Westburn, South Lanarkshire

Westburn is a district of the town of Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was formerly home to a steel works and power station which were the area’s major employers; the sites are now occupied by a housing development and modern industrial estate respectively. Administratively, Westburn is within the Cambuslang East ward of the South Lanarkshire Council area[1][2] and has a population of around 2,000.

Not to be confused with Westburn Park.

Westburn
  • Scottish Gaelic: Srath an Iar

Westburn Road and wooden houses
Westburn
Westburn
Location within Scotland
Westburn
Westburn (Scotland)
Population2,000 
OS grid referenceNS65750607
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGLASGOW
Postcode districtG72 7
Dialling code0141
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Location

Due to its physical isolation from the main built-up areas of Cambuslang, Westburn has something of a rural village character as opposed to a neighbourhood in a medium-sized town.

The River Clyde runs to the north of the village, opposite the Carmyle district of Glasgow – the banks were previously connected by Westburn Viaduct, a disused rail bridge, but that has now been blocked off.[3] To the south is the West Coast Main Line railway line with the district of Halfway beyond that. To the east, Westburn is separated from the neighbouring district of Newton by a small burn. To the west, a park and golf course form a boundary with the Circuit neighbourhood and the Cambuslang town centre.[4]

History

Ancient Estate

The Westburn name has appeared on local maps for centuries, but initially this was a country house and a nearby farm closer to Cambuslang Main Street than the current village. The estate of Westburn existed from the late middle ages and was largely in the hands of minor nobility, members of the Clan Hamilton who latterly married into the Clan Dundas. The last Westburn House was built in 1685[5] but the later owners failed to maintain it well, and in the 1890s it was demolished and a golf course (Cambuslang Golf Club) was laid out in the grounds.[6]

Doocot from Westburn House estate at Cambuslang Golf Club

An octagonal doocot from the 18th century in the middle of the course is the surviving feature of the old estate (and is a Category B listed building). The farm buildings to the east are presently an indoor go-kart racing circuit. Part of the estate which nowadays is housing was a football ground at the end of the 19th century; Westburn Park was home at various times to Cambuslang F.C., Cambuslang Hibernian and the surviving local club Cambuslang Rangers.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the area where modern Westburn is now situated was merely open ground with a small road running down towards Newton House on the other side of the burn.[7]

19th Century

A notable feature in the area was the local cemetery located on high ground, which still serves the Cambuslang population to this day and has been extended several times. It has records from 1889 although there are headstones on the site dating from the 1750s.[8] This was also the location of Old Cambuslang or Cambuslangtown, the hamlet from which the town took its name as it became larger – this settlement did not last beyond the 19th century.

Westburn Cemetery

A small colliery operated in Westburn from 1875 until 1905[9] and had a branch railway connecting it to the main lines. There was also a small tile works in the mid 19th century, and later some row cottages (for railway workers) and a public house were built near to Newton railway station and the Hallside Steelworks on the other side of the railway tracks.[10] One of the oldest surviving buildings in the district housed a small cinema ('The Empire') for a time; it has long since been converted to use as a workshop.[11]

Steel Village

Westburn was transformed with the arrival of its own steel works in 1921. The Redpath Brown & Co firm was established in 1802 in Edinburgh[12] and had premises in Glasgow by 1905 but needed a bigger site and identified Westburn (on the road to Newton House) as the location for their new works. The business proved very successful, and a network of houses (around 160 dwellings, mainly cottage flats) was built alongside for the workers.[13] A group of uncommon black 'Swedish timber' houses (64 dwellings) was also constructed on the south side of Westburn Road up to the railway lines;[14][15] (the same style can be seen within Lanarkshire including at High Blantyre and Birkenshaw, although many less distinctive examples are found in other parts of Scotland.[16][17]

