View source for Nitshill

{{more citations needed|date=August 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{infobox UK place
| country                          = Scotland
| official_name                    = Nitshill
| gaelic_name                      = Cnoc nan Cnòthan
| population                       =
| population_ref                   = 
| os_grid_reference                = NS520605
| coordinates                      = {{coord|55.815144|-4.362925|display=inline,title}}
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Politics of Glasgow|Glasgow City Council]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = Glasgow
| constituency_westminster         = [[Glasgow South West (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow South West]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Glasgow Pollok (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Pollok]]
| post_town                        = [[Glasgow]]
| postcode_district                = G53
| postcode_area                    = G
| dial_code                        = [[UK Telephone numbering plan|0141]]
| static_image_name                = Flats on Pinmore Street (geograph 5662652).jpg
| static_image_caption             = Refurbished flats on Pinmore Street (2018) 
}}
'''Nitshill''' ({{langx|gd|Cnoc nan Cnòthan}})<ref name=railwaynames>{{cite web|url=http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/component/content/article/2999-list-of-railway-station-names.html|title=List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic – NewsNetScotland}}</ref> is a district on the south side of [[Glasgow]]. It is bordered by [[South Nitshill]] to the south, [[Darnley]] to the east, [[Crookston, Glasgow|Crookston]] and [[Roughmussel]] to the north-west, [[Hurlet]] to the west and [[Househillwood]] and [[Priesthill]] to the north, with the [[Pollok]] district and the [[Silverburn Centre]] beyond. An area of open ground to the south-west of Nitshill forms the boundary between Glasgow and the town of [[Barrhead]] in [[East Renfrewshire]].

Nitshill was originally a [[coal mining]] village;<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/22271 Nitshill, Renfrewshire], Vision of Britain (Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882–84)</ref> the Victoria Colliery in the area was the scene of one of Scotland's worst mining disasters on 15 March 1851, in which 61 men and boys died.

==History==
The village fell within the county of [[Renfrewshire]] until 1926, when it was incorporated into the [[Politics of Glasgow|City of Glasgow]].<ref>[https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSE00774 Nitshill (Burrell Collection Photo Library, 1920s)], The Glasgow Story</ref> The change in local government was mainly related to [[education]] and community services such as roads, water, [[sanitary sewer|sewerage]] and housing.

Consisting of just a few streets prior to its incorporation into Glasgow,<ref>[https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.8136&lon=-4.3580&layers=5&b=1 OS Six-inch 1st edition, 1843–1882], Explore georeferenced maps ([[National Library of Scotland]])</ref> Nitshill grew on a small scale with [[cottage flats]] prior to [[World War II]],<ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1452132 General view, Priesthill, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1937], [[Canmore (database)|Canmore]]</ref> after which it was substantially expanded to accommodate people relocated during the [[Bruce Report|Glasgow slum clearances]] in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1950/apr/18/housing-estates-glasgow-schools Housing Estates, Glasgow (Schools)], [[Hansard]], 18 April 1950</ref><ref>[https://www.theglasgowstory.com/story/?id=TGSFF12 Modern Times: 1950s to The Present Day: Buildings and Cityscape: Council Housing], The Glasgow Story</ref><ref name=tgs191450>[https://www.theglasgowstory.com/story/?id=TGSEG03 No Mean City: 1914 to 1950s: Neighbourhoods: Pollok], The Glasgow Story</ref><ref>[https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=55.8154&lon=-4.3634&layers=170&b=1 OS National Grid Maps, 1944–1967], Explore georeferenced maps ([[National Library of Scotland]])</ref>

