Place Names (K) Kane Street - Kirkland

Kane Street, Renton

This thoroughfare, built as part of the 1960's redevelopment, is called after Johnny Kane, a Communist County councillor for Renton from the 1940's till his death in the late 1950's, and one of Renton's great 20th century characters. It is a very small street for such a large personality.

Katherine Place, Renton

This short thoroughfare in the New Cordale Estate is named after the poetess, Katherine Drain, who was born in Burn Street Renton in 1868, and died in 1904 aged 36. She was a well-known poet in her day with her one volume of poems, Loch Lomond Rhymes, being published in 1902.

Kelso Place, Renton

This short cul-de-sac leads off from the east side of Cordale Avenue in the New Cordale Estate. It was built in the 1990's and is named after Robert Kelso, a member of Renton FC's World Championship team of 1888, who also won 8 caps for Scotland.

Kessog Gardens, Jamestown

This new small estate of private houses is built on former Mill of Balloch land on the south side of Dalvait Road before its junction with Main Street Jamestown. It is called after Saint Kessog whose Loch Lomond connections saw the Roman Catholic Church at Balloch being called after him, as is the primary school that is just a few yards from the estate across Dalvait Road.

Kilmaronock Parish, Church and Castle

Kilmaronock is the Parish immediately to the north and east of Bonhill Parish. It starts just beyond Ballagan at Boturich and ends at Drymen Bridge to the northeast, while to the east it encloses Bonhill by having a common boundary with Dumbarton Parish, southeast of the Pappert Hill.

Its name is Gaelic and means “cell of little Ronan”. St Ronan, who died about 737, had a cell or small chapel in the area in the 8th century, and even to-day St Ronan's Well is in a wood close to the present day Parish church. There is an entry for Kilmaronock in the Lochside Villages pages.

King Edward Street, Alexandria

It is called after King Edward VII who was on the throne in 1907 when the Street was laid out for workers in the newly opened Argyll Motor Works, onto which the Street backs.

King Street, Renton

This is the west side of the old Renton Cross, and dates back to the late 18th century and the foundation of the village in 1762. The King referred to is therefore probably King George 3rd whose reign started in 1760 and lasted until 1820, which is a good spread of the early development years of the village.

Kipperoch, Dalmoak

This old track, beloved of generations of Rentonians, runs from the south side of the bridge on Renton Road at Dalmoak, over the hill to Cardross Road, very near to what is now the Dumbarton town boundary. From there a track, now a road, took them on to their ultimate destination, the Clyde shore and sands at Havoc for a picnic, and hopefully, a swim.

The Kipperoch takes its name from an ancient farm of various spellings over the centuries, and it shows in the infamously muddy conditions of the Kipperoch, even at the height of summer. It seemed a long way when walking it as a child, but it's probably not much more than a mile.

Kirkburn, Bonhill

In the 19th century, this was the name for the area immediately around Bonhill Parish Church

Kirkland Glen, and Works, Bonhill

This Glen lay at the south end of Bonhill and ran from the main road down to the River. The Hew Burn ran through the Glen, but was tunnelled in about 1860 and the Glen levelled when Sir Archibald Orr Ewing expanded Dillichip Works and required the land for a new entrance and approach road. He also bought over and demolished Kirkland Print Works, which operated from about 1820 to 1860, in an area broadly where the Kirkland Lane housing estate now stands. The Glen and Works gave the Lane its name, albeit about 130 years later.

In the summer of 1911 the banks of the Leven at Kirkland had an unexpected visitor. The new steamer, the Prince Edward, was being towed up the Leven to the Loch in May 1911, when the level of the Leven fell unexpectedly, and the steamer became stuck on the sandbank at Kirkland. In spite of Herculean efforts, including building a dam, which almost swept away the nearby Dillichip Bridge, the steamer had to tie up all summer at Kirkland, and only November rains freed it to continue to the Loch.

Kirkland, Renton

This was the short-lived rename of Cordale Housing Estate in Renton during the 1970's and 1980's, when the Estate was substantially refurbished and redeveloped. It was named after the long-serving and popular Vale GP, Dr John Kirk, who lived in Renton for about 50 years. New street names appeared, such as Denny Way (after the shipbuilding family in Dumbarton) and Graham View (after Graham the Builder, an old Renton building family, whose company had built parts of Cordale).

The well-intentioned attempt at revitalising the estate was eventually judged to have been a failure. Much