Abronhill

Abronhill is a suburb in the south-eastern quarter of Cumbernauld, a new town in North Lanarkshire, about 15 miles from Glasgow, Scotland. The suburb was possibly the last built using the same basic design guidelines employed by the rest of Cumbernauld (e.g. underpasses and bridges to cross roads, etc). The town has a shopping centre and high school, along with three primary schools and three churches. Every street in the older part of the area is named after a tree. In more recent times privately built estates such as Whitelees and one built on the site of an old school have attracted new buyers to the area.

The name Abronhill comes from the 1600s, during the English Civil War, when the area was named Abraham the Hebrew's Hill by the Covenanters. The name gradually corrupted into Abronhill. Until the 60s and 70s, the land that is now Abronhill was occupied by farms such as Whitelees, Glenhead, Low Abronhill and High Abronhill. Abronhill, or rather, the area on which it stands, was an area of working farms until they were subsumed by the New Town. The farms had developed from the Fleming estate, the Flemings being the ruling family in the area, living at Cumbernauld House, who acquired the area after Robert the Bruce killed the previous laird, Red Comyn, in the early 1300s. The local lords and the royalty of Scotland often came to hunt the deer and mysterious wild "white cattle" which roamed in the forest around Cumbernauld, and presumably in the rich woodland which once surrounded Abronhill. Mary Queen of Scots stayed in nearby Castlecary Castle, and together with another Mary planted two yew trees, which grow there yet. Sir Andrew Fleming was still alive in that day and age, and could often be seen among the potatoes.

The original four Abronhill cottages of the area, are from before the new town was built, they were originally built for the workers of the near by farms, and are situated on the old Slamannan Road (now Broom Road). They can be found close to Cumbernauld Glen, en route to the historical site of interest the Dove cote. The Dove Coo in informal English was part of the original Flemmings estate and is from the 16th century and has recently received a grant from SWT to be renovated.

Abronhill was used as the filming location for the Bill Forsyth film "Gregory's Girl" and its sequel "Gregory's Two Girls", particularly the local Abronhill High School.

The area around Abronhill is mainly farmland and woodland. Palacerigg country park is nearby. A railway and three streams run through this suburb rich in clay. There is also a small shopping centre.

treets

*Hornbeam Road
*Forest Road
*Blackthorn Road
*Cedar Road
*Redwood Road
*Hazel Road
*Alder Road
*Medler Road
*Rowan Road
*Lilac Avenue
*Hawthorn Road

Transport

Abronhill has regular bus services to and from Cumbernauld Town Centre, Glasgow City Centre and other local workplaces.

Links

[http://www.paperclip.org.uk/Cumbernauld/abronhill.htm Abronhill - a photographic celebration]