Old Kilpatrick

File:Antonine.Wall.Roman.forts.jpg from west to east: Bishopton, Old Kilpatrick, Duntocher, Cleddans, Castlehill, Bearsden, Summerston, Balmuildy, Wilderness Plantation, Cadder, Glasgow Bridge, Kirkintilloch, Auchendavy, Bar Hill, Croy Hill, Westerwood, Castlecary, Seabegs, Rough Castle, Camelon, Watling Lodge, Falkirk, Mumrills, Inveravon, Kinneil, Carriden]]

The western end of the Antonine Wall is at Old Kilpatrick; the eastern end, 59 km distant, is at Bridgeness, to the east in Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth. The route was surveyed during the 18th century, and traced to the Chapel Hill,{{cite book|last1=Irving|first1=Joseph|title=The book of Dumbartonshire: a history of the county, burghs, parishes, and lands, memoirs of families, and notices of industries carried on in the Lennox district|date=1879|publisher=W. and A.K. Johnston|location=Edinburgh, London|page=10|url=https://archive.org/stream/bookofdumbartons01irvi#page/10/mode/2up/search/%22Old+Kilpatrick%22|access-date=26 November 2017}} where various Roman artefacts were found.{{cite web|title=Old Kilpatrick Antonine Wall Fort|url=http://roman-britain.co.uk/places/old_kilpatrick.htm|website=Roman Britain|access-date=25 November 2017}} Lottery funding has been assigned to producing replica distance markers; the West Dunbartonshire marker is to be placed at Old Kilpatrick.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Kenny |title=£1million to boost interest in the Antonine Wall |url=https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/travel/scotland-travel/new-funds-to-boost-interest-in-the-antonine-wall/ |access-date=6 October 2018 |agency=Scottish Field |date=4 October 2018}}

File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0365no1.png may have marked the eastern end.{{cite web|title=RIB 2208. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion

|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2208|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}} It has been scanned and a video produced.{{cite web|title=Distance Slab of the Second Legion|date=28 May 2015|url=https://vimeo.com/129135892|access-date=14 November 2017}}]]

{{multiple image |align=right |image1=Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0365no2.png|width1=165|caption1=RIB 2206. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix{{cite web|title=RIB 2206. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2206|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}} It was found towards the west of the wall and is often associated with Old Kilpatrick. George MacDonald calls in no. 16 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland.{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Sir George|title=The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald|date=1934|publisher=The Clarendon press|location=Oxford|page=390|edition=2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3760345;view=2up;seq=554;size=200|access-date=11 October 2017}} It has been scanned and a video produced.{{cite web|title=Twentieth Legion Distance Slab, Old Kilpatrick|date=24 July 2017|url=https://vimeo.com/226709496|access-date=14 November 2017}}

|image2=Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0377Hutcheson.png|width2=235|caption2=RIB 2198. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion{{cite web|title=RIB 2198. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2198|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}} It was found near Cleddans. George MacDonald calls in no. 10 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland.{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Sir George|title=The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald|date=1934|publisher=The Clarendon press|location=Oxford|pages=383–384|edition=2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3760345;view=2up;seq=538;size=200|access-date=11 October 2017}} It was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.

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File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0365no3.png{{cite web|title=RIB 2208. RIB 2205. Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion.

|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2205|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}} It has been scanned and a video produced.{{cite web|title=Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion, Dalnotter Burn, Old Kilpatrick|date=24 July 2017|url=https://vimeo.com/226708955|access-date=14 November 2017}}]]

