Clarkston, East Renfrewshire

The Clarkston explosion was a disaster that occurred on 21 October 1971 in a row of shops on the main street of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. The death toll has been stated as 21 or 22.The explosion followed a build-up of gas in an underground space beneath the Clarkston Toll shops, caused by a gas main leak later ruled to have been accidental. Customers and shop staff had on 20 October complained of a strong smell of gas in the centre and Scottish Gas Board engineers had attended to investigate, but had identified no source for the smell. The engineers were still in attendance at around 2:50pm on the following day when the gas ignited and exploded, killing 22 people and injuring around 100. The victims included many shop staff and people on shopping trips, and the passengers of a bus that had been passing the scene. The explosion destroyed ten shops and a car park above them.An inquiry was held, and a jury on 11 February 1972 returned a verdict that no fault for the explosion lay with any organisation or individual. No cause was identified for the ignition of the leaked gas, and the leak itself was deemed the result of an accidental gas main fracture caused by "stress and corrosion". The main had been insufficiently supported to withstand vibrations from traffic, and a large crack was found in it during the investigation.The victims of the disaster are commemorated in a plaque erected in 2001/2 near the site of the explosion.There is a further tribute to those who lost their lives situated in the entranceway to the Clarkston Halls. Scottish Television produced a programme on the Clarkston disaster which aired on 20 November 2017.

Clarkston railway station is a suburban side platform railway station in the town of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the East Kilbride branch of the Glasgow South Western Line. It was opened in 1866 by the Busby Railway.

Clarkston RFC is a former rugby union team. It was based in Giffnock and Clarkston, East Renfrewshire. Created in 1937, it became Glasgow Southern in 1995.

Dams to Darnley Country Park is a 1350 acre country park in East Renfrewshire and Glasgow, in Scotland comprising the historic greenspace between the towns of Barrhead and Newton Mearns in East Renfrewshire, and the areas of Darnley, Parkhouse and Southpark Village in south Glasgow. Being designated since 2000, it is one of the newest country parks in Scotland.

Overlee Playing Fields, commonly referred to as Overlee Park, is a public park in Stamperland, Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, south of Glasgow, Scotland.

Stamperland is a suburban neighbourhood in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is situated on the west bank of the White Cart Water about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Glasgow city centre, and just outside the city boundary.

Williamwood Parish Church is a Parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving the Williamwood area of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire. It is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow.

Williamwood railway station is a railway station in the Williamwood area of the town of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and lies on the Neilston branch of the Cathcart Circle Lines. The line here forms the boundary which separates Clarkston and Giffnock.

Busby is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Busby is in the same urban area as Glasgow, although it is administratively separate. It lies on the White Cart Water six miles (ten kilometres) south of Glasgow City Centre and 3⁄4 mile (1.2 kilometres) northwest of the outskirts of East Kilbride. It directly adjoins the town of Clarkston, with which the village is closely associated.

Williamwood High School is a non-denominational comprehensive secondary school in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, with a roll of around 1700 pupils. It was originally opened in the 1930s as Eastwood Senior Secondary School, located on Seres Road in the Williamwood area of Clarkston. In 2006 the school relocated to a new site at Eaglesham Road on the southern edge of Clarkston, with fields and farm roads to the south, west and north, about 1.5 miles from the original site. As of 2018, the school contained 1632 pupils out of a capacity of 1710.

Netherlee is a suburban residential area in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is situated on the west bank of the White Cart Water about 4 miles (6.5 km) south of Glasgow city centre. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is mostly contiguous with the city, and is just beyond the boundary of its local authority area. It is a separate census locality from Glasgow, like other areas such as neighbouring Giffnock and Clarkston. Netherlee is directly contiguous with Stamperland. It is also in a council ward with Clarkston and its neighbour Busby. As of 2012, Netherlee has a population of 4,550. Originally a small rural hamlet dependent upon the mills along the river, Netherlee became extensively urbanised in the 20th century, developing into an affluent commuter suburb. The area is served by a parish church, primary school and library, as well as a number of local shops and parks. Cathcart Cemetery also falls within the boundaries of Netherlee.

East Renfrewshire (Scots: Aest Renfrewshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. These three council areas together still form a single lieutenancy area called Renfrewshire. The East Renfrewshire council area was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood district which had existed between 1975 and 1996, with the Levern valley (which came from Renfrew district) being annexed. East Renfrewshire has borders with East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, and North Ayrshire.