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Scotstoun (archaically Scotston[1], Template:Langx) is a distict of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Scotstoun is situated on the River Clyde to the north-west of the city centre, and is bounded by (clockwise, from the west) Yoker, Garscadden, Knightswood, Jordanhill and Whiteinch.
History
Scotstoun Estate
Scotstoun, most likely named for Alexander Scott, an influential 13th century land-owner in Partick[2], was a medieval estate owned by the Montgomery family[3]. The land formed part of the parish of Renfrew, connected by a ford in the River Clyde. It was in their possession for over two centuries before it was sold on it to Glasgow's town clerk, John Hutchinson, in 1634. Hutchinson's grandson sold the land on to merchant William Walkinshaw in 1691; Walkinshaw designed and constructed Scotstoun House, a mansion at the centerpiece of the estate, in the early 18th century.
William Walkinshaw's son John became involved in the first Jacobite rising of 1715. In his absense following the Jacobite conflict, the estate was claimed by Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton. Lord Eglinton fought a lengthy legal case against the Walkinshaws, which was resolved in his favour on August 13, 1719, with the estate declared forfeited by the Court of Session. The Walkinshaws continued their legal pursuit of the land against the Montgomeries and their descendants without success into the 1750s.
Oswald family
In 1751, the land was purchased by Richard and Alexander Oswald, merchant brothers originally from Caithness who had become rich through shipping and involvement in tobacco plantations in the New World. In 1759 the Oswalds purchased the neighbouring estate of Balshagray, a combined total of around 1,000 acres of land. The estate remained in the Oswald family well into the 19th century; Scotstoun House underwent redevlopment in 1825 at the behest of Elizabeth Oswald, who wished its facade on the River Clyde replaced.
Industrial use
The Oswald estate remained entire into the late 19th century, when it was gradually partioned for industrial use. Charles Connell and Company began construction on a new shipyard in 1861; then-owner George Oswald constructed rows of cottages nearby to house the shipbuilders. More industry gradually moved into the area, including the Albion Motors works and a second shipyard (Yarrow Shipbuilders). As the working population grew, responsibility for residential development was passed to the Scotstoun Estate Building Company in 1895. New settlements were constructed, along with two churches and two schools. Land was set aside for a new park, Victoria Park, commemmerating the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria.
Railway connections to Scotstoun were also constructed, with the Whiteinch Railway, a connection to the main railway to the north, along with a terminal goods station by Victoria Park, in 1874. The construction of the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway in the 1890s necessitated the demolition of Scotstoun House; a replacement was built to the north on the other side of the main thoroughfare, Dumbarton Road.
Scotstoun remained legally part of Renfrewshire, until the UK Boundaries Act of 1925 transferred its and Yoker's control to Glasgow City Council.
Post-war
Following Glasgow's post-war industrial downturn, Connell's and Yarrow's shipyards were amalgamated into the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders group. Although Connell's folded in 1972, Yarrows has survived following a number of reorganisations and currently forms part of BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions, BAE Systems' surface shipbuilding group. Albion Motors largely closed in 1980 and only axle development continues on the site, the company wholly absorbed by American Axle and Manufacturing.
As part of Glasgow's large-scale redevelopment and slum clearance of the 1950s and 1960s, areas of Scotstoun were redeveloped with large tower blocks; the new Scotstoun House, by this time a children's care centre, was demolished to allow such a development. More recent redevelopment in Scotstoun has brought new housing development to the area, although much of existing Scotstoun forms part of a Glasgow City Council-sponsored conservation area. A new sports development, Scotstoun Leisure Centre, opened in 1994; the site boasts Scotland's national badminton academy, and Scotstoun Stadium, an international athletics venue.