:Coatbridge

{{Main|History of Coatbridge}}

Coatbridge owes its name to a bridge that carried the old Edinburgh-Glasgow road over the Gartsherrie Burn, at what is now Coatbridge Cross. This first appears on Roy's survey of 1755 as Cottbrig, one of a number of places on the wider Coats estate. The name Coats most likely comes from the Scots word cot(t), meaning "cottage",{{cite thesis|last=Drummond|first=Peter|date=2014|title=An analysis of toponyms and toponymic patterns in eight parishes of the upper Kelvin basin|type=PhD|publisher=Glasgow University|url=http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5270/1/2014DrummondPhD.pdf|pages=392–94}} although an alternative theory links it to the name of the Colt family, who owned land here as early as the 13th century.{{cite web|url=http://www.spns.org.uk/CtLanark.htm|title=Lanarkshire|work=Scottish Place-Name Society|access-date=18 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508055126/http://www.spns.org.uk/CtLanark.htm|archive-date=8 May 2008|url-status=dead}}

Settlement of the Coatbridge area dates back 3000 years to the Mesolithic Age.{{cite web|url=http://www.monklands.co.uk/monklands/timeline.htm|work=Monklands Memories|title=Monklands Timeline|access-date=28 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012171112/http://monklands.co.uk/monklands/timeline.htm|archive-date=12 October 2007|url-status=dead}} A circle of Bronze Age stone coffins was found on the Drumpellier estate in 1852.The Raddle – Journal of Monklands Historical Society; Volume 10, September 2005. A number of other Bronze Age urns and relics have been found in Coatbridge.Lanarkshire – An Inventory Of The Prehistoric And Roman Monuments – Royal Commission On The Ancient And Historical Monuments Of Scotland. HMSO – RCHMS, Edinburgh. 1978. pp. 40, 71, 75 An Iron Age wood and thatch crannog dwelling was sited in the loch at the present day Drumpellier Country Park. Dependent upon the water level in the loch, the remains can still be seen.Helen Moir, Coatbridge (Images of Scotland) The History Press (2001) {{ISBN|0-7524-2132-8}}; pg. 7

Roman coins have been unearthed in Coatbridge,{{cite web|url=http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_103/103_113_168.pdf |title=Roman Coins found in Scotland, 1961–70 |author=Anne S. Robertson |access-date=28 January 2009 |work=Archaeology Data Service |publisher=University of York |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611232024/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_103/103_113_168.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2007 }} and there are the remains of a Roman road on the fringes of the town near the M8 motorway.{{cite web|url=http://mars.northlan.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/report/026694.pdf|title=APPLICATION NO. S/041/00130/0UT – REPORT|work=Residential Planning Application Refusal|publisher=North Lanarkshire Council|access-date=28 January 2009|date=8 July 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318172408/http://mars.northlan.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/report/026694.pdf|archive-date=18 March 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

File:Pontmap2b.jpg "Nether Warde of Clyds-dail" map {{Circa|1654}} which depicts the hamlets of Kirkwood, Dunpelder, Wheatflet, Dunbath, Gartshary in the modern day Coatbridge area]]

File:Coatbridge2map1858.jpg

The Monklands area inherited its name after the area was granted to the Cistercian monks of Newbattle AbbeyScottish Burgh and County Heraldry – RM Urqhuart. Heraldry Today (1973); pg. 188 by King Malcolm IV in 1162. In 1323, the Monklands name appeared for the first time on Stewards' charter.Helen Moir: Coatbridge (Images of Scotland), The History Press (2001) {{ISBN|0-7524-2132-8}}; pg. 7 The monks mined coal and farmed the land until the time of the reformation when the land was taken from them and given to private landowners. In 1641, the parish of Monklands was divided between New Monkland (present day Airdrie) and Old Monkland (present day Coatbridge).Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland (1994) Eds. J & J Keay, HarperCollinsPublishers, pg. 175 Old Monkland was described in the 1799 Statistical Account as an "immense garden" with "extensive orchards" and "luxurious crops", where "rivers abound with salmon".{{cite web|url=http://stat-acc-scot.edina.ac.uk/sas/sas.asp/?monospace=&twoup=&nohighlight=&account=1&transcript=&session-id=06804c6e5e1f948401ad57c9636512a0&naecache=48&accountrec=003935&navbar=&action=publicdisplay&parish=Old%20or%20West%20Monkland&county=Lanark&pagesize=#pageimage| publisher=Edinburgh University|title=Parish of Old or West Monkland, Statistical Account 1799|access-date=28 May 2008}}{{dead link|date=February 2012}}

The Monkland Canal was constructed at the end of the 18th century initially to transport coal to Glasgow from the rich local deposits. The invention of the hot blast furnace process in 1828 meant that Coatbridge's ironstone deposits could be exploited to the maximum by the canal link and hot blast process.Drummond, Peter and James Smith (1982). Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change. Monkland Library Services; pg. 15 The new advances meant that iron could be produced with two-thirds less fuel.Miller, Thomas Roland (1958) The Monkland Tradition; Thomas Nelson and Sons, pg. 26 Summerlee Iron Works was one of the first iron works to use this technology.{{cite web|title=Summerlee Iron Works – Graces Guide|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Summerlee_Iron_Works|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk|publisher=Grace's Guide Ltd|access-date=26 February 2017|language=en}} By the mid 19th century there were numerous hot blast furnaces in operation in Coatbridge.

