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Clydebank

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Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, lying on the north bank of the River Clyde. It is a relatively young place in comparison to other Scottish towns, being one of the earliest new towns of the 19th century. Officially founded as a Police burgh on the 18th of November 1886 as part of the county of Dunbartonshire, Clydebank served as an early housing scheme for several shipyards Thomson's Ship Builders (1871) and Beardmores (1860 Clyde Navigation Trust) when they opened their shipyards between Yoker village on what is now the western fringe of the city of Glasgow and the village of Dalmuir. These yards eventually became some of the most important ship building yards in the 20th century, John Brown's the home to the great Cunard Line being a fine example. Additionally, the American Singer Corporation opened between 1884 and 1885 had the honour of housing the largest clock face in the world. In 1941, the town was largely destroyed in the Clydebank Blitz.

Clydebank is currently the largest town in the council area of West Dunbartonshire; with a population of around 45,000, it is home to roughly half the area's people. The town is found within the historical boundaries of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, the parish of Old Kilpatrick (12th cent), the Mormaerdom of Lennox and the county of Dunbartonshire.

The town has a large shopping centre which is divided in two by the Forth and Clyde Canal which runs through the town. There are three secondary schools in the town: Saint Andrew's High , Saint Columba's High and Clydebank High There are numerous primary schools. The town has many bars and pubs, and several nightclubs.

The popular Scottish band Wet Wet Wet formed in Clydebank in 1982.

Politics

Residents of the town, nicknamed Bankies, have a strong sense of local identity: Very few identify as belonging to West Dunbartonshire, and while the town's young people mainly identify Clydebank as belonging to the city of Glasgow, most older "Bankies" see the town as being entirely distinct from the city. The town's postal address is commonly written in several fashions: the historic-county based "Clydebank, Dunbartonshire"; the local authority based "Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire"; many people and businesses use "Clydebank, Glasgow"; but possibly the most common form is simply "Clydebank". A 2003 poll conducted by the Scottish National Party suggested that Clydebank residents were unhappy with the town's status as part of West Dunbartonshire and would prefer the restoration of the town's pre-1994 council, which was scrapped in the 1994 restructuring of Scottish local government. The Clydebank SNPpoll found common irritation at the location of local government in the town of Dumbarton, the second largest town (20,000 population) and a view that despite 11 of the total 22 West Dunbartonshire councillors being elected to represent wards within Clydebank, the town residents were distant from their representatives.

Also of concern was that Clydebank will no longer share an MP (Member of Parliament) with Milngavie (an adjacent town in East Dunbartonshire) as the 'urban' burgh constituency of Clydebank and Milngavie, but is now represented in the UK Parliament along with the town of Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven, as the semi-rural county constituency of West Dunbartonshire. The Boundary Commission is currently proposing new constituency boundaries for the Scottish Parliament, with initial proposals again proving controversial: The announced plans are to again split the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency; What has attracted scorn in local press however is the plan to divide Clydebank into two constituencies, which would see the majority of the town joined in a cross-river constituency with areas of Renfrewshire, with the town's periphery joining Dumbarton and Vale of leven in a separate constituency. It is the generally held belief of residents that Clydebank has far more common interests with the rest of Greater Glasgow than they do with detached areas of West Dunbartonshire, though others believe that the historical connection to Dunbartonshire is important in maintaining Clydebank's independent identity from Glasgow. Although not part of the local authority area of the City of Glasgow, Clydebank borders the city with the boundary falling between neighbouring houses and streets.

The town is part of a single urban area (officially the Glasgow City Metropolitan Area) with the terms Glasgow, Glasgow City, and Greater Glasgow commonly used interchangeably; the Glasgow City Metropolitan Area includes places falling within the limits of the following local authorities: West Dunbartonshire (Clydebank), all of East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, all of East Renfrewshire and all of the City of Glasgow. These areas form a single health service area, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Like these areas, most of Clydebank uses the Glasgow telephone area code "0141", rather than the "01389" area code used by the rest of West Dunbartonshire.

In the early 20th century the town was synonymous with the Scottish socialist movements led by the shipyard workers along the river Clyde, giving rise to the title of Red Clydeside, a mishmash of socialists, trade unionists and nationalists.

