Auchinloch


Auchinloch is a village in North Lanarkshire, near Lenzie in Scotland. In previous years it was in the Parish of Cadder and, until 1996, Strathkelvin District. The village's name - "Field of the Loch" - derives from its proximity to a small loch called the Gadloch. The area was sometimes known as the Loch Lands.

History

The etymology of the name is ‘Field of the loch’. Several old documents show Auchinloch with various spellings including maps by Timothy Pont, Charles Ross, and William Roy. There is some evidence that the religious revivals of the 18th century touched the village. The housing used to consist mainly of two parallel rows of single-storied weavers' cottages. One gazetteer, Samuel Lewis, describes coal being hardly worth digging with some limestone quarrying with a works established at Garnkirk. He quotes 138 inhabitants. Around the year 1860 there were 126 inhabitants. There was also a convalescent home at Auchinloch. In 1864 it had 64 places for residents. Industrialization came in the 1880s, with the opening of the Lumloch Colliery, and then in the 1920s Wester Auchengeich Colliery. The latter closed in 1968.
Outside modern Auchinloch, near Auchinleck, is the Wallace Well. This used to be called Auchinloch Well, was common to all farmers, and is mentioned in the New Statistical Account.

The Village

Auchinloch is home to the school, Auchinloch Primary. The present school building dates to the 1930s whilst the original 19th century school building still remains to the east of the village and now serves as the village hall/community centre. Auchinloch Community Centre lies at the top of the village, near the local pub, the Golden Pheasant which is located on Stepps Road. The pub has been bought over by a new owner and following extensive refurbishment is now a thriving hub for food and drinks. A grocery shop is located in the village where in December 1999 the local shopkeeper was murdered. There is also a Bowling Green in the village and also Cardyke Farm Shelter, a branch of Cats Protection outside. The village is in the catchment area for Lenzie Academy.

Notable residents