Cumbernauld

Coordinates: 55°56′42″N 3°59′38″W / 55.945°N 3.994°W / 55.945; -3.994

Cumbernauld (/ˌkʌmbərˈnɔːld/; Scots: Cummernaud;Scottish Gaelic: Comar nan Allt) is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire, historically in Dunbartonshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for the city of Glasgow. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire. The name comes from the Gaelic comar nan allt, meaning "meeting of the waters" as, geographically, from its high point in the Central Belt streams flow west to the River Clyde and east to the River Forth. A two-time winner of the Carbuncle Awards, the town has since received the award of 'Best Town' at the Scottish Design Awards 2012.

History

Cumbernauld's history stretches to Roman times, with a settlement near the Antonine Wall, the furthest and most northerly boundary of the Roman Empire. The security that the wall gave from possibly hostile tribes to the north probably allowed the foundation of a settlement. A rural population grew in the area where Cumbernauld's housing estates now stand, with the centrepoints being the 18th century Cumbernauld House, built close to the site of the medieval Cumbernauld Castle, and Cumbernauld Village nearby.