The prosperous industry which had sprung up around the new iron industry required vast numbers of largely unskilled workers to mine ironstone and work in the blast furnace plants. Coatbridge therefore became a popular destination for vast numbers of Irish (especially from County Donegal in Ulster) arriving in Scotland. The iron bars and plates produced in Coatbridge iron works were the raw materials needed throughout the British Empire for railways, construction, bridge building and shipbuilding. One example of uses Coatbridge iron was put to included armour plating for British ships fighting in the Crimean War.Miller, Thomas Roland (1958) The Monkland Tradition; Thomas Nelson and Sons, pg. 36

Over the course of the following forty years, the population of Coatbridge grew by 600%.Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland (1994) Eds. J & J Keay, Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 175 The character of the Coatbridge area changed from a rural, Presbyterian landscape of small hamlets and farmhouses into a crowded, polluted, Irish Catholic industrial town. In 1840, Rev William Park wrote that:{{cquote|"The population of this parish is at present advancing at an amazing rate, and this propensity is entirely owing to the local coal and iron trade, stimulated by the discovery of the black band of ironstone and the method of fusing iron by hot blast. New villages are springing up almost every month, and it is impossible to keep place with the march of prosperity and the increase of the population."Historical, biographical and literary sketches of Glasgow and Lanarkshire, part 1&2. Hamilton herald printing and publishing. 1904, pg. 26}}

One contemporary observer at this time noted that Coatbridge is "not famous for its sylvan beauties of its charming scenery" and "offers the visitor no inducements to loiter long". However, "a visit to the large Gartsherrie works is one of the sights of a lifetime".Historical, Biographical and Literary Sketches of Glasgow and Lanarkshire, Part 1&2. Hamilton Herald Printing and Publishing. 1904. p26

Most of the town's population lived in tight rows of terraced houses built under the shadow of the iron works. These homes were often owned by their employers. Living conditions for most were appalling and tuberculosis was rife.Peden, Allan (1992) The Monklands: Illustrated Architectural Guide, Edinburgh: RIAS; pg. 38

For a fortunate few though, fortunes could be won "with a rapidity only equalled by the princely gains of some of the adventurers who accompanied Pizarro to Peru", noted one observer. Among the most notable success stories were the six sons of Coatbridge farmer Alexander Baird. The Baird family had become involved in coal mining but opened an iron foundry in order to exploit the new hot blast process of iron smelting invented by James Beaumont Neilson. The Bairds subsequently constructed numerous iron foundries in Coatbridge including the famous Gartsherrie iron works.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith, Monkland Library Services, 1982 The waste heap or 'bing' from the Baird's Gartsherrie works was said to be as large as the great pyramid in Egypt. One son, James Baird, was responsible for erecting 16 blast-furnaces in Coatbridge between 1830 and 1842.{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Coatbridge|volume=6|page=603}} Each of the six sons of Alexander Baird was reputed to have become a millionaire.

The town was vividly described by Robert Baird in 1845:{{cquote|"There is no worse place out of hell than that neighbourhood. At night the groups of blast furnaces on all sides might be imagined to be blazing volcanoes at most of which smelting is continued on Sundays and weekdays, day and night, without intermission. From the town comes a continual row of heavy machinery: this and the pounding of many steam hammers seemed to make even the very ground vibrate under ones feet. Fire, smoke and soot with the roar and rattle of machinery are its leading characteristics; the flames of its furnaces cast on the midnight sky a glow as if of some vast conflagration. Dense clouds of black smoke roll over it incessantly and impart to all buildings a peculiarly dingy aspect. A coat of black dust overlies everything."Quoted in "The County of Lanark" by George Thomson (Collins, 1960), pg. 32}}

File:Summerlee1.jpg is sited here.]] In the 19th century, the Baird family wielded a pervasive influence over Coatbridge. They were responsible for the design of the lay out of present-day Coatbridge town centre. The land for the Town Hall and the land which later came to form Dunbeth Park was given to the town by the Bairds. Gartsherrie church was built by the Baird family, the oldest and most significant landmark in the town. Despite being Protestant, the Bairds donated the site on the Main Street for the erection of St Patrick's Catholic Church.

File:Fountaincoatbridge.jpg

Daniel (Dane) Sinclair, an engineer with the National Telephone Company, based in Glasgow, patented the automatic telephone switchboard. This system was installed in Coatbridge in 1886 and became the world's first automatic telephone exchange.{{cite web|url=https://www.britishtelephones.com/histuk.htm|title=UK Telephone History|publisher=British Telephones|access-date=9 October 2022}}

By 1885, the once plentiful Monklands ironstone deposits had been largely exhausted. It became increasingly expensive to produce iron in Coatbridge as raw materials had to be imported from as far afield as Spain. The growth of the steel industry (in nearby Motherwell) had also led to a start of a decline in demand for the pig iron Coatbridge produced. Living conditions remained grim. In the 1920s, Lloyd George's "Coal and Power" report described the living conditions in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge: {{cquote|"...on the outskirts of Coatbridge, I found nearly the worst of all. In each of these single rooms lives a miner's family. There is no pantry. The coal is kept under the bed. Water has to be obtained from a standpipe outside, used by a number of houses. Conspicuously huddled together in the yards are filthy huts for sanitary purposes."{{cite web|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/murphy-jt/1926/strike/03.htm|title=The Political Meaning of the Great Strike|access-date=18 March 2009|publisher=The Communist Party of Great Britain}}}}

George Orwell's book The Road to Wigan Pier was illustrated by a photograph of homes in the Rosehall area of Coatbridge.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith, Monkland Library Services, 1982; p.39 In 1934, there was an exodus to Corby in England when the local Union Plant relocated. This had the effect of a hammer blow impact on the town's iron industry and ushered in the end of serious iron production. The decline of the Clydeside shipbuilding industry in the 1950s meant the demand for iron finally collapsed.{{cite web|url=http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/gazette/permanent_places/C_mfsgpgazette_coatbridge.html|title=Frost's Scottish Gazette |access-date=10 February 2009}}{{dead link|date=February 2012}} A legacy of 'devastating'The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, Michael Lynch (ed.) OUP Oxford (2007); pg. 394 unemployment, appalling housing conditions and some of the worst overcrowding in Scotland left its stamp on the Coatbridge of the early 1930s.The Monklands: Illustrated Architectural Guide by Peden, Allan (pg. 38), RIAS, Edinburgh; 1992 As late as 1936, Coatbridge was the most overcrowded place in Scotland.

