Expanding from a village with around 900 residents in the 1840s to the current largest town in
Scotland with over 72,000, East Kilbride has achieved a great deal in a relatively short amount of
time. However, with evidence of settlements in the area which date back to the Saxon period, EK
has a far longer history than many would imagine.

Named after the patron saint of scholars, Brigid of Kildare, East Kilbride was originally a loom
town, in which the weaving of fabric was one of the only types of employment. However, from
these meagre beginnings, East Kilbride has flourished in recent years; the use of the loom was just
the beginning of the industrialisation of the burgh. Due to East Kilbride\'s positioning in the county
of South Lanarkshire, the town was ideally placed to become an integral industrial part of Scotland.

After World War II, with the city of Glasgow suffering from its already overcrowded housing
schemes, coupled with crippling bomb damage, East Kilbride was dubbed the first New Town in
Scotland in 1947. From this point onwards, East Kilbride has witnessed nothing but growth. These
New Towns were specifically developed to alleviate housing shortages and, conversely, attract
industry. East Kilbride has achieved this with aplomb from the frequent openings of numerous
industrial and business parks since the late 1940s to the famous Rolls-Royce engine plant in 1953.
From the relocation of Motorola to East Kilbride in 1970 to the building of the Sainbury\'s
distribution centre in the late 1990s, East Kilbride has been growing in with industry. However,
even with the toils of industry comes the counterbalance of art; East Kilbride is home to the grade A
listed architecture of the Dollan Aqua Centre and the world famous music of the Jesus and Mary
Chain and Aztec Camera.

One of the most miraculous changes in East Kilbride\'s recent history has been that of its Town
Centre. Whilst the village was the historical heart of the town, the recently redeveloped \'Centre
West\', has helped modernised East Kilbride\'s commercial area. Furthermore, with a £400 million
development plan in place, which will potentially create 5,000 new jobs, East Kilbride will become
a even more rejuvenated town.

© Ciaran Mackie 2009