In 1790, when the Forth and Clyde Canal was being constructed, the remains of a bathhouse were discovered.{{cite web |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/43327/old-kilpatrick|access-date=2017-11-14 |title=Old Kilpatrick|work=CANMORE |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland}} In 1913, the foundations of the fort, which had been conjectured as being in the vicinity, were confirmed. In 1923, during redevelopment of the area, significant archaeology was undertaken which established the size and nature of the Roman Fort.{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=George|title=Proceedings Of The Society Of Antiquaries Of Scotland 1931–1932 Vol.66|date=1932|publisher=Neill and Co.|location=Edinburgh|pages=219–276|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.104931/2015.104931.Proceedings-Of-The-Society-Of-Antiquaries-Of-Scotland-1931-1932-Vol66#page/n287/mode/2up|access-date=26 November 2017}} The fort, built around 81 AD, occupied an area of about four acres and was enclosed by an outer defensive wall. If the date is correct, it shows that the fort preceded the Antonine Wall by some sixty years.{{cite book|last1=Collingwood|first1=R. G.|title=The archaeology of Roman Britain, by R. G. Collingwood ... with 8 plates and 68 illustrations in the text.|date=1930|publisher=Methuen & co. ltd.|location=London|pages=82–91|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4390313;view=1up;seq=106|access-date=30 November 2017}} Internally, buildings discovered included a praetorium (headquarters), barracks and a granary.Miller, S.N. (1924) The Roman Fort at Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow Archaeological Society. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.{{cite web |title=Old_Kilpatrick_Comp01 |date=30 November 2018 |url=https://vimeo.com/303748762 |access-date=5 December 2018}} Sir George Macdonald also wrote about the excavations.{{cite journal |last1=MacDonald |first1=George |title=Notes on the Roman Forts at Old Kilpatrick and Croy Hill, and on a Relief of Jupiter Dolichenus |journal=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |date=1932 |volume=66 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.104931/page/n9 219]–276 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.104931 |access-date=10 November 2018}}{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Sir George|title=The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald|date=1934|publisher=The Clarendon press|location=Oxford|pages=332–341|edition=2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3760345;view=2up;seq=470|access-date=11 October 2017}} Major development precluded further significant excavation, and nothing is visible of the remains today; the remains lie beneath the houses of Gavinburn Gardens to the east, a large commercial building to the west and the A814 road to the north. Finds from Old Kilpatrick include several distance slabs.{{cite web|title=Distance Slabs|url=http://www.antoninewall.co.uk/distance_slabs.html|website=The Antonine Wall|publisher=CastlesFortsBattles.co.uk network|access-date=27 October 2017}} One distance slab by the Twentieth Legion is known to have been completed before 1684.{{cite web|title=Distance Slab of Twentieth Legion, Old Kilpatrick|date=28 May 2015|url=https://vimeo.com/129135892|access-date=11 November 2017}} It depicts Victory with a palm-branch in one hand and a garland in the other.{{cite book|last1=MacDonald|first1=James|title=Tituli Hunteriani: An Account of the Roman Stones in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow|date=1897|publisher=T. & R. Annan & Sons|location=Glasgow|pages=20–21|url=https://archive.org/stream/titulihunterian00unkngoog#page/n38/mode/2up|access-date=11 October 2017}} It was found at Ferrydyke on the Clyde's northern bank{{cite web|title=RIB 2208. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2208|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=30 November 2017}} and records the completion of 4411 feet; the last 3 Roman numerals are the same as the remaining ones on the other damaged distance slab (RIB 2206).{{cite web|title=distance slab of the Twentieth Legion, recording the completion of 4411 feet|url=http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/DetailedResults.fwx?collection=archaeology&SearchTerm=F.15|website=Hunterian Museum Archaeology & Ethnography Collections: GLAHM F.15|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=30 November 2017}}

The slabs along with many other finds from Old Kilpatrick are now kept at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.{{cite web|title=Search on Old Kilpatrick|url=http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/SummaryResults.fwx?collection=all&Searchterm=%22old+kilpatrick%22|website=Hunterian Museum|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=11 November 2017}} For example, 19 coins{{cite web|title=Old Kilpatrick Antonine Wall Fort|url=http://roman-britain.co.uk/places/old_kilpatrick.htm|website=Roman Britain|access-date=30 November 2017}} have been found as well as a beaker.{{cite web|title=Beaker, Old Kilpatrick|date=31 August 2015|url=https://vimeo.com/137830502|access-date=30 November 2017}} On 3 December 1969 a Roman votive altar was found at Old Kilpatrick.{{cite journal |last1=Barber |first1=R. L. N. |title=A Roman Altar from Old Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire |journal=Glasgow Archaeological Journal |date=Sep 2010 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=117–119 |doi=10.3366/gas.1971.2.2.117 |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/gas.1971.2.2.117 |access-date=2 June 2018|url-access=subscription }} It has been scanned and a video produced.{{cite web |title=Altar to Jupiter, Old Kilpatrick |date=24 July 2017 |url=https://vimeo.com/226708936 |access-date=2 June 2018}} The inscription mentions the First Cohort of Baetasians, previously known to have been at Bar Hill, and also a centurion from The First Legion (Italica).

Old Kilpatrick was one of the original parishes in medieval Scotland.  The current (1812) church is built on the site of the 12th century church.  One known artefact, a remnant of the previous medieval church, a font is currently on display in the local museum.{{Cite web |title=Old Kilpatrick Parish Church pre-1812 |url=https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/leisure-parks-events/museums-and-galleries/collections/buildings/places-of-worship/old-kilpatrick-church-pre-1812/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk |language=en}}

Unusually in this part of Clydeside two examples of the Govan School of sculpture, dated to the Viking period, have been found. The Old Kilpatrick Cross (in fact the shaft of a cross) discovered in 1886 when the Auchentorlie tomb was opened for the burial of Andrew Buchanan.{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: Burial place of Buchanan of Auchentorlie © Lairich Rig |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2983203 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=www.geograph.org.uk}} That cross is now in storage in Glasgow Museums{{Cite web |title=Old Kilpatrick: scan of pencil survey drawing showing fragment of freestanding cross shaft {{!}} Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/collection/2643950 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=canmore.org.uk |language=en}}