Housing at Westfarm on the site of the steel works

Redpath Brown & Co were acquired by ironmaking giant Bolckow, Vaughan which was the driving force in the growth of Middlesbrough but they soon ran into difficulties and was bought over by another firm from that area, Dorman Long; the Redpath Brown works at Westburn was well suited to their speciality of bridge building (including Sydney Harbour Bridge). After building landing craft duggin World War II, in 1967 the group became part of British Steel Corporation and was renamed Redpath Dorman Long Ltd, later Redpath Engineering Ltd.[9]

The residential portion of Westburn had expanded further – comprising around 120 family homes - by the time the works ceased operations in 1990, with the resultant job losses leading to considerable financial hardship in the community. The fact that the other major employers in the local area, the larger Hallside Steelworks (1873-1979)[18] and the Clydesmill Power Station (1903-1982) had also folded in the recent past did not help matters. The power station had been built on the river at an old mill weir (traces of which are still visible) and at one point had the largest generating capacity in Scotland.[19]

Westburn was also the scene of a tragedy in 1991 when the Newton rail accident occurred on the tracks right next to the village. The site of the steelworks is now a suburban housing estate – Westfarm or Newton Grange (around 250 dwellings), built between 2004 and 2009. The old colliery was also converted to modern housing (Overton Grange, around 230 dwellings) with its streets named after local metalworking firms including Redpath, Arrol, Colville and Dalzell.[20]

Westburn Today

Like many former industrial locations across Scotland, in the 21st century the people of Westburn are attempting to maintain and modernise their community in the face of economic challenges. The 2016 Scottish index of multiple deprivation results suggested those living in the older part of the district were still struggling in some ways after a generation of underemployment.[21] The new affluent housing estates in the area (and in neighbouring Newton Farm) have been designed with homeowners commuting to work in central Glasgow or elsewhere in mind, due to the proximity of the M74 Motorway (5 minutes by car) and Newton station (10 minutes on foot).

The secluded area around the footbridge to Newton was a congregating point for local youths for many years, with antisocial behaviour often resulting - this continued after the surrounding land was dug up and fenced off for housebuilding as part of the Newton Farm CGA project, and after public gatherings were banned during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.[22][23]

Amenities

Westburn has good recreational provision; there is a children’s play area in the east of the village (on the site of the old row cottages), and this is also the location of the community centre where birthday parties, dance classes etc. can be booked.[24] There are other play areas in the new housing estates, and a full-size grass football field at Peter Brownlee Park which is well used by children's teams.[25]

The Clyde Walkway runs alongside the river to the north of Westburn, although at that point it is simply a muddy track, and National Cycle Route 75 runs through the south side of the village[26] offering a safe bicycle route towards Glasgow (it is less safe in the other direction towards Uddingston which joins busy country roads). The Scotkart facility is also an option, albeit this is an expensive hobby – a popular informal alternative in the area is the riding of quad and motocross bikes through the nearby fields.

Other amenities are somewhat lacking in the village. There are no schools or nurseries (there is a facility known as Westburn Nursery, but this is actually in the Circuit neighbourhood closer to Central Cambuslang);[27] however a large primary school and nursery in Newton opened in 2017.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service National Training Centre

There are no local healthcare facilities, no places of worship and just one licensed grocer incorporating a post office by way of shops. Its location on the south side of the main road through the district (while most residents live on the north side) was also a concern in the community as children and the elderly put themselves at risk trying to cross against speeding vehicles – the road had no pedestrian crossing or other traffic calming measures in place and the road became increasingly busier in recent years due to new housing in Newton and Drumsagard Village.[28][29] After a concerted effort by local residents over several years, a pelican crossing was installed outside the grocer in mid-2019.[30]

The small public house from the 19th century survived in various hands until 2016 when it closed awaiting redevelopment,[31] being converted into a fast food takeaway the following year. Another old pub still operates in Newton, but most facilities are located in central Cambuslang and Halfway.

