Craigneuk

Craigneuk is a suburb of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The original village of Craigneuk was located in the area where Meadowhead Road meets the A721 at Craigneuk Street. It was originally part of Dalziel parish, along with the other rural weaving villages of Flemington, Motherwell and Windmillhill. Craigneuk village was located close to the boundary with Cambusnethan parish. Mining of coal and iron ore in the 1840s lead to industrialisation and rapid population growth from rural Scotland and large numbers of migrants from Ireland. Nearby, in Cambusnethan parish the industrial communities of Shieldmuir and Berryhill were established on the road leading to Wishaw. In 1920, the joint Burgh of Motherwell and Wishaw was created and later abolished in the 1970s. In the late 1920s, the burgh council began a massive housing development program in the area to the east of Sheildmuir Street and Glasgow Road stretching from the village of Craigneuk to Berryhill. The entire area became known as Craigneuk. At the same time much of the area known as the "Berryhill Rows" was demolished to make way for the King George V Playing Fields. The Ravenscraig Steelworks was established in the area during the 1950s. It was the main employer until it was closed in 1992 and later demolished. Ravenscraig, a new residential and commercial area, is now emerging on this site to the north east of the original village. Wishaw General Hospital was established in 2001 on the site of the original Berryhill School. According to SIPs, the population of Craigneuk was 3,030 in 2000.