In the 1930s and 1950s, however, massive state-sponsored programmes saw thousands of new homes built in Coatbridge and some of the worst examples of slum housing were cleared away. By the early 1980s, 85% of homes in Coatbridge were part of local authority housing stock.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith, Monkland Library Services, 1982; pg. 42

The last of the blast furnaces, William Baird's famous Gartsherrie works, closed in 1967.

Since the 1970s, there have been various initiatives to attempt to regenerate Coatbridge. Urban Aid grants, European Union grants and, more recently, Social Inclusion Partnerships have attempted to breathe new life into Coatbridge. Despite these efforts the town's population has continued to fall and, in recent years, the town has been dubbed the "most dismal in Scotland".{{cite web|url=http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/lanarkshire-news/local-news/airdrie-news/2007/11/29/coatbridge-named-scotland-s-most-dismal-town-65864-20180627|title=Coatbridge named Scotland's most dismal town|access-date=28 January 2009|date=29 November 2007|work=Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser|publisher=Scottish & Universal Newspapers}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

{{Geographic Location

|title = Towns, villages and places in direction of Coatbridge

|Northwest = Gartcosh

|North = Glenboig, Cumbernauld

|Northeast = Glenmavis

|West = Glasgow

|Centre = Coatbridge

|East = Airdrie, Edinburgh

|Southwest = Uddingston

|South = Bellshill

|Southeast = Motherwell, Calderbank

}}

At {{coord|55|51|44|N|4|1|46|W|type:city}} (55.861°, -4.047°), Coatbridge is situated in Scotland's Central Lowlands. The town lies {{convert|288|ft|m|0|order=flip}} above sea level, {{convert|9|mi|km|1}} east of Glasgow, {{convert|6|mi|km|0}} south of Cumbernauld and {{convert|2|mi|km|0}} west of Airdrie.

Although Coatbridge has no major river running through it, the North Calder Water runs east–west to the south and the now defunct Monkland Canal used to run straight through the centre of the town toward Glasgow. The canal route through Coatbridge can still be seen today. Several smaller burns run through Coatbridge, most of which drain into the North Calder Water. Coatbridge has four significant public parks: Dunbeth Park, West End Park, Whifflet park and Drumpellier Country Park. Lochend Loch (locally known as Drumpellier Loch) and Woodend Loch are situated on the north-west edge of Coatbridge.

The topography of Coatbridge was an important feature in the town's development during the Industrial Revolution. Coatbridge rests 60 metres below the "Slamannan plateau" and neighbouring Airdrie sits on its edge. The low-lying flat ground of Coatbridge was a vital factor in the siting of the town's blast furnaces and the Monkland Canal route. Although Airdrie was an already established town and had local supplies of ironstone, the Monkland Canal link did not extend into Airdrie because of its higher elevation.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith, Monkland Library Services, 1982. P.7 The Clyde Valley plan of 1949 described Coatbridge as 'situated over a flooded coalfield'.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith (Monkland Library Services, 1982) p.25 Tenement buildings in Coatbridge were not built to the same level as Glasgow tenements due to danger of local subsidence from centuries of local mining.Drummond, Peter and James Smith (1982). Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change. Monkland Library Services, p.40

Dunbeth Hill where the present local authority municipal buildings stand is a wedge of rock which was probably squeezed upwards by the force of two (now-extinct) fault lines. There are the remains of spreads of glacial sands along the crest of Drumpellier, the west bank of Gartsherrie Burn and along modern day Bank Street. Kirkwood, Kirkshaws and Shawhead sit on a sandstone capped ridge looking south over the Clyde Valley. The vital Coatbridge black band coal field extended from Langloan to beyond the eastern edge of the town.

File:Coatbridgeskyline.jpg

Like much of the British Isles, Coatbridge experiences a temperate maritime climate with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The prevailing wind is from the west. Regular but generally light precipitation occurs throughout the year.

Coatbridge is the home of one of Scotland's most visited museums, Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, which contains an insight into the lives of working people in the West of Scotland. A miners' row of 1900s–1980s houses, a working tramway and a reconstruction coal mine can all be experienced on site. The museum is situated on the remains of one of Coatbridge's historic blast furnaces, now a Scheduled Monument.

Janet Hamilton, the nineteenth century poet and essayist, died in Langloan in 1873. Present-day writers Anne Donovan (Orange prize winner), Brian Conaghan (the award-winning author of several novels) Award-winning author Des Dillon{{cite web|url=http://literature.britishcouncil.org/des-dillon|title=Writers – Des Dillon|access-date=19 October 2008|publisher=British Council|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302155225/http://literature.britishcouncil.org/des-dillon|archive-date=2 March 2012|url-status=dead}} are all from Coatbridge. Coatbridge has regularly featured in Des Dillon's work. Two of his books about Coatbridge have been turned into plays.{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburghguide.com/aande/theatre/reviews_07/001/theatre-review-monks.shtml |title=Theatre review: Monks |access-date=10 February 2009 |date=18 March 2007 |work=EdinburghGuide.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517170056/http://www.edinburghguide.com/aande/theatre/reviews_07/001/theatre-review-monks.shtml |archive-date=17 May 2008 |df=dmy }}

Mark Millar is a Coatbridge comic book writer whose Wanted comic book series has been translated into a feature film starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, as well as the highly successful graphic novel Kickass which was adapted into the successful film of the same name in 2010. Coatbridge-born Dame Laurentia McLachlan was the Benedictine abbess of the Stanbrook Community whose correspondence with George Bernard Shaw and Sydney Cockerell was the subject of the film The Best of Friends.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109245/ |title=The Best of Friends |access-date=12 February 2009|work=IMDb.com}}

Coatbridge is also home to the annual Deep Fried Film Festival. Local filmmakers Duncan and Wilma Finnigan have been described by The List as "the John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands of Coatbridge".{{cite web|url=http://www.list.co.uk/article/4026-duncan-and-wilma-finnigan|title=Duncan and Wilma Finnigan – A couple of auteurs|quote=The John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands of Coatbridge |access-date=3 February 2009|work=The List|date=16 August 2007}}