Commerce

There is a modern industrial estate near Westburn at the site of the former power station. It is home to the Scottish headquarters of Greggs bakers[32] who moved there from Shawfield, Rutherglen in 2007;[33][34] the national training centre for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service alongside a new community fire station;[35] chemical distributors Brenntag; plant hire firm AB2000;[36] Mitchell Engineering which is one of Cambuslang’s oldest surviving businesses (established 1891);[9] and poultry processing company 2 Sisters Food Group[37] which ceased operations at Westburn in 2018 with the loss of 450 jobs.[38][39]

The development adjoins a larger industrial suburb on the north bank of the Clyde, based near Carmyle around the site of the historic Clyde Iron Works; it is a popular location for businesses due to its proximity to the motorway and to Glasgow.

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References
  1. "Map ward 14 - Cambuslang East" (PDF). South Lanarkshire Council. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. "Cambuslang East". Police Service of Scotland. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. Westburn (Carmyle) Viaduct, Forgotten Relics, 2017
  4. "Cambuslang, 30 Westburn Drive, Cambuslang Golf Course". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  5. "Westburn". www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  6. "TheGlasgowStory: Westburn House". www.theglasgowstory.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  7. "Ordnance Survey Six-inch To The Mile, Lanarkshire, Sheet Xi". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  8. Dickie, Douglas (24 May 2016). "Westburn Cemetery in Cambuslang set to be extended". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  9. "History of Cambuslang Industries (Colin Findlay)" (PDF).
  10. "Ordnance Survey Six-inch To The Mile, Lanarkshire Sheet Xi.nw". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  11. "Westburn - Empire Cinema". Scottish Cinema Database. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  12. "Redpath, Brown and Co - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  13. "Ordnance Survey Six-inch To The Mile, Lanarkshire Sheet Xi.nw". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  14. Buildings of Scotland: Glasgow (page 504), Elizabeth Williamson, Anne Riches, Malcolm Higgs, 1990, ISBN 9780140710694
  15. Call for South Lanarkshire Council to rethink insulation plan for iconic Westburn houses, Daily Record, 7 April 2017
  16. Swedish Timber Framed House, British Iron & Steel Federation
  17. [Swedish Timber Houses (Glasgow City Archives, Department of Architectural and Civic Design, 1945)], The Glasgow Story
  18. "TalkTalk Webspace is closing soon!!". www.talktalk.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  19. "Glasgow, Clydesmill Power Station". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  20. "Two's company". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  21. Kenealy, Edel (7 September 2016). "Rutherglen communities at top of list of most deprived areas in Scotland". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  22. Teenagers gathering on Cambuslang street to drink, take drugs and have sex, Daily Record, 7 April 2017
  23. Police officer hit by rocks as she tried to split up gathering, STV News, 25 April 2020
  24. "Westburn Community Hall". South Lanarkshire Council Leisure. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  25. "Football clubs in Rutherglen and Cambuslang call on local council for better sports facilities". Daily Record. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  26. "National Cycle Route 75". Sustrans. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  27. About Us, Westburn Nursery
  28. Kenealy, Edel (1 July 2016). "Cambuslang children launch campaign for safe crossing at Westburn Road". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  29. Kenealy, Edel (22 August 2016). "Cambuslang: Westburn call to arms for safe road crossing". dailyrecord. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  30. Joy in Westburn as work starts on road crossing, Daily Record, 16 April 2019
  31. SLTN (23 November 2016). "G1 Group sells Cambuslang pub | Scottish Licensed Trade News". Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  32. "Greggs Bakery, Clydesmill, Cambuslang, Scotland". Food Processing Technology.
  33. Greggs Bakery - Glasgow, Caunton Engineering
  34. £2million plan to clean up Shawfield, Daily Record, 8 February 2019
  35. "Clydesmill Community Fire Station". Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
  36. "Profile: AB2000 Limited". CCE Magazine. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  37. "2 Sisters creates 180 jobs with Scottish plant expansion". Food Manufacture.co.uk. 8 January 2014.
  38. Cambuslang chicken plant to close with loss of 450 jobs, BBC News, 12 April 2018
  39. End of an era as Cambuslang's 2 Sisters plant closes its doors for the last time, with grave warnings over local economy, Daily Record, 5 September 2018
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