Another stone, locally known as the Sandyford Cross, almost 3 metres in height was believed to be the execution place of a woman tried for witchcraft in the late 17th century.{{Cite web |title=Statistical Accounts of Scotland |url=https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/viewer/osa-vol5-Parish_record_for_Kilpatrick-Old_in_the_county_of_Dumbarton_in_volume_5_of_account_1/osa-vol5-p229-parish-dumbarton-kilpatrick-old?search=old%20kilpatrick |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=stataccscot.edina.ac.uk}}  It was used as a bridge across the Dalnottar burn before being taken into the home of Robert Donald at Mountblow.{{Cite web |date=2017-05-05 |title=Provosts of Glasgow |url=https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=16556 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=www.glasgow.gov.uk |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=TheGlasgowStory: Mountblow House |url=https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSB00303 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=www.theglasgowstory.com}} From there it transferred to Glasgow Corporation in the 19th century and from there to the collection at Kelvingrove where it remains in storage{{Cite web |title=Mountblow (Old Kilpatrick): scan of pencil survey drawing showing freestanding cross shaft with tenon {{!}} Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/collection/2645106 |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=canmore.org.uk |language=en}}

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File:Old Kilpatrick and Erskine Hospital from Kilpatrick Hills.jpg, with Erskine Hospital visible on the other side of the Clyde]]

The parish system was introduced to Scotland in the 13th century. In about 1227, the church and lands of Kilpatrick were given to Paisley Abbey by Maldowen, Earl of Lennox. The parish remained under the supervision of the Abbey until the Reformation in 1560.{{Cite book| title =The Parish of New Kilpatrick | first = J | last = McCardel | publisher = University Press Glasgow | year = 1949}}

At the Dissolution, the Church property fell into the possession of Lord Sempill. Eventually the lands were conferred on Claude Hamilton (a boy of ten), founder of the Abercorn family.{{cite book|last1=Leicester|first1=Addis, M.B.|title=The cathedrals and abbeys of Presbyterian Scotland : [their history and associations]|date=1901|publisher=Westminster Press|location=Philadelphia|pages=172–173|url=https://archive.org/stream/cathedralsabbeys00addiuoft#page/172/mode/2up/search/abercorn|access-date=25 November 2017}} His son James Hamilton was created Lord Abercorn on 5 April 1603, then on 10 July 1606 he was made Earl of Abercorn and Lord of Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick was split into two parishes – Old (Wester or West) and New Kilpatrick (also known as Easter or East) by an Act of Parliament on 16 February 1649.[http://www.rps.ac.uk/mss/1649/1/140 The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, K.M. Brown et al (St Andrews University)] Date accessed: 13 September 2011[http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/churches/kilpatrick.htm History of Drumchapel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510114138/http://www.templum.freeserve.co.uk/history/churches/kilpatrick.htm |date=10 May 2010 }} This division is unusual because this was a split of both the ecclesiastical and civil parishes and the wealth and stipend of the original parish was shared between the two new parishes. It was more common for new parishes to have "daughter" status, with wealth retained by the central, or cathedral church.

Old Kilpatrick was created a Burgh of barony in 1697.Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1834–45 vol 8 p. 23 Its population tripled between 1755 and 1821 as the spinning and weaving industries developed. By 1831 the population was 5,800. From 1906 to 1931, Old Kilpatrick was the site of the Napier and Miller shipyard.{{Cite web|title=Napier and Miller - Graces Guide|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Napier_and_Miller|access-date=2021-07-29|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}

File:River Clyde and Old Kilpatrick from Erskine Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 444790.jpg]]

Today, the north end of the Erskine Bridge, which replaced the Erskine Ferry, lands just above the village, and the village is served by Kilpatrick railway station on the North Clyde Line.

There are three public houses within Old Kilpatrick; The Twisted Thistle, The Ettrick {{Cite web |url=http://www.theettrick.com/ |title=Theettrick.com |access-date=5 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218191246/http://www.theettrick.com/ |archive-date=18 December 2009 |url-status=dead }} and the Glen Lusset. The Twisted Thistle was previously known as the Telstar. After the closure of The Telstar, the building was renovated and reopened in 2014 as The Twisted Thistle.http://www.glenlusset.com/about{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

There are two annual fêtes which are well attended. Also at the north end of Old Kilpatrick is the local school. Gavinburn Primary School (which was bombed in WW2) where they also have many fêtes annually.

