Barrhead

: For the Canadian town, see Barrhead, Alberta.

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Barrhead (Ceann a' Bh?irr in Scottish Gaelic) is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, 8 miles southwest of Glasgow on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes.

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The town was formed when a series of small textile villages (Barrhead, Arthurlie, Grahamston and Gateside) gradually grew into one-another to form one contiguous town. Other industries associated with the town included an iron foundry, tannery and Armitage Shanks, manufacturers of porcelainware. The decline of these industries caused a fall in local population and employment throughout the 1970s.

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However, in recent years, Barrhead has become a popular residential commuter town for nearby Paisley and Glasgow. An active junior football team called Arthurlie still thrives in Barrhead, with a previous club of the same name having played in the town as members of the Scottish Football League.

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Barrhead is also home to the following Bowling Clubs: Barrhead, Arthurlie, Shanks, and St John's.

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At the bottom end of Cowan Park lies St John's Roman Catholic Church which serves Barrhead, Neilston and Uplamoor.

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The town has two secondary schools: St Luke's and Barrhead.

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East Renfrewshire Council buildings are located in Barrhead.

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Famous sons include author Christopher Brookmyre, actor Douglas Henshall, and footballers Alex McLeish, now manager of Rangers and former Celtic captain and European Cup winner Paul Lambert.

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East Renfrewshire: East Renfrewshire (Siorrachd Rinn Fri? an Ear in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland. It borders onto North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and the City of Glasgow....

Scotland: :For other uses, see Scotland (disambiguation). See also British Isles (terminology)....

Glasgow: :For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation)...