Thomas McAleese (alias Dean Ford) was the lead singer of The Marmalade who had a UK number one single in 1969 with a cover of The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and co-wrote "Reflections of My Life", Marmalade's biggest worldwide success. Coatbridge brothers Greg Kane and Pat Kane are the band Hue and Cry. Coatbridge born Alan Frew is the ex-pat lead singer of Canadian group Glass Tiger. "My Town" was written by Glass Tiger bandmates Alan Frew, Alan Connelly and Wayne Parker, as well as Jim Cregan, who co-wrote two of Rod Stewart's other hits. The song's lyrics are a tribute to Frew's hometown, Coatbridge, and Stewart was invited to record the song with Glass Tiger because of his Scottish ancestry. Cha Burns (deceased), Jimme O'Neill and JJ Gilmour of The Silencers are from Coatbridge. Coatbridge sisters Fran and Anna were a famous duo on the Scottish traditional music scene. Cousins Ted and Hugh McKenna, of Tear Gas and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and Hugh's sister, Mae McKenna, a folk singer and renowned session singer, came from the Kirkshaws area of Coatbridge.

{{See also|Coatbridge Irish}}

File:Stpatricksdayfestivalcbridge.JPG

Coatbridge is especially noted for its historical links with Ireland. This is largely due to large scale immigration into the town from Ulster (especially from County Donegal) in the 19th century and throughout most of the 20th century. Indeed, the town has been called "little Ireland".The population of Monklands by Peter Drummond. Monkland District Library Services. 1985, pg. 7Burrell, Kathy and Panikos Panayi (2003) Histories and Memories: Migrants and Their History in Britain. I.B. Tauris & Co, pg. 238Bradley, Joseph M. (2008), "Celtic Football Club, Irish Ethnicity, and Scottish Society" In: New Hibernia Review, vol. 12, 1, Earrach/Spring 2008, pp. 96-110.

The most obvious manifestation of these links can be seen in the annual St Patrick's Day Festival. The festival is sponsored by the Irish Government and Guinness. The festival runs for over a fortnight and includes lectures, film shows, dance/Gaelic football competitions and music performances. The festival is the largest Irish celebration in Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://www.irishinbritain.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1269|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713060320/http://www.irishinbritain.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1269|url-status=usurped|archive-date=13 July 2011|title=Irishinbritain.com|access-date=18 March 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1184938.0.0.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070804034238/http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1184938.0.0.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 August 2007|title=Glasgow Herald |access-date=18 March 2009|work=Herald Scotland}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lanarkshire.com/?node_id=1.2.11&id=1211&place=Coatbridge&mapZoom=12×tamp=1204934400|title=What's On – St Patrick's Day Festival Coatbridge 2008 – 29 February to 15 March 2008|work=Lanarkshire.com|access-date=18 March 2009}}

The Coatbridge accent has been categorised as making less use of the Scots tongue and exhibiting a tendency to stress the "a" vowel differently from general Scots usage. Examples of this are seen in the pronunciation of the words stair ("sterr"), hair ("herr"), fair ("ferr") and chair ("cherr"). This different enunciation has been attributed to the impact of successive influxes of Ulster Catholic immigrants into Coatbridge.Celtic Minded – Joseph M. Bradley (Ed.)The Population of Monklands in the 1980s Monkland Library Services Dept. (1985), pg. 7 However, the distinctiveness of the Coatbridge accent and pronunciation has diminished as the various surrounding populations (especially Glasgow) have mingled with that of Coatbridge.

File:CliftonhillCoatbridge.JPG, home of Albion Rovers]]

File:DrumpellierParkFunRun.JPG in Drumpellier Country Park]]

Coatbridge's local football team is Albion Rovers. Albion Rovers play in the Lowland Football League having been relegated from Scottish League Two following the 2022–23 season. Cliftonhill is where they play their home games. The "Wee Rovers" were founded in 1882 when two local Coatbridge clubs, Rovers and Albion, amalgamated to form the club bearing the name.{{cite web|url=http://albionroversfc.com/?page_id=63 |title=History |access-date=21 February 2013 |publisher=Albion Rovers FC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813204706/http://albionroversfc.com/?page_id=63 |archive-date=13 August 2013 |df=dmy }}

Coatbridge CC a local amateur football club founded in 1976 became Scottish Champions in 1986 and again in 1988. Coatbridge CC became the first amateur football club to win the Scottish Cup and the West of Scotland cup in the same season.

Coatbridge Bowling Club (founded 1849) celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2024 and is the oldest sports club in the town. It is situated in Bowling Street, in the Blairhill area of Coatbridge.

The Coatbridge Indoor bowling club hosted the World Indoor Bowls Championships from 1979 until 1987.

Drumpellier Cricket Club has been in continuous existence for over 150 years and the club has a ground in the Drumpellier area.

Greyhound and speedway racing also took part in the town, using the Albion Rovers FC ground. Greyhound Racing began on 11 December 1931 and lasted until 1986.{{cite web|url=http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/scottishindependenttracks.html|title=Greyhound Racing History|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102182010/http://www.greyhoundracinghistory.co.uk/scottishindependenttracks.html|archive-date=2 January 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The Edinburgh Monarchs rode there in 1968–69 (as the Coatbridge Monarchs) after losing their track at Meadowbank Stadium to the developers for the 1970 Commonwealth Games.{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburghspeedway.com/club_information.asp |title=Club Information |publisher=Edinburgh Speedway |access-date=10 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011230348/http://www.edinburghspeedway.com/club_information.asp |archive-date=11 October 2010 }} Glasgow Tigers moved from Hampden Park to Coatbridge in 1973, and stayed there until June 1977, when they were forced out by the greyhound racing.{{cite web|url=http://www.glasgowspeedway.co.uk/history.php|title=History|publisher=Glasgow Tigers |access-date =10 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729165400/http://www.glasgowspeedway.co.uk/history.php |archive-date=29 July 2010}}

