Clydebank (West Dunbartonshire)

Lat:55.9032 Lon: -4.4058

Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, on the north bank of the River Clyde.

Until the late 19th Century the area was largely rural, consisting of a number of villages and farms. The Clyde Bank Shipbuilding Yard was set up here in 1871. Rapid growth of heavy industry, population and housing soon followed.

In 1882, the Singer Company moved their manufacturing base from Bridgeton to Clydebank. It quickly became the largest sewing-machine factory in the world. It employed over 12,000 workers making domestic and industrial sewing machines that were shipped all round the globe.

During World War II, Clydebank was a major target for German bombing. In March 1941, Luftwaffe air raids hit the town, leaving 528 people dead and completely destroying 4,000 houses.

Heavy industry has declined in Clydebank since the latter half of the 20th Century. The Singer factory closed in 1980 and was demolished in the early 1990s. The site is now largely occupied by a business park. Service industry, including call centres, is now a major employer in the town.

Features of the area

• Harbour
• Town
• Industry
• River
• Canal

West Dunbartonshire Group

West Dunbartonshire is one of Scotland’s 32 unitary council areas. Bordering the west of the City of Glasgow, it contains some of the city’s suburbs as well as commuter towns and villages. West Dunbartonshire also borders Argyll and Bute, Stirling, East Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire.

The area was formed in 1996, merging the former Clydebank and Dumbarton (excluding Helensburgh) districts of Strathclyde Region. Although Clydebank is the larget town, Dumbarton is the administrative centre of the area.

Elsewhere on the BBC

• BBC: Scotland's History: Singer Sewing Factory strike
• BBC: Scotland's History: The Clydebank Blitz
• BBC Glasgow and West Scotland

Elsewhere on the web

• West Dunbartonshire Libraries: Landscape
• West Dunbartonshire Libraries: Local Studies and Archive
• RCAHMS: Clydebank, Singer's Sewing Machine Factory
• Welcome to Clydebank: History
• Wikipedia entry on Clydebank
• Coast: Clydebank Today