Home Report Rutherglen

The town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire has existed in its own right for well over 1000 years. One of Scotland’s oldest royal burghs, the award made the town an important centre for trade. The town even played a role in the Wars of Independence, with Rutherglen Castle changing hands between the Scots and English several times before the last remnants disappeared in the 18th century.

Prior to the 19th century, the town was mostly known as a weaving and mining village. However, as the industrial revolution beckoned Rutherglen changed to a more industrial area with its own shipyard, that produced many of the paddle steamers including the famous Clutha ferry boats that took commuters up and doon the River Clyde.

The town today is really a suburb of Glasgow, despite being administratively part of South Lanarkshire, and the area’s third-largest town. Even though it is just three miles from Glasgow City Centre, the town has a self-contained, almost village-like vibe. The rather broad main street – a legacy of horse fairs that once took place – has many amenities including a shopping centre, banks, pubs, and a fair few local takeaways. The prominent Rutherglen Town Hall – originally constructed in 1862 and following a £12.5m refurbishment this grade A listed site – reopened in 2005 and is now a vital part of the community. Following its highly successful renovation, the Town Hall now houses an award-winning Cafe, runs a variety of performances from dramatic plays to musicals to kids shows, can be hired for events such as meetings, conferences and wedding receptions. Shawfield Greyhound Stadium is also nearby for the chance to watch regular dog racing. While technically not in Rutherglen, the Cathkin Braes Golf Course is nearby and is a challenging moorland course.

Rutherglen is served by a regular train service directly to Glasgow Central Station. The area is also well served by buses too, again into Glasgow city centre or further into South Lanarkshire and elsewhere.

In terms of education, there are a number of primary and secondary schools in and nearby Rutherglen serving the wider conurbation of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Burnside, and other areas. Loch Primary and Cathkin Primary are feeder schools for Cathkin High School which is located at Whitlawburn just outside the Rutherglen boundaries and is primarily the secondary school for Cambuslang. Conversely, two schools located in Cambuslang (James Aiton and Park View) are feeders for Stonelaw High in Rutherglen, as is Toryglen Primary in Glasgow plus Bankhead, Burgh, Burnside, Calderwood and Spittal Primaries within the burgh. Trinity High – which St Anthony’s, St Mark’s and St Columbkille’s Primaries are affiliated – is the only Catholic secondary school for both towns, as is the case for Rutherglen High School.