Coatbridge was the home of former boxer Bert Gilroy, Scotland's longest-reigning champion. Coatbridge is also home to the former WBO Super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight world champion Ricky Burns. Walter Donaldson, former World Snooker champion, also hailed from Coatbridge.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PastPlayersArticle/0,,13165~2215993,00.html |title=Past players – Walter Donaldson |publisher=World Snooker |access-date=21 February 2013 |date=11 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903145647/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PastPlayersArticle/0%2C%2C13165~2215993%2C00.html |archive-date=3 September 2014 |df=dmy }}

There are two golf courses: the municipal course bordering Drumpellier Country Park and the nearby private member's club Drumpellier Golf Course. Clare Queen, Scotland's number one female golfer on the women's European tour, is from Coatbridge.{{cite web|url=http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/coatbridge-airdrie-sport/lanarkshire-golf/2008/12/10/clare-s-aiming-to-be-queen-of-the-european-golf-tour-65864-22438505|title=Clare's aiming to be queen of the European golf tour|access-date =21 February 2009|date=10 December 2008|work=Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser|publisher=Scottish & Universal Newspapers}}

Coatbridge has a sumo club, Clan Sumo.{{Citation

| last = Wade

| first = Mike

| author-link =

| title = 'We're not fat guys in nappies', say Scotland's sumo pioneers

| newspaper = The Times

| pages =

| date =

| year =

| url = https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/were-not-fat-guys-in-nappies-say-scotlands-sumo-pioneers-2r79fbh06

| access-date = }}

File:Coatbridge coat arms.jpg

Coatbridge was given burgh status in 1885, and was granted a coat of arms by the Lord Lyon in 1892. The arms have a black field and on it a flaming tower to represent a blast furnace and Coatbridge's industrial tradition. The crest is a monk holding a stone in his left hand. The stone relates to the old parish of Monklands and the legend of the "aul' kirk stane".Scottish Burgh and County Heraldry – RM Urqhuart. Heraldry Today (1973), pg. 188 The legend of the "aul' kirk stane" is that a pilgrim undertaking a penance from Glasgow carried a stone in the direction of Monklands. When he could carry the stone no further (or in another version of the legend, when an angel spoke to him) he laid the stone down. It was where the stone came to rest that he was to build a church. The church is the present-day Old Monkland Kirk, at which the alleged stone can still be seen.

The Latin motto Laborare est orare translates as "to work is to pray", which originated in the writings of St Benedict and is commonly associated with the Cistercian Order, whose monks came to Monklands in the 12th century.

File:CoatbridgeMunicipalBuilding.JPG]]

Coatbridge is represented by three tiers of elected government. North Lanarkshire Council, the unitary local authority for Coatbridge, is based at Motherwell, and is the executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for devolved matters such as education, health and justice,{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/what-we-do/reserved-and-devolved-matters.html|title=Reserved and Devolved Matters|publisher=Scotland Office|access-date=14 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004074305/http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/what-we-do/reserved-and-devolved-matters.html|archive-date=4 October 2006|url-status=dead}} while reserved matters are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Up until 1975, Coatbridge had its own Burgh Council based at Coatbridge Town Hall. Between 1975 and 1996, Coatbridge was part of Monklands District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council. During the campaign for the 1994 by-election in Monklands East of 1994, there were accusations{{cite web|url=http://www.alba.org.uk/scot03constit/c01.html |title=Candidates and Constituency Assessments |access-date=24 January 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044411/http://www.alba.org.uk/scot03constit/c01.html |archive-date=28 September 2007 }} of sectarianism and nepotism in favour of Coatbridge over neighbouring Airdrie by Monklands District Council (see Monklandsgate for more information). The fact that all seventeen Labour councillors were Roman Catholic led to Coatbridge being seen as a "Catholic town". Subsequent inquiries showed no evidence of sectarianism, but allegations of nepotism were shown to be true.Bruce, et al; Sectarianism in Scotland, Edinburgh University Press: 2004

Coatbridge is presently part of the burgh constituency of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, electing one member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Before the constituency's creation in 2005, Coatbridge lay in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency. Steven Bonnar of the Scottish National Party has been the MP since the 2019 general election. For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament, Coatbridge forms part of the Coatbridge and Cryston constituency, which is represented by Fulton MacGregor of the Scottish National Party. Coatbridge is further represented by seven regional MSPs from the Central Scotland electoral region.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/map/central.html| publisher=Scottish Parliament|title=Central Scotland Regional MSPs|access-date=28 May 2008|date=19 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519144249/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/map/central.html|archive-date=19 May 2006|url-status=dead}} A small part of the eastern fringes of the town forms part of the Airdrie and Shotts constituency which is represented by Alex Neil in the Scottish Parliament and Neil Gray in the Westminster Parliament, both of the SNP.

Notable politicians from Coatbridge include: Baroness Liddell, a former member of parliament (MP) who was formerly both Secretary of State for Scotland and Britain's High Commissioner in Australia, and Lord Reid, also a former MP who was the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Home Secretary. Lord Reid is a former chairman of Celtic.

