History
The area is mentioned in a charter of 1225 giving the monks from Paisley Abbey fishing rights on the east bank of the River Leven at the Linbrane pool. [3] [4] Bonhill Parish was noted in a charter of 1270 as "the parish of Buthehille", and the name became Bonyle about 1550, with the variants Binnuill, Bonuil and Bonill appearing before Bonhill was adopted by 1700. In 1650 this small poor parish was enlarged, and since then the Parish has included most of the towns and villages in the Vale of Leven. [5]
The village of Bonhill itself featured an early church, and a ford across the River Leven on the drovers' road to Glasgow. The first modern church was built close to the river in 1747, and it was replaced in 1835 by the present Church of Scotland building on the site of an earlier small church. Various churches of other denominations were constructed from 1830, but closed in the 1960s. [5]
The textile finishing industry came to Bonhill with a printworks, the Dalmonach Works which started in 1786. It burnt down in 1812, and was rebuilt by Henry Bell. A second textile works opened in 1793, and two more works had begun by 1840. Some closed shortly afterwards, but one lasted to 1936. The Dalmonach Works itself featured a school outside the main gates, serving children from the area as well as children employed in the works. After the works closed in 1929, its buildings were used an army barracks during World War II, and subsequently occupied by various smaller companies before the buildings were demolished in 2006, leaving only the school which remains as a listed building. [5]
The town rapidly expanded in the 1960s and 1970s when many residents of Glasgow were moved to "New Bonhill" built on green field sites aimed at facilitating economic expansion and assisting with the removal of below-standard Glasgow housing. This process was known as the "Glasgow overspill". The new houses were built by Dumbarton District Council and the now defunct Scottish Special Housing Association (SSHA). Many think that the scale of the new estates was too large and monolithic in terms of tenure. Originally fairly prosperous (SSHA provided houses for workers in order to assist the economy), the industrial decline that hit the Alexandria area hard led to high levels of unemployment and the social ills that often follow that.
The new Bonhill estates were built quite high up on the hill providing magnificent views up the valley to Loch Lomond. Amenities were planned and built, schools, library, shops, a pub, take away etc. Bus routes were introduced but the houses felt remote from Alexandria centre (a town lacking basic amenities itself).
The Council housing was provided with a district heating system using a single power plant. The system had a set charge collected with rent rather than being metered the aim being to ensure nobody suffered from fuel poverty. Unfortunately this was very badly engineered, used poor material and suffered from vast leakages. The system became uneconomic because of the many breakdowns and the communal plant was removed and individual gas boilers installed.
The New Bonhill estates suffered from vandalism, however demolition of the tenement flats and the introduction of mixed tenure has mitigated this somewhat.
The largest employers for Bonhill residents are Faslane/Coulport submarine bases and West Dunbartonshire Council. Bonhill and the wider West Dumbartonshire area is essentially now commuter belt for Glasgow. The nearest town is Dumbarton, 2 miles (3 km).
According to the 2011 census, Bonhill's population has declined slightly to 9,360
Alexandria is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The town is on the River Leven, three miles north of Dumbarton and 15 mi (24 km) north-west of Glasgow.
West Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. West Dunbartonshire also borders Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling.
The Vale of Leven is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term Leamhnach, meaning field of the Leven. Leamnha is thought to mean elm-water.
Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Perthshire to the north, Stirlingshire to the east, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire to the south, and Argyllshire to the west.
Dumbarton is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel areas of the adjacent City of Glasgow immediately to the east. Depending on the definition of the town's boundaries, the suburban areas of Duntocher, Faifley and Hardgate either surround Clydebank to the north, or are its northern outskirts, with the Kilpatrick Hills beyond.
Faifley is a large estate forming part of the town of Clydebank, Scotland, adjoining the former village of Hardgate, with a population of approximately 5,001. Along with Duntocher and Hardgate, Faifley falls within West Dunbartonshire's Kilpatrick ward with a combined population of 12,719 in 2011.
Cardross is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical county of Dunbartonshire but the modern political local authority of Argyll and Bute.
The Lennox is a region of Scotland centred on The Vale of Leven, including its great loch: Loch Lomond.
Balloch is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, at the foot of Loch Lomond.
Renton is a village in West Dunbartonshire, in the west Central Lowlands of Scotland. In the 2001 National Census it had a population of 2,138.
The River Leven is a stretch of water in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, flowing from Loch Lomond in the North to the River Clyde in the South. The river is about 6 miles long. It is very popular with salmon and sea trout anglers, trying to catch one of these migratory fish going up to Loch Lomond.
Jamestown is a village in the Vale of Leven conurbation in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
Dalmuir is an area nine miles northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was originally two separate villages with Dalmuir Shore joining with Clydebank in 1886 and Dalmuir Village in 1906, during a period of rapid industrialization and expansion. Dalmuir is bounded by the village of Old Kilpatrick to the west, the Mountblow and Parkhall housing schemes to the north, and the Clydebank town centre area to the east. To the south is the River Clyde.
The Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway (C&DJR) was a Scottish railway opened in 1850 between Bowling and Balloch via Dumbarton. The company had intended to build to Glasgow but it could not raise the money.
Dumbarton was, from 1975 to 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, covering the town of Dumbarton and surrounding areas to the north-west of Glasgow.
Leven is one of the six wards used to elect members of the West Dunbartonshire Council. It elects four Councillors.
Star of Leven Football Club was an association football club based in the town of Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire.
Bonhill Football Club was an association football club based in the town of Bonhill, in Dunbartonshire.
