Barrhead
Barrhead
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 Barrhead from the Fereneze Hills |
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 Barrhead
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| Barrhead shown within East Renfrewshire | |
| Population | 19,813 (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | NS505585 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLASGOW |
| Postcode district | G78 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Barrhead (Scots: Baurheid,Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south-west of Glasgow on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2001 census its population was 19,813.
Historically, most of what is now Barrhead lay within the parish of Neilston, in the county of Renfrew. The name Barrhead comes from the agricultural term Barr meaning long ploughed furrows for cultivation of crops. The original homestead or hamlet lay at the head of barrs and became known as Barrhead.
In 2007, Readers Digest magazine voted East Renfrewshire the second best place in the United Kingdom to raise a family. The magazine visited and cited Barrhead in their decision.
Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-producing villages (Barrhead, Arthurlie, Grahamston and Gateside) gradually grew into one another to form one contiguous 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 an explosion at the Victoria Pit colliery in nearby Nitshill occurred, 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 they were later exhumed to 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 century, the town was a major centre for manufacturing, with industries including an iron foundry, tannery, and the Armitage Shanks porcelainware works, as well as Gaskell's carpet factory, employing generations of the town's residents. In the latter 20th century, the decline and closure of nearly all of these industries caused a fall in local population and employment. In recent years, Barrhead has found new life as a popular residential commuter town for nearby Paisley and Glasgow.
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Wikipedia