Since the most recent major reorganisation in 2006, Coatbridge is divided into three wards for local administrative purposes by North Lanarkshire Council, each electing three or four councillors:

• Coatbridge North (2019 population 15,146):[https://statistics.gov.scot/atlas/resource?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fid%2Fstatistical-geography%2FS13003048 Electoral Ward: Coatbridge North], Scottish Government Statistics Townhead, Greenhill, Sunnyside, Dunbeth, Blairhill, Drumpellier, Clinftonville, town centre
• Coatbridge South (2019 population 16,889):[https://statistics.gov.scot/atlas/resource?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fid%2Fstatistical-geography%2FS13003052 Electoral Ward: Coatbridge South], Scottish Government Statistics Greenend, Sikeside, Whifflet, Kirkshaws, Shawhead and Carnbroe
• Coatbridge West (2019 population 14,910):[https://statistics.gov.scot/atlas/resource?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fstatistics.gov.scot%2Fid%2Fstatistical-geography%2FS13003051 Electoral Ward: Coatbridge West], Scottish Government Statistics Kirkwood, Dundyvan, Langloan, Old Monkland, Barrowfield plus Bargeddie

{{See also|Demographics of Scotland}}

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the census locality of Coatbridge had a total resident population of 41,170, or 13% of the total of North Lanarkshire. This figure, combined with an area of {{convert|6.818|sqmi|km2|1}},List of census localities in Scotland: North Lanarkshire Wikipedia provides Coatbridge with a population density figure of {{convert|6038|PD/sqmi|PD/sqkm}}.

21st century Coatbridge is the site of Scotland's inland container base; it was chosen as the site in part due to the proximity of various rail and motorway networks. Makers of PA systems and loudspeakers Tannoy Ltd. are headquartered in the town. Lees of Scotland is a local confectionery and bakery products company and are the manufacturers of the Lees Macaroon bar, and has been operating in Coatbridge since 1931.{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/more-same-please-lees-2829903|title=More of the same please, for Lees|newspaper=Daily Record|date=21 July 2010|access-date=29 April 2019}} William Lawson's Scotch Whisky distillery has been located in the town since 1967.{{cite web|url=http://www.scotchwhisky.net/blended/william_lawsons.htm|title=William Lawson's Blended Scotch Whisky|access-date=21 February 2013|work=ScotchWhisky.net}} It was home to one of the first B&Q Depots, which was closed in 2006 and moved to the new retail park. The oldest family business in Coatbridge and Airdrie is funeral directors Donald McLaren Ltd, which was founded in 1912.

In terms of housing, property prices in Coatbridge have undergone rapid growth since 2000. In 2005, house prices rose by 35%, reportedly the largest such increase in Scotland.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4556114.stm|work=BBC News|title=Scots towns head house price list|access-date=29 May 2008| date=24 December 2005}}

File:Staugusts2.jpg

File:Summerlee3.JPG]]

File:CoatbridgeWarMemorial.JPG]]

The built environment around Coatbridge's town centre is a mixture of late 19th- and early 20th-century sandstone buildings and late 20th-century precast concrete shops. The leafy Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation areas to the west and north of the town centre comprise detached, semi-detached and terraced sandstone residential buildings. The bulk of the remaining surrounding areas consist of various 20th-century local authority housing buildings. Several high-rise flats dominate the skyline. Due to the decline of industries, several private housing estates have been built on reclaimed land.

In 2007, Coatbridge was awarded Prospect architecture magazine's carbuncle award for being the 'most dismal town in Scotland'. The town was also described by Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle as 'like Bladerunner... without the special effects'.{{cite web|url=http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/1141/Frankie_goes_to_Coatbridge.html|title=Frankie Goes to Coatbridge|access-date=1 February 2009|date=22 December 2008|work=Urban Realm}}

Drumpellier Country Park is set around Lochend Loch (more commonly known to locals as 'Drumpellier Loch'). There are extensive woodlands, a visitor centre and a butterfly house. Monkland Canal runs through a section of the park.

The Time Capsule is a multi-purpose leisure centre containing a swimming pool, an adventure pool set in a prehistoric environment, an ice skating facility, sauna/steam room and a sports complex with gym halls and other facilities. The Showcase Leisure Park contains a 14-screen cinema, a 10-pin bowling complex and numerous restaurants.

Landmarks in Coatbridge include:

• Coatbridge Leisure Centre – Peter Womersley 1970s brutalist, modernist cantilevered building sited on the main road into Coatbridge
• The former Coatbridge Library – an Andrew Carnegie-sponsored 1905 pink sandstone structure. Imposing B-listed structure sited on Academy Street{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB23012|desc=Academy Street, Carnegie Library, including Boundary Wall and Gatepiers|cat=B|access-date=22 March 2019}}
• St Augustine's Church and buildings – Built in 1873 and located in the Dundyvan area. A red sandstone B-listed Rowand Anderson{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk/rowand_anderson.htm|title=Sir Robert Rowand Anderson|work=Edinburgh Architecture|access-date=27 January 2009}} Gothic church

File:Coatbridge church whitelawhill.jpg

• St Andrew's Church – 1839 early Victorian Gothic church by Scott Stephen & Gale in the Whitelaw hill area. Its steeple towers over the town centre.
• Coatbridge railway bridges – The B-listed 1898 bridges span Bank Street, West Canal Street and the former Monkland Canal. The bridges underwent specialist restoration in 2009{{cite web|url=http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/lanarkshire-news/local-news/coatbridge-news/2009/01/21/coatbridge-s-bridges-enjoy-full-makeover-65864-22737070/|title=Coatbridge Bridges Enjoy a Full Makeover|access-date=17 March 2009|date=21 January 2009|work=Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser|publisher=Scottish & Universal Newspapers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725034118/http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/lanarkshire-news/local-news/coatbridge-news/2009/01/21/coatbridge-s-bridges-enjoy-full-makeover-65864-22737070/|archive-date=25 July 2011|url-status=dead}}
• St Mary's Church – B-listed Gothic church in Whifflet designed by Pugin and Pugin in 1896. Contains an elaborate and ornate interior ceiling.
• The former Cattle Market Building – erected in 1896, B-listed façade of the sandstone cattle market building, facing West Canal Street and within the Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area
• Summerlee Heritage Park 2008 extension – Spaceship style glass and metal addition to existing building by North Lanarkshire Council's in-house Design Services Team{{cite web|url=http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/pie/pie000.html |title=Building Talk |access-date=17 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720062704/http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/pie/pie000.html |archive-date=20 July 2008 }}

The Monkland Canal (completed 1791{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst411.html|title=Overview of Coatbridge|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland|access-date=11 January 2009}}) was used in the 19th and 20th century to transport coal and iron to Glasgow. The town centre section of the canal was interred in pipe between Sikeside and Blair Road in the mid-1970s. Some sections of the Monkland Canal can still be seen today between Townhead and Drumpellier. Coatbridge is adjacent to the M8 and M73 motorways. The M74 motorway is also a short drive away. The major cities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow are all within commuting distance.