The minerals edingtonite and thomsonite{{cite book|last1=Greg|first1=Robert Philips|last2=Lettsom|first2=William Garrow|title=Manual of the Mineralogy of Great Britain and Ireland|date=1858|publisher=J. Van Voorst|location=London|pages=158–159|url=https://archive.org/stream/manualmineralog02lettgoog#page/n178/mode/2up/search/%22Old+Kilpatrick%22|access-date=26 November 2017}} were first found at Old Kilpatrick.Alec Livingstone, 2002, Minerals of Scotland, Edinburgh, National Museums of Scotland

In the early 1990s a large housing estate was constructed at the edge of Old Kilpatrick, the one estate was said to double the size of Old Kilpatrick.

The ancient graveyard surrounding the old parish church still has surviving gravestones from the 17th century. The current building dates from 1812 and is still in use as the local Church of Scotland parish church, now linked with neighbouring Bowling Parish Church.{{cite web|title=Old Kilpatrick Parish Church 1893|url=http://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/leisure-parks-events/museums-and-galleries/collections/buildings/places-of-worship/old-kilpatrick-parish-church-1893/|website=West Dunbartonshire Council|access-date=30 November 2017}}

The local Roman Catholic church is St Patrick's RC Church;{{Cite web |title=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow - St. Patrick's (Old Kilpatrick) |url=https://www.rcag.org.uk/component/spsimpleportfolio/item/126-st-patrick-s-old-kilpatrick |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow |language=en-gb}} the current parish priest is Rev William McGinley.{{Cite web |title=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow - St. Patrick's (Old Kilpatrick) |url=https://www.rcag.org.uk/component/spsimpleportfolio/item/126-st-patrick-s-old-kilpatrick |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow |language=en-gb}} A fire in August 2015 saw the RC congregation temporarily without a place to worship, taking up the kind offer of the nearby Church of Scotland congregation to use their building, a friendly act of ecumenism in part of Scotland traditionally torn by bigotry.{{Cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/13621539.Place_to_worship_offered_after_Old_Kilpatrick_church_fire/?ref=fbshr|title = Place to worship offered after Old Kilpatrick church fire}}

There are plans to develop a marine technology hub at the former Royal Navy oil refinery{{cite news|last1=McArthur|first1=Maxine|title=Former Old Kilpatrick Royal Navy oil refinery to be turned into marine technology hub|url=http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/15631146.Former_Old_Kilpatrick_Royal_Navy_oil_refinery_to_be_turned_into_marine_technology_hub/|access-date=1 December 2017|agency=Clydeband Post|date=31 October 2017}} and a wooded community area near the village.{{cite news|last1=Stewart-Robertson|first1=Tristan|title=Massive plot of Old Kilpatrick land could become community wooded area for residents|url=http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/15257328.Massive_plot_of_Old_Kilpatrick_land_could_become_community_wooded_area_for_residents/|access-date=1 December 2017|agency=Clydebank Post|date=1 May 2017}}

Many soldiers from Old Kilpatrick perished during the First World War.{{cite book|title=The roll of honour of Old Kilpatrick Parish Church 1914-1919|date=1923|publisher=Old Kilpatrick Parish Church|url=https://archive.org/stream/rollofhonourofol1923oldk#page/n5/mode/2up|access-date=25 November 2017}}

• Peter Canero, footballer
• Chris Baillie, athlete
• Bobby Finan, footballer
• Colonel Andrew Geils, one time Commandant (interim Governor) of Van Diemen's Land (subsequently Tasmania) and owner of the nearby estate of Dumbuck is buried in the Parish churchyard along with several other family members
• George Harcourt, society portrait painter
• Alexander Hart, one of the convicted Scottish Radicals{{Cite web |title=Scotslanguage.com - The State Trials and Executions |url=https://www.scotslanguage.com/articles/node/id/948/type/referance |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=www.scotslanguage.com |language=en}}
• James Leechman, Scottish advocate and judge
• Walter G Leechman, solicitor
• Daniel McLaughlin (1884-1970), survivor of the shipwreck Dundonald
• Ian Niall, or John McNeillie, author of The Wigtown Ploughman, was born here
• John Hammond Teacher (1869-1930) Professor of Pathology, Glasgow Infirmary
• This is one of several locations that it is suggested that Saint Patrick of Ireland was captured at and enslaved in Ireland in the 5th century.

• Bodinbo Island
• Donald's Quay
• St Patrick's Rock

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• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZcCYrrPLwM Video footage of Ferrydyke Quay and Bascule Bridge.]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAsUgaE2XpI Video footage of Donald's Quay Stables, Ferrydyke Quay.]
• [https://oldkilpatrick.com The Old Kilpatrick Community Website.]

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Category:Villages in West Dunbartonshire

Category:Clydebank

Category:Parishes in Dunbartonshire

Category:Greater Glasgow