Sport

Clydebank has two semi-professional football teams, Clydebank F.C. and Yoker Athletic F.C.. Both are members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, Clydebank playing in the West of Scotland Superleague First Division, one tier higher than Yoker AFC, who play in the Central District League Division One. Clydebank FC formerly held status as a senior league club but, while in administration in 2002, the club was purchased by a consortium and moved to Airdrie and renamed Airdrie United F.C.. A new Clydebank F.C. were formed in 2003 and entered the Central district of Scottish Junior football.

The new Clydebank Football Club have a sizeable support - regularly attracting crowds of 400-1,200 for home matches - attendances that exceed those regularly achieved in the Scottish League Divisions 2 and 3.

Yoker Athletic FC (one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland)also have a small but committed support - bolstered by "bumper crowds" achieved when playing home matches against Clydebank FC.

Unknown to most people in the town, Clydebank also boasts a Rugby Football Club based in Whitecrook. The club was founded in 1969 by local lads who decided to form a local club on 29th May 1969. Their first game was played at Whitecrook on Monday 1st September 1969 against a Presidents XV captained by Richard Alan of Hutchesons and Scotland and they have continued to play at the same venue ever since. The club play in red and black and regularly field two XVs.

Employment

Although the town currently has a fairly moderate unemployment rate, at around 15% this was not always the case.

A major employer in the town was John Brown & Company shipyard, which built several well-known ships, including the Hood, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth 2. Later it became part of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, which was the scene of a famous "work-in" in the 1970s.

Singer Corporation was also a major industry in Clydebank, giving thousands of jobs to the townsfolk but has since closed, with a Clydebank Business Park where its famous building used to stand (next to where Singer railway station is now).

The town is home to the independent Clydebank Co-operative Society which has a number of outlets in the town.

Coat of Arms

The Burgh of Clydebank adopted an unofficial coat of arms in 1892, when it was required to obtain a common seal by the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892. The design was described disparagingly by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies as a fine healthy specimen of home-made heraldry.

The design comprised a shield surmounted by a mural crown, above which was a helm bearing a wreath and crest. In the centrepiece of the shield was a Lennox Cross representative of the ancient Earls of Lennox. In chief position was a sewing machine representing the Singer Corporation and in base position "on the waves of the sea" was a representation of the battleship HMS Ramillies built at J & G Thomson's Clydebank Shipyard in 1892. In the dexter fess position was a stag's head taken from the coat of arms of shipbuilder James Rodger Thomson, the first Provost of the Burgh. In sinister fess position there was a lion rampant taken from the coat of arms of local landowner, Alexander Dunn Pattison of Dalmuir.

The crest was a garb or wheatsheaf representing the agricultural interests of the area.

The Latin motto below the shield was Labore et Scientia or by work and by knowledge.

In 1929 there was a concerted campaign by the office of Lord Lyon King of Arms to ensure that all burghs using unmatriculated arms regularised their position, and more than fifty burghs registered arms between 1929 and 1931. This led to Clydebank's arms being matriculated on February 6, 1930. The 1930 grant was almost identical to the 1892 device.

In 1975 the burgh was abolished, becoming part of larger Clydebank District, and the burgh arms went out of use. Clydebank District Council was granted new arms on September 3, 1975. This consisted of a red saltire on a white field for the ancient province of Lennox and for the town's more recent historic links to Ireland which previously used the same flag. The cog-wheel symbolised all the local industries and the demi-figure of Saint Patrick referred to Old Kilpatrick, a burgh of barony from 1672, and where the saint is reputed to have been born. A representation of part of the Roman Antonine Wall was included as the Wall and Roman forts at Old Kilpatrick and Greenhill were features common to the burgh and to the villages in the District. The lymphad (galley ship) was for Clyde shipbuilding. The burgh motto was retained. At the request of the district council, the arms were rematriculated on April 191985 with the addition of a dove of peace in the centre of the saltire. The coat of arms went out of use in 1996 with the abolition of the District Council. In 1998 the successor West Dunbartonshire Council was granted very similar arms.

Areas of Clydebank

Antonine Park, Boquhanaran, Dalmuir, Dalnottar, Drumry, Duntocher, Faifley, Hardgate, Linnvale, Mountblow, North Drumry, North Kilbowie, Old Kilpatrick, Parkhall, Radnor Park, South Drumry and Whitecrook.

References

External links



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