File:Scotrailbc.jpg

Due to the number of rail lines running through Coatbridge, it was once dubbed the "Crewe of the North".{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB49872|desc=Railway Bridge over Coatbridge Cross|cat=B|access-date=22 March 2019|fewer-links=yes}} There are six railway stations on the four railway lines that bisect the town: Motherwell-Cumbernauld Line; Argyle Line; Whifflet Line; and North Clyde Line. The six stations within Coatbridge and on these lines are: {{Stnlnk|Blairhill}}; {{Stnlnk|Coatbridge Central}}; {{Stnlnk|Coatbridge Sunnyside}}; {{Stnlnk|Coatdyke}}; {{Stnlnk|Kirkwood}}; and {{Stnlnk|Whifflet}}.

Coatbridge has had additional passenger stations, such as {{Stnlnk|Langloan}} and Calder Station (Greenend); these stations have been closed for many years.

McGill's Buses are responsible for most of the bus services in the town, after buying out most of the smaller local companies. The buses are all in Go Zone 8 on the McGill's network. The buses link all the major neighbourhoods with the 212 continuing on to Airdrie, Plains and Caldercruix.

{{See also|Neighbourhoods of Coatbridge}}

File:Coatbridge from the air (geograph 2519022).jpg

The earliest map showing Coatbridge is by Timothy Pont, published in Johan Blaeu's Nether warde of Clyds-dail (1654). The districts of Dunpelder (Drumpellier), Gartsbary (Gartsherrie), Kanglon (Langloan), Kirkwood, Kirkshawes (Kirkshaws) and Wheetflet (Whifflet) are all evident.Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change – Peter Drummond and James Smith, Monkland Library Services, 1982 p8

The present day neighbourhoods of Coatbridge are Barrowfield, Blairhill, Brownshill, Carnbroe, Cliftonhill, Cliftonville, Coatbank, Coatdyke, Cuparhead, Drumpellier, Dunbeth, Dundyvan, Espieside, Gartsherrie, Greenhill, Greenend, Kirkshaws, Kirkwood, Langloan, Old Monkland, Rosehall, Shawhead, Sikeside, Summerlee, Sunnyside, Townhead and Whifflet. The Blairhill and Dunbeth neighbourhoods are part of the Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area.{{cite web|url=http://cci.scot.nhs.uk/planning/seiru/seiruDocs/PPA_320_099.pdf |publisher=NHS Scotland |year=2009 |access-date=19 January 2009 |title=PLANNING APPEAL |author=Scottish Executive |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318172408/http://cci.scot.nhs.uk/planning/seiru/seiruDocs/PPA_320_099.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2009 }}

The Whitelaw Fountain (named in honour of Alexander Whitelaw, an industrialist and MP) is situated in the town centre on the corner of Main Street and South Circular Road, but was formerly about 50 m west, at what is now the centre of a roundabout.[http://www.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ptab=2&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=114643910033456528775.0004617b94eb74a304cd0 Neighbourhoods and landmarks of Coatbridge] Google Maps

File:CoatbridgeCollege.JPG]]

File:Coatbridge High School (geograph 3033746).jpg]]

Coatbridge College was built as Scotland's first college in the 1860s. As Coatbridge has moved away from the traditional heavy industries the teaching focus has shifted from traditional industry courses towards commerce, care and the arts. After resisting previous mergers, it became a campus of the multi-site New College Lanarkshire in 2014.[https://www.nclanarkshire.ac.uk/students/your-campus/coatbridge-campus Coatbridge Campus], New College Lanarkshire[https://www.cdn.ac.uk/colleges/lanarkshire/new-college-lanarkshire/ New College Lanarkshire], College Development Network

St Ambrose High School[https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/stambrosehsblog/about-us/ Our School], St.Ambrose High School (which opened a new building in 2013), St Andrew's High School[https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/standrewshs/ Home], St Andrew's High School (which opened in 2006 following a merger of the defunct Columba H.S. and St Patrick's H.S.) and Coatbridge High School[https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/coatbridgehighschool/about-us/ About Us], Coatbridge High School (new building opened in 2008 on the site of St Patrick's previous campus – Coatbridge's old campus is now occupied by Greenhill Primary and Drumpark Primary) are the main secondary schools serving the town. The first two are Roman Catholic; it is one of few places in Scotland where the number of denominational schools is greater than non-denominational. St Ambrose was the subject of an HMI follow-up assessment visit in January 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15868|publisher=North Lanarkshire Council|date=January 2009|access-date=27 October 2009|title=HMI follow up report for St Ambrose High}} Sports journalist and broadcaster Bob Crampsey was formerly headmaster of St Ambrose, prominent football referee Willie Collum taught religious education at the school in the early 2000s, and singer/television presenter Michelle McManus is among the former pupils. Rosehall H.S. was a previous school in the town, whose pupils now typically attend Coatbridge.

Coatbridge also has several special needs schools including Pentland School (primary school), Portland High School, Drumpark School (now primary department only), Willowbank School (high school) and Buchanan High School.

