Burnside is a mostly residential area in the town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Including the neighbourhoods of High Burnside and High Crosshill, respectively south and north-west of its main street, it borders Overtoun Park in Rutherglen plus several other residential areas of the town (Blairbeth, Cathkin, Eastfield, Fernhill, Springhall and Stonelaw), as well as western parts of neighbouring Cambuslang.
Burnside is the largest component of the Rutherglen South ward of South Lanarkshire Council,Election special: Rutherglen South demands continued regeneration, Daily Record, 12 April 2017 which has an overall population of around 15,000.
History Burnside grew as an affluent commuter suburb in the early 20th century following the establishment of the railway station,General view, Burnside, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1937. Oblique aerial photograph, taken facing south, Canmore and although within the boundaries of Rutherglen it became established separately from the older burgh and has thus retained a distinct identity.Rutherglen named as one of the top 25 suburbs in the UK for first-time buyers by national newspaper, Daily Record, 27 March 2015 The post-World War II housing estates which subsequently surrounded Burnside to the south and west were built to alleviate housing problems in central Rutherglen and in Cambuslang, so although physically adjacent were never seen as parts of Burnside as such; in the same vein, the nearby Castlemilk housing scheme is situated close to Rutherglen and Burnside and shared the same administration in times past when it was a rural estate, but was constructed by Glasgow Corporation for residents being rehoused from the inner city and has never had a formal connection to the neighbouring town.
The local park, Stonelaw Woods,Sewage work project in Rutherglen could see 11 months of disruption for residents, Daily Record, 2 May 2017Stonelaw Woods 5, Rutherglen Heritage Project was landscaped from a disused quarry and named after the most prominent historic landmark in the area, the castellated Stonelaw Tower,Stonelaw Tower, Rutherglen Heritage Society a converted 18th-century coal mine winding engine house which fell into disrepair – after subsidence in the vicinity caused by the mining – and was demolished in the 1960s to be replaced by apartments and a petrol station (also since demolished),Rutherglen news: Burnside filling station site subject to planning application, Daily Record, 9 September 2016 with only a boundary wall remaining.Stonelaw Tower, Scottish Castles Association, 8 December 2014Tower House or Engine House? Inside Rais and Stonelaw Towers..., Scottish Castles Association, 10 April 2018
The origin of the name, Burnside Farm, is located some distance south of the centre of the modern settlement, being uphill closer to Fernhill and Cathkin – the farmhouse still exists, located off Beech Drive, while the burn in question runs north-west past the Blairbeth and Spittal neighbourhoods, concealed in parts, before merging with another originating near Castlemilk and flowing through Rutherglen, entering the River Clyde at Richmond Park (Oatlands).Glasgow, Castlemilk House, Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, Sam Small, 2008 (quoted at Canmore) The farm also gave its name to Burnside Loch, used for boating and curling1689 Burnside, Curling Places Vol 1 but drained in the 1920s and now the playing fields for two primary schools located in the Springhall housing estate (including Loch Primary, which today has no visual indication as to why it was so named).About Us, Loch Primary School Other local farms included High Crosshill at the entrance of Glenlui Avenue at Burnside Primary School, no trace remaining; Stonelaw, adjacent to the tower, no trace remaining; and Fishescoats off East Kilbride Road, the buildings for which were retained by a funeral director's business.
There were various stages of housebuilding, with the earliest properties among the largest at High Burnside in the vicinity of Lower Bourtree Drive and Lochbrae Drive in the late 19th century, followed by the grid of streets at High Crosshill and the similar sandstone villas at Buchanan Drive, plus the tenements on the main road in the 1900s, then more at High Burnside (Thorn Drive / Tynwald Avenue / St Stephen's Avenue) and on the old golf course around Crawfurd Road post-World War I. Land to the east of Stonelaw Road was also occupied in the 1920s,John McDonald, Mackintosh Architecture (The Hunterian, University of Glasgow)(Sir) John McDonald, Dictionary of Scottish Architects with a development of quartered villas and bungalows at Southhill Avenue towards the yet unbuilt Eastfield, thereafter mainly semi-detached homes in the triangular plot of land at Dukes Road / Brownside Road, and another set of quartered villas and bungalows on the inclines around Bradda Avenue / Blairbeth Road; these latter areas (including Burnside Church and bowling club) were historically within the civil parish of CambuslangMap of the Parish of Cambuslang in the Historical County of Lanark, Gazetteer for Scotland but were always more closely associated with the amenities of central Burnside, located within the boundaries of Rutherglen along with Springhall and BlairbethMap of the Parish of Rutherglen in the Historical County of Lanark, Gazetteer for Scotland (but unlike Spittal, Cathkin and Fernhill which were in Carmunnock parish).Map of the Parish of Carmunnock in the Historical County of Lanark, Gazetteer for Scotland The last major residential project at Upper Bourtree Drive / Larchfield Drive in the 1970s 'joined' the existing parts of High Burnside and meant the vast majority of the territory was now built upon, with all subsequent modern developments being on a far smaller scale.
Previously, Burnside had its own cinema on Stonelaw Road, the Rhul Cinema. Built in 1932 by the Burnside Picture House Company, the cinema was sold to ABC in 1936 and later demolished in 1960. The space is now occupied by a supermarket, which was previously operated by Safeway, Morrisons and Somerfield,Rutherglen's movie hall past, Daily Record, 2 September 2009 but is presently a Tesco,Rutherglen cat who naps in Tesco 'brightens' the day of local shoppers, Kieran Webster, Glasgow Live, via Yahoo News, 5 July 2025 who purchased the store in 2010 and completed a comprehensive redevelopment.
On the western side of Burnside, overlooking Rutherglen Cemetery and immediately north of the railway tracks, is Blairtum House, built in 1878 for the owner of a rope works at Farme Cross and adorned with rope-related features in its stonework. It was owned in the 1900s by George Gray, Town Clerk of Rutherglen,George Gray (Mitchell Library, The Bailie), The Glasgow Story and later was a care home for the elderly and YMCA-run accommodation for homeless teenagersRutherglen pals recall their life at Blairtum House following horror fire which ripped through the building, Daily Record, 20 May 2016 before being converted as the centrepiece of an upmarket residential development,Conversion of Blairtum House, Scotland, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, 20 September 2019CS09; Blairtum Park New Build & Refurbishment, Grossart Associates surviving a major fire during the process in 2016.Iconic Rutherglen building Blairtum House will not be bulldozed, Daily Record, 17 June 2016 The high ground immediately north of Blairtum is presumed by W. R. Shearer in Rutherglen Lore (1922) to have been the location of a large mediaeval stone cross placed in a prominent position and from which the Crosshill name is derived, although other sources suggest the cross may have been further west at Bankhead,Rutherglen, Crosshill, Canmore where there is a Crosshill Farm.
Burnside Blairbeth Church
The Burnside church was established in 1928 and initially operated out of temporary buildings.Records of Glasgow, Burnside Kirk Session, Glasgow City Archives (via National Records of Scotland)General view, Burnside, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1937. Oblique aerial photograph, taken facing south-west, Canmore Plans for a permanent structure were postponed by World War II, but by the time the conflict ended, a merger had taken place between two congregations based within a few blocks of one another in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, who chose to use the Sherbrooke Church going forward, leaving the St Gilbert's Church buildings (completed in 1911) unoccupied. They were dismantled brick-by-brick and transported to a new home at Burnside, away, the process completed in 1954.Glasgow, Church Avenue, Burnside Parish Church, Halls And Session House, Canmore
The premises are Category B listedBurnside Road, Church Avenue, Burnside Parish Church including halls, session house, boundary walls and railings, Historic Environment Scotland and feature stained glass windows designed by the noted craftsman Oscar Paterson.Burnside Blairbeth Parish Church, The Scottish Military History Research Group, 17 October 2010 The sanctuary was completely refurbished in 2002, around the same time as a merger took place between the congregations of Burnside and the Blairbeth Parish Church, with the 1950s building of the latter on Drumliaw Road still used as a secondary site for services and clubs.
In 2005, the Rev. David Easton retired after serving as minister there for 28 years.Letter from the Minister, Park Pages (Uddingston Park UF Church), 2016 In September 2006, William Wilson was inducted to the vacant charge.About Us, Burnside Blairbeth ChurchRutherglen reverend one of the finest, Daily Record, 16 October 2016 Aside from two Sunday Services, there are Sunday Clubs for children and The Way, a club for secondary school students. The Blairbeth building, Roger Memorial, has Storykeepers club for P1s to P3s and Megaquest for P4s to P7s.
Amenities Stonelaw Road (part of the A749) is the heart of Burnside and home to a supermarket and a range of other local businesses and cafés (as well as several estate agents, having become the main concentration of the industry's branches for the south-east of Glasgow).Burnside, Pacitti Jones Estate AgentsSouth Lanarkshire Council planners knock back estate agent plan in Burnside, Glasgow Times, 31 January 2021 It is also on several bus routes (First Glasgow services 18 to Buchanan Bus Station / East Kilbride and 7A to the St Enoch Centre / Cambuslang, and the 14 McGill 'Ruglen Rambler' service to Rutherglen town centre / Fernhill). Burnside railway station, as part of the Cathcart Circle Lines, is served by half-hourly, seven-day services between Newton and Glasgow Central via Mount Florida or Langside.
In education,Our primary schools, South Lanarkshire Council the area is served by ACE Place Nursery and Out of School Care,Where All Children Excel ACE Place Nursery Oakwood House Nursery,Background, Oakwood Nurseries Burnside Primary School, Loch Primary School, St Anthony's Primary School, (both Springhall), St Marks Primary School (Blairbeth), Calderwood Primary School, Stonelaw High School (both near Eastfield) and Fernhill School (Fernhill). The primary schools were rebuilt in the early 21st century.Rutherglen primary school to be rebuilt instead of refurbished, Daily Record, 26 September 2013We take a look at Burnside Primary's new building..., Daily Record, 8 June 2017 Some of the newest housing in the area, on Greystone Avenue, was previously the site of a special school.Old Rutherglen, Rhona Wilson (Stenlake Publishing, 1996)
Scouts Burnside is home to two Scout Groups: the 185th (Glasgow Rutherglen, established 1929) are based in Burnside Church Halls on Church Avenue. The 113th (Glasgow Burnside, established 1909) are based in a dedicated Scout Hall on Crawfurd Road.
Sports