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Concept
Barrhead
Summary
Barrhead (Baurheid, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268.
Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-producing villages (Barrhead, Arthurlie, Grahamston and Gateside) gradually grew into one another to form one continuous town. According to local historian James McWhirter, the name "Barrhead" first appeared in 1750. Glanderston House, to the south, at one time belonged to the Stewart kings of Scotland.
In 1851 there was an explosion at the Victoria Pit colliery in nearby Nitshill, killing 63 men and boys who worked in the mine, many of whom lived in Barrhead. The victims were buried in a mass grave in the yard at St John's Church on Darnley Road, and although some bodies were later exhumed and reburied in other cemeteries, some may still reside at St John's in an unmarked grave.
In 1890, with a rapidly expanding population approaching 10,000, various local residents formed a Barrhead Burgh Formation Committee. The status of police burgh was granted in 1894 and William Shanks, proprietor of a local company, was elected as the first provost of Barrhead.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the town was a major centre for manufacturing, with industries including an iron foundry, a tannery, and the Armitage Shanks porcelainware works, as well as Gaskell's carpet factory, employing generations of the town's residents. In the later 20th century, the decline and closure of nearly all of these industries caused a fall in local employment and population. In recent years, Barrhead has found new life as a popular residential commuter town for near Paisley and Glasgow.
During World War II, a handful of bombs fell on Barrhead from German planes headed towards Clydebank and Yoker.
In 1894 Barrhead became a burgh of barony, meaning that it had its own town council. The council was based at Barrhead Burgh Hall.
Official source
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