Carntyne

Carntyne ("Càrn an Teine" in Gaelic) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and to the east end of the city. Carntyne may have derived its name from the Southern Picto-Scot Settlement of Cairn-ton, however Carntyne may be "fire cairn", from Càrn an Teine in the Gaelic, given the abundance of coal in the area.

The area is served by Carntyne railway station.

The Carntyne estate had long been celebrated for its almost inexhaustible seams of coal. These had been wrought by the Grays, from generation to generation, since about the year 1600. The Carntyne, or better known as "The Westmuir," Coalpits long afforded one of the chief sources of fuel-supply to Glasgow. In olden time, when people sought to illustrate profundity, they used to cite a then common expression - "As deep as Carntyne Heugh." The first steam engine used in the West of Scotland for draining water from coal mines was erected at Carntyne. This was in 1768. It was very large and powerful. Previous to its erection, the water was for some time drawn off by the agency of a windmill, which performed the duty a number of years, until it was blown to pieces in a great storm, long popularly described as "the Windy Saturday."

Carntyne Heugh has sent up its last hutch. In 1875 the colliery was finally abandoned, partly from the increase of water, partly from the increase of feuing.

The housing scheme which is now known as Carntyne was built during the inter-war years to provide more housing for the overcrowded population of inner Glasgow. At the time, it was at Glasgow's most easterly point and was built around the A8 to Edinburgh, and therefore the streets are named after places in Edinburgh,Marfield Street, Haymarket Street, Inverleith Street etc, with the exception of Carntyne Road and Carntyne Hall Road, the latter referring to the large house which stood in the centre of the district.

Carntyne has a largely aging population, but is well served with many amenities. There are three churches, High Carntyne Church in the north of the district and South Carntyne in the south, and St Bernadette's Roman Catholic Church. It is served by Carntyne Primary School (which is now within the boundaries of the neighbouring district of Riddrie) and the local secondary schools are St Andrew's RC and Smithycroft Secondary School (the latter is also in Riddrie). It is also the home of the famous Glasgow musician Kevin 'Growler' Argue.