[[File:Properties on Nitshill Road (geograph 5896911).jpg|thumb|left|1920s [[cottage flats]] on Nitshill Road]] 
The wider area, sited on the main [[Glasgow]]-[[Kilmarnock]] road and rail networks and including the post-WWII housing schemes of [[South Nitshill]] and Craigbank<ref>[https://www.urbanrealm.com/news/6514/Nitshill_estate_regeneration_to_deliver_180_homes.html Nitshill estate regeneration to deliver 180 homes], Urban Realm, 28 November 2016</ref> (as well as [[Priesthill]] in some reckonings), became 
increasingly marked by multiple socio-economic issues.<ref name=bluenitsy>[http://blueskyscotland.blogspot.com/2013/07/pollokpriesthill-nitshillsouth.html?m=1 Pollok.Priesthill. Nitshill.South Nitshill.Darnley.Then and Now], Alex and Bob's Blue Sky Scotland, 27 July 2013</ref> However, there has been a move towards improving the district with the regeneration/demolition of much of the housing and schools,<ref name=bluenitsy/><ref name=bluepollok>[http://blueskyscotland.blogspot.com/2014/01/pollokpriesthillnitshillthe.html?m=1 Pollok.Priesthill.Nitshill.The Bundy.Gowanbank.Silverburn.Schools, Memories, and Pubs], Alex and Bob's Blue Sky Scotland, 21 January 2014</ref><ref>[https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13651779.amp/ New £21million school campus for Glasgow], Evening Times, 8 September 2015</ref><ref>[http://www.rosehillhousing.co.uk/our-properties/location-houses Location of Houses], Rosehill Housing Co-operative</ref><ref>[https://www.sanctuary-scotland.co.uk/craigbank-glasgow Craigbank development], Sanctuary Scotland</ref> and the building of The ''Glasgow Museums Resource Centre'', a purpose-built museum storage facility and visitor centre<ref>[https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/glasgow-museums-resource-centre-gmrc Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)], Glasgow Life</ref> (technically located within South Nitshill) which houses the ''Nitshill Open Museum''. There is one small [[tower block]] in the area, adjacent to the shopping precinct, the only such structure in that part of Glasgow (over 200 were constructed across the city).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/183517/415-nitshill-road-glasgow-united-kingdom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228004107/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/183517/415-nitshill-road-glasgow-united-kingdom|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2019-02-28|title=Tower Block UK: Cleeves Road|publisher=[[University of Edinburgh]]|access-date=23 January 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/183517/415-nitshill-road-glasgow-united-kingdom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228004107/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/183517/415-nitshill-road-glasgow-united-kingdom |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2019-02-28 |title=415 Nitshill Road |work=[[Emporis]]}}</ref>

[[File:Beautiful_nitshill_tunnel.jpg|thumb|Tunnel under railway east of Nitshill Station]]
[[File:Nitshill_mining_disaster_memorial_plaque.jpg|thumb|Nitshill mining disaster memorial]]
Part of the city's [[Greater Pollok (ward)|Greater Pollok ward]], Nitshill is classed as a low socio-economic area. Studies have confirmed a strong association between deprivation and crime. It is no surprise, therefore, to find that the highest rates of crime in residential areas in Glasgow are to be found in the most deprived areas of the city. This link was highlighted in a report relating to a knife murder committed by a bar manager in a Nitshill pub in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13065364.The_deadly_link_between_alcohol_and_crime_Police_call_to_limit_sale_of_drink_in_deprived_areas/|title=The deadly link between alcohol and crime Police call to limit sale of drink in deprived areas|website=HeraldScotland|date=15 July 2012}}</ref>

[[Nitshill railway station]] is on the [[Glasgow South Western Line]] and has a memorial to the former station clerk [[John Meikle]], killed in action in France in 1918, aged 19, and awarded a posthumous [[Victoria Cross]]. The railway line is the southern boundary of Nitshill proper (South Nitshill has a close association with the older part, and residents of the modern developments at [[Parkhouse, Glasgow G53|Parkhouse]] further south also make use of the local amenities on Nitshill Road). The northern limit is the [[Levern Water]], where the early 2000s housing estate of Levernbank is situated.

The poet and folk singer [[Jock Purdon]] was born and grew up in Nitshill.

== Victoria coal pit disaster ==
On 15 March 1851, an explosion at the Victoria coal pit killed 61 of the 63 men and boys in the mine at the time. Two survivors were rescued 45 hours after the explosion.<ref>[http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/27.html Nitshill 15 March 1851] scottishmining.co.uk, accessed 10 February 2010</ref><ref>[https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/lifestyle/13284611.amp/ Eye Spy Glasgow: A memorial to 61 miners who lost their lives in pit disaster], [[Evening Times]], 4 July 2014</ref> A memorial to the disaster stands off the main road at Nitshill station, beside the local war memorial.

The plaque reads:
:''NITSHILL MINING DISASTER''
:''15th MARCH 1851''

:''IN MEMORY OF THE NITSHILL MINING DISASTER''
:''AND THE 61 MINERS FROM THE VICTORIA PIT''
:''WHO LOST THEIR LIVES''

:''DONATIONS FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY''
:''TRADERS, TRADE UNIONS''
:''AND''
:''GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL''

==See also==
*[[Glasgow tower blocks]]

==References==
<references/>
*Robert Macleod, ''Charles Rennie Mackintosh'', Country Life Books 1968

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
*[https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst493.html Nitshill] at [[Gazetteer for Scotland]]
*[https://www.gha.org.uk/my-home/my-community/community-news/south/nitshill-kennishead-darnley Community News: Nitshill Kennishead Darnley], [[Glasgow Housing Association]] (2016)
*[http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=8 Glasgow Museums Resource Centre & Nitshill Open Museum]

{{Areas of Glasgow}}

[[Category:Areas of Glasgow]]