Editing Clydebank (section)

==History==
===Early origins===
Clydebank is located within the historical boundaries of the ancient [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]], the [[Mormaerdom]] of [[Lennox (district)|Lennox]], and the [[parish]] of [[Old Kilpatrick]] (12th century), on the north bank of the [[River Clyde]]. A long-standing local legend is that the village of Old Kilpatrick derived its name from being the birthplace of [[Saint Patrick]], the patron saint of [[Ireland]].<ref name="statacct1">{{cite book |title=The Statistical Account of Scotland 1791–1799 |volume=5 |pages=229–240 |chapter=Number XV. Old Kilpatrick (County of Dumbarton.) |author=Davidson, The Rev. Mr. John |editor=Sinclair, Sir John |location=Wakefield |publisher=E. P. Publishing |year=1973–83 |orig-year=First published 1799 }}</ref>

The town encompasses part of the [[Antonine Wall]], including, at [[Hardgate]]/[[Duntocher]], the site of one of the forts built at regular intervals along the wall. In 2008, the Antonine Wall was designated as a [[World Heritage Site]], as part of a multinational Heritage Site encompassing the borders of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.antoninewall.org/index.php |title=(Press release) Antonine Wall Gains World Heritage Site Status |date=7 July 2008 |work=Antonine Wall}}</ref>

Before 1870, the area which later became Clydebank was largely rural, and agricultural. It consisted of some villages (Kilbowie, [[Drumry]], Hardgate, [[Faifley]], Duntocher, [[Dalmuir]], Old Kilpatrick), farms and estates (Dalnotter House, Mountblow House, Dalmuir House, Auchentoshan House, Park Hall, Boquhanran House, and West Barns of Clyde), with some small scale mining operations ([[coal]], [[limestone]] and [[whinstone]]), several paper and [[cotton mill]]s and some small boatbuilding yards.<ref name="statacct1" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The New Statistical Account of Scotland 1834–1845 |volume=8 |pages=15–35 |chapter=Parish of Old Kilpatrick (Presbytery of Dumbarton, Synod of Glasgow and Ayr) |author=Barclay, The Rev. Matthew |location=Edinburgh |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons |year=1845 }}</ref>

===Industrial development===
[[File:Clydebank Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 429807.jpg|thumb|left|[[Clydebank Town Hall]], which is home to the [[Clydebank Museum]].]]
At the start of the 1870s, however, the growing trade and industry in [[Glasgow]] resulted in the Clyde Navigation Trustees needing additional space for shipping quays in Glasgow. They used their statutory powers to compulsorily purchase the area occupied by the [[John Brown & Company|Clyde Bank Iron Shipyard]] in [[Govan]], which belonged to [[George Thomson (shipbuilder)|J & G Thomson]]. Forced to find another site for their shipyard, J & G Thomson looked at various sites further down the [[River Clyde]], and eventually purchased, from the estates of Miss Hamilton of Cochno, some suitably flat land on the "West Barns o'Clyde" on the north bank of the river, opposite the point where the [[River Cart]] flows into the [[River Clyde]]. The land was situated close to the [[Forth and Clyde Canal]] and to the main road running west out of Glasgow to [[Dumbarton]], and so was conveniently positioned for transporting materials and workers to and from the shipyard. The position opposite the mouth of the [[River Cart]] was to prove important as the shipyard grew, since it enabled the company to build much bigger, heavier ships than would otherwise have been possible farther up the Clyde. Construction of the new shipyard started on 1 May 1871.<ref name="history">{{cite book |title=The History of Clydebank |pages=3–5 |first=John |last=Hood |year=1988 |publisher=The Parthenon Publishing Group Ltd |isbn=1-85070-147-4}}</ref>

Initially, the company transported workers to and from the shipyard by [[paddle steamer]] (passenger steamers were commonly used by people to travel up and down the Clyde well into the second half of the 20th century). However, having to ship workers to and fro all the time was not ideal, so the company also started building blocks of [[Apartment#Scotland|tenement flats]] to house the workers. These first blocks of housing became known unofficially as "Tamson's (Thomson's) Buildings", after the name of the company.<ref name="history" />

Gradually, as the shipyard grew, so did the cluster of buildings grow nearby. More houses, a school, a large shed which served as canteen, community hall and church (known as the "Tarry [[Kirk]]"), then finally two proper churches in 1876 and 1877. As the resident population grew, so did the needs and problems associated with a growing population. Other manufacturers and employers moved into the area, and by 1880 approximately 2,000 men were living and working there.<ref name="history" />

[[File:Kilbowie Road, Clydebank - geograph.org.uk - 731900.jpg|thumb|Kilbowie Road in Clydebank, featuring [[Clydebank railway station]], with the skyline dominated by the [[Titan Clydebank|Titan Crane]].]] 
In 1882 a railway line was built running from Glasgow out to the new shipyard (the [[Glasgow, Yoker and Clydebank Railway]]). This was followed by the [[Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway]] during the 1890s. Then, between 1882 and 1884, the [[Singer Corporation|Singer Manufacturing Company]] built a massive [[sewing machine]] factory in Kilbowie, less than {{convert|1/2|mi|m|abbr=off}} north of the Clyde Bank shipyard. More people moved into the area, and finally, in 1886, the local populace petitioned for the creation of a [[police burgh]], on the basis that the area now qualified as a "populous place". The petition was granted, and the new town was named after the shipyard which had given birth to it – Clydebank.<ref name="history" />

===Clydebank blitz===
On 13 and 14 March 1941, [[Luftwaffe]] bombers attacked various targets in and around Clydebank. In what became known as the [[Clydebank Blitz]], the town was seriously damaged as were the local shipyards, the Dalnottar Royal Navy [[oil depot]]<ref>{{Canmore|num=105838|desc=Dalnottar, Mountblow, Royal Navy Oil Storage Tanks|access-date=2017-11-18}}</ref> and the [[Singer Corporation|Singer's Sewing Machine]] factory.<ref>[http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Libraries/Collections/Blitz/Clydebank/ "Clydebank", ''Blitz on Clideside''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512025638/http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Libraries/Collections/Blitz/Clydebank/ |date=12 May 2011 }}. Retrieved 9 June 2011.</ref><ref>I.M.M. MacPhail ''The Clydebank Blitz''</ref> Over the two days 528 civilians were killed and over 617 people were seriously injured.<ref>[http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandshistory/20thand21stcenturies/worldwarii/clydebankblitz/index.asp "Clydebank Blitz"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701160802/http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandshistory/20thand21stcenturies/worldwarII/clydebankblitz/index.asp |date=1 July 2011 }}, ''Scotland's History''. Retrieved 9 June 2011.</ref>