Coatbridge forms part of the Western water and sewerage regions of Scotland. Waste management is provided by the North Lanarkshire local authority. Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water, a government-owned corporation of the Scottish Government. Coatbridge's distribution network operator for electricity is Scottish Power.{{cite web|url=http://www.energylinx.co.uk/distribution_network_operators.htm|publisher=Energylinx|date=23 April 2007|access-date=5 February 2008|title=Electricity Distribution Network Operators|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080114055937/http://www.energylinx.co.uk/distribution_network_operators.htm|archive-date=14 January 2008|df=dmy-all}} Coatbridge is served by Monklands Hospital, sited on the Airdrie side of the Coatbridge/Airdrie border. The NHS board is NHS Lanarkshire. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service which operates in Coatbridge. Policing in Coatbridge is provided by the Police Service of Scotland (Lanarkshire Division). The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body in Scotland, has direct operational responsibilities, such as supporting (and in some cases running) local bus services, and managing integrated ticketing in Coatbridge and other areas from the former Strathclyde region.{{cite web|url=http://www.spt.co.uk/about/index.html|publisher=Strathclyde Partnership for Transport|date=5 September 2007|access-date=11 February 2008|title=Who we are|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408063150/http://www.spt.co.uk/about/index.html|archive-date=8 April 2008|url-status=dead}} Transport Scotland manages the local rail network.

The local authority responsible for community-based service in Coatbridge is North Lanarkshire Council. The council provides local services related to education, social work, the environment, housing, road maintenance and leisure.[http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=12236 Services] North Lanarkshire Council

{{See also|:Category:People from Coatbridge}}

• Sandra Brown, the anti-child sexual abuse and bullying activist, attended Coatbridge High School
• Cha Burns (1957–2007), guitarist with the Scottish folk band, The Silencers
• Ricky Burns, boxer, World Super Featherweight, Lightweight, Super Lightweight Champion
• Bill Carroll, radio host
• Sean Clark, former footballer
• Jock Cunningham, miner, mutineer and Republican Brigade commander during the Spanish Civil War
• Alan Frew, songwriter and lead vocalist for Canadian band Glass Tiger
• Frank Gallagher, actor (River City, Taggart, etc.) was born in Coatbridge
• Prof James Clark Gentles, first specialist in fungal diseases of the human body
• JJ Gilmour, vocalist with the Scottish folk band, The Silencers
• George Graham (footballer and football manager) played with Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and managed Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur lived in Bargeddie
• Ayesha Hazarika, Baroness Hazarika, broadcaster, journalist and political commentator, and former Labour Party political adviser, grew up in Coatbridge{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jul/06/ayesha-hazarika-labour-best-drinker |title=Ayesha Hazarika: 'Labour's best drinker? They're so good at it, I couldn't say' |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 July 2016 |access-date=16 December 2024}}
• Jock Kane, intelligence officer and GCHQ whistleblower{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/10392405/Jock-Kane.html|title=Obituary: Jock Kane|date=20 October 2013|url-access=subscription|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=21 October 2013}}
• Greg and Pat Kane, brothers that formed the 1980s band Hue and Cry, are from the Blairhill area of Coatbridge
• Mark Kerr, Scottish footballer, played for Aberdeen, and managed Ayr United
• Joe Kissock, former New Zealand international footballer
• Robert Lees, member of the Wisconsin State Senate
• Willie McDonald, footballer for Manchester United and Coventry City
• Rev William Currie McDougall, poet and subject of the Coatbridge Free Church scandal
• Gerry Maher (Jurist), Professor of Criminal Law, University of Edinburgh, attended St Patrick's High School
• Rev Dr Peter Marshall (27 May 1902 – 26 January 1949) Chaplain of the United States Senate, whose biography was the basis of the Oscar-nominated film A Man Called Peter, was born in Coatbridge
• Mark Meechan (Count Dankula), YouTuber and politician
• Mark Millar, comic book writer and creator of the Millarworld franchise
• Iain Munro (footballer) St Mirren, Hibernian, Rangers, Sunderland, Stoke and Scotland, taught at Coatbridge High School
• Hugh Murray, rugby union player
• Joseph Parker (mining engineer), born in Coatbridge
• Jamie Quinn actor and musician
• Johnny Russell, Dundee United footballer attended Coatbridge High School
• John "Jock" Stein (footballer and football manager) who led Celtic to the European Cup in 1967, the first British club to win this trophy, played for Albion Rovers
• Admiral Sir James Stirling, first governor of Western Australia
• Heather Suttie, DJ and radio presenter
• Stephen Trainer, football player
• Neil Walker (Jurist), Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nure and Nations, University of Edinburgh attended Coatbridge High School
• Tony Watt, former Celtic FC striker, scored for Celtic in win against Barcelona in 2012, now plays for Dundee United
• Stephen Welsh, football player

Coatbridge is twinned with:{{cite web|url=http://mars.northlan.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/report/042280.pdf|title=Excerpt from the Minute of Meeting of Coatbridge Area Committee Held on 23 June 1998|publisher=North Lanarkshire Council|access-date=8 January 2009|date=23 June 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305055359/http://mars.northlan.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/report/042280.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

• St. Denis, France
• Campi Bisenzio, Italy
• Gatchina, Russia

{{reflist}}

• Dillon, Des (2007) Monks, Luath Press Ltd
• Drummond, Peter and James Smith (1982) Coatbridge: Three Centuries of Change, Monkland Library Services
• Drummond, Peter (1985) The Population of Monklands in the 1980s, Monkland Library Services Dept
• Miller, Andrew (1864) The Rise of Coatbridge and the Surrounding Neighbourhood, Glasgow
• Miller, Thomas Roland (1958) The Monkland Tradition, Thomas Nelson and Sons
• Moir, Helen (2001) Coatbridge (Images of Scotland), The History Press; {{ISBN|0-7524-2132-8}}
• Van Helden, Oliver (2000) Old Coatbridge, Stenlake Publishing

{{sister project links}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110309015004/http://www.merryston.co.uk/ Coatbridge Museum]}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110813193321/http://coatbridge.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/out-of-the-darkness.html Out of The Darkness]}} Evening Times, 27 October 2008 – Article on Coatbridge's industrial past
• [https://www.whatsoninmotherwell.com What's On In Motherwell]

{{North Lanarkshire Settlements}}

{{Coatbridge}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in North Lanarkshire

Category:Large burghs