (Motte and Bailey) and church there in the 12th century. A small settlement grew and was granted burgh status in 1211, becoming an important staging post for west–east journeys from Glasgow to eastern and north-eastern Scotland. From this time, a weekly market was held in the town, probably at the foot of Peel Brae (along with High Street and Cowgate, one of the three medieval thoroughfares in the town). The castle was of some importance during the wars of independence when an English garrison was stationed there, commanded by Sir Philip de Moubray, who was later to command Stirling Castle at the time of the Battle of Bannockburn. Soldiers from the castle were dispatched to arrest William Wallace at Robroyston in 1305 and escorted him to Dumbarton Castle. Later the same year, the garrison is recorded as having sent a petition to King Edward of England complaining of non-payment of wages. The castle was attacked by Scottish forces in 1306 under Bishop Wishart of Glasgow (using timber given to Glasgow diocese by the English for cathedral repairs), but the siege was unsuccessful. The castle is thought to have been destroyed on the orders of Robert Bruce later in the conflict, although the traces of a mot surrounded by a ditch can still be seen in the Peel Park.

The original Cumming parish church, St Ninian's, was constructed around 1140 some distance to the east of the town (where some of the stones remain in the form of an 18th-century watchtower at the entrance to the Auld Aisle Cemetery) as Kirkintilloch was originally in the parish of Lenzie which stretched from Cumbernauld in the East to Kirkintilloch in the West. The establishment was part of the endowment of Cambuskenneth Abbey, and was accompanied by a grant of one oxgang of land (approximately 15 acres), the measurement that lent its name to the area near the church. A chapel to the Virgin Mary was established in the town itself, sometime before 1379, and was endowed with land at Duntiblae by Sir David Fleming. The move of the parish church to the site of the chapel at Kirkintilloch Cross (now the Auld Kirk Museum) in 1644 resulted in a split of the Parish into Easter and Wester Lenzie (later Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch Parishes) The name Lenzie was later reused for Kirkintilloch's railway station on the main Glasgow to Edinburgh line, around which the later village of that name developed.

Governance

Kirkintilloch and Lenzie had their own burgh council until the 1975 abolition of the counties of Scotland when it became part of the Strathkelvin local government district within the region of Strathclyde. A second reorganisation in 1996 established East Dunbartonshire council from Strathkelvin and the adjacent district of Bearsden and Milngavie; with Kirkintilloch is its administrative centre and the council's headquarters at Tom Johnston House in the town, named after prominent early 20th century politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (1941–45) and Kirkintilloch native, Thomas Johnston. The council's headquarters moved to the William Patrick Library in August 2012, forming the local authority's first community hub. Tom Johnstone House was demolished in 2015, a mere 30 years after it was built.

Geography

As well as the Forth and Clyde Canal the Luggie Water passes through Kirkintilloch, the canal crossing the Luggie on an aqueduct. The Luggie flows into the River Kelvin which in turn flows into the River Clyde in Glasgow.

Communities in and around Kirkintilloch include: Cleddans; Harestanes; Hayston; Hillhead; Oxgang; Rosebank; Langmuir; Greens; Fauldhead; Waterside; Westermains; Lenzie: Gallowhill: Whitegates; Back O' Loch; Woodilee; Broomhill etc.

Culture

Kirkintilloch Town Hall was opened in 1906, paid for by public subscription. Listed as a building of special architectural or historic interest, it was closed by East Dunbartonshire Council in June 2004, largely due to the anticipated expense of restoring a building constructed of notoriously crumbling soft sandstone. In response the Kirkintilloch Town Hall Preservation Trust was established as a registered charity to preserve the hall and restore it for community use. Work began on the redevelopment of the hall in early summer 2016, with major works completed in October 2017. Kirkintilloch Town Hall officially reopened in November 2018.

The town is served by the William Patrick Library, which moved from a converted private villa near Peel Park to a new building on West High Street in the 1990s. The titular William Patrick was a local minister whose brother donated funds to the local people to have a library founded in William's name. The neglected old library was sold by the council back into private ownership and returned to residential use after restoration works. William Patrick Library is the main library for East Dunbartonshire Council and also houses the reference department and other council offices including social services, planning and a new community hub.

Kirkintilloch underwent significant population growth in the post-Second World War period, with several new amenities erected to cater for the growing population of the town and its surrounding villages. New shopping facilities were built in the Cowgate and Townhead areas, culminating in the opening, by Diana, Princess of Wales, of the Regent Centre shopping mall in the 1990s.

The local swimming pool and Community Education Centre, built in the 1960s and '70s in Woodhead Park to the south of the town, were demolished in 1999 and 2005 respectively. Woodhead Park was once home to a petting zoo, bandstand, greenhouses, putting green and public toilets. All are now closed, although a new leisure centre was opened on the same spot as the old pool in July 2007, providing facilities for tennis, badminton, swimming, football and a gymnasium. A large new children's play area has been created near the site of the former putting green in the park.

The construction of the new leisure centre came in combination with a wider-ranging artistic, cultural and social regeneration project called Kirkintilloch's Initiative. This includes the new link road largely funded by housebuilders developing on the site of the former Woodilee Hospital.

Education

There are six primary schools in Kirkintilloch, which are Hillhead, Holy Trinity, Harestanes, Oxgang, Gartconner, Lairdsland and Holy Family. There are also two schools in the area for children with special needs, these being Merkland School in Hillhead and Campsie View School in Lenzie.

The two secondary schools in the area are Kirkintilloch High School (Non-denominational) and St Ninian's High School (Roman Catholic) Both schools recently constructed new-build campuses, which were completed in August 2009.

In the Lenzie area primary schools include Lenzie Meadow Primary, Millersneuk and Holy Family Primary. Holy Family is a Catholic school on the edge of Lenzie on the border with Kirkintilloch, and is a feeder to St Ninian's High School. The other two non-denomination schools in the area feed onto Lenzie Academy, along with Lairdsland Primary in Kirkintilloch and the nearby Auchinloch Primary.

Media

The Kirkintilloch Herald is the local newspaper of record, established by town businessman Donald MacLeod in premises on the Cowgate in 1883.

Notable people

Moira Anderson, singer

Alexander Bain, inventor of an electric clock, lived in Kirkintilloch in his latter days.

Joe Caven (born 1936), Scottish former footballer

Beatrice Clugston, philanthropist (1827-1888)

Archibald Scott Couper, chemist.

Andrew Crumey, novelist

James Dalrymple Duncan Dalrymple (1852-1908), author and antiquarian

Joseph Devine, Roman Catholic bishop

Walter Dick, professional footballer who earned one cap for the United States

James Fletcher, industrialist

John Fletcher, politician in New Zealand

Jimmy Gallagher, professional footballer who played for the United States

Alasdair Graham (1934–2016), concert pianist

David Gray, poet

Tom Johnston, Labour politician

David Lapsley, professional footballer

Tommy Lorne, comedian

Hugh McCartney, Labour politician

Ian McCartney, Labour politician

Sport

The town has a football club, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy F.C., thrice winners of the Scottish Junior Cup, who formerly played at Adamslie Park in the west of the town, but now play the town's Community Sports Complex after years in exile in Cumbernauld, and is also home to the amateur Harestanes A.F.C., three-time winners of the Scottish Amateur Cup.

Lenzie RFC is based in the town, playing their home games at Viewfield Avenue. They are in West regional league 1, the 4th tier of Scottish club rugby.

After the town had been without such facilities for the better part of a decade a replacement swimming pool and gym finally opened in July 2007 at Woodhead Park. The town is also home to the "Kirkintilloch Olympians", a local athletics club.

Kirkintilloch is also the home of Aberdeen and former Rangers player Gregg Wylde and Celtic and Scotland player, Charlie Mulgrew.

Lenzie Youth Club is a local football club founded in 1980 by Ian Stevenson which has sections from age 5 upwards. Famous ex Lenzie YC players include Barry Bannan and Stephen Crainey.

Churches

There are a number of churches in Kirkintilloch. The four Church of Scotland congregations are: St Mary's and St David's Memorial Park in the town centre and St Columba's in Hillhead and Oxgang. The Baptist Union of Scotland has churches at Townhead and Harestanes. There are two Roman Catholic Churches - St Flannan's in Hillhead, and Holy Family and St Ninian's in the town centre.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a congregation in Kirkintilloch which shares a Kingdom Hall with its sister congregation in Bishopbriggs.

Twin town

Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan