The town of Bellshill, situated within the boundaries of the Greater Glasgow Metropolitan since1996, has been a settlement in its own right since 1135, although it has only had the name of Bellshill since 1654.

Originally royal land owned by the cousin of David I of Scotland, Bellshill was eventually
populated by the general public in the mid 1600s by local quarry workers and their families.

The quarry, appropriately owned by Mr Bell, was successful throughout the 17th century but dried up at some point in the 18th century, causing the town to disband. However, as fortunes have it, a nearby settlement (now Bellshill Cross) renamed in 1810 to form the body of Bellshill we know today.

This expanding North Lanarkshire town eventually absorbed other towns such as Black Moss and Skyehead.

Bellshill, as with most towns in the Central Lowlands, has a rich and successful history in industry and the town's main economic success was with agriculture. Although its original quarry shut, a later discovery of coal and iron deposits, led to the opening of successful mining sites, namely the Thankerton Mine. These proved successful throughout the 1800s and in 1875 this led to an influx of shops and wealthy housing in the town. During this nationwide period of Industrial Revolution, as with other towns on the West coast of Scotland, Bellshill's access to railway lines increased its overall prosperity. With this 'boom' in industry, Bellshill was an attractive prospect to immigrants from Eastern Europe and received many native Lithuanian's.

These industrial successes were mirrored by Bellshill's scientific successes of the early 20th century.
Primarily specialising in infectious diseases during World War I, Bellshill Hospital became
Lanarkshire's first maternity hospital in 1917. In 1933 the hospital was the first in the world to house an 'Obstetric Flying Squad' which not only helped women in the nearby community with problems occurring during pregnancy, but created an idea which would help women throughout the world.

Now the modern town of Bellshill is undergoing facelift which will last a year and a half and will change the street layout of Bellshill Cross and Main Street, which have not changed since the early 1800s.

© Ciaran Mackie 2009