Calderwood, East Kilbride

Calderwood is a housing precinct area of the Scottish new town East Kilbride, in South Lanarkshire. It lies on the north east edge of the town, and is one of the largest areas of the new town. It is also the second oldest, being built shortly after The Murray. Calderwood is the largest area in East Kilbride with a population of over 15,000.

It is the location of Hunter House Museum, formally the home of the Hunter Brothers known as Long Calderwood Farm, William and John, famous anatomists of the 18th century. In 2011 the Museum was bought by Calderwood Baptist Church which owns the adjacent land. The Museum has been converted into the 'Hunter House Cafe', as well as a space for the community and church to use. The building and estate were for time immemorial in possession of the Hunter Family, and the buildings which stand today date from the 18th century with a 20th-century extension.

It is also home to Calderwood glen which forms part of the Calderglen gorge. In the 1800s it was celebrated as a picturesque attraction and in the early 1900s was one of the most renowned glens in Britain, and home to Calderwood Castle which was demolished in 1951 after several years of decline. This building was home for over five centuries to the Maxwells of Calderwood, including Sir James, second husband of Lady Margaret Cunningham, the memoirist and correspondent. This area was sketched by 18th-century artist Paul Sandby, and visited on several occasions by members of the British Royal Family. A second view by Paul Sandby depicting Calderwood's waterfall was discovered by local historian C. Ladds in April 2015. This wash drawing is the earliest known view of both Calderwood and of East Kilbride. As well as romantic gorge scenery with woods, the area is known for wild woodland flowers, and the countless ruins and ancient remains to be found there. The section of the gorge in Calderwood is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its Carboniferous geology.

Additionally, the area has the John Wrights Sports Centre with a full length athletics track which opened in 1972, the Alison Lea Medical Centre, a Church of Scotland Parish Church, (Moncrieff Parish Church), a library, and a plethora of shops, restaurants and businesses at the Calderwood Square Shopping Precinct.

Residents

Calderwood has been home to William and Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain and Ally McCoist , Rangers F.C. and Scotland football player, who attended Maxwellton Primary School and the former Hunter High School and is currently manager of Glasgow Rangers FC. Blythe Duff of Taggart fame also lived in Calderwood.

Schools

Calderwood is home to five primary schools: Long Calderwood Primary, Maxwellton Primary, Hunter Primary, special needs school Greenburn Primary and St Leonards Primary. Under the South Lanarkshire's Schools Modernisation Programme, these schools will be rebuilt and modernised.

Until the summer of 2007, there was also one secondary school in the area named Hunter High School. However, it merged with the nearby Claremont High School in St Leonards to form Calderglen High School built next to the existing Claremont High campus. Most of the land upon which Hunter High and Hunter Primary stood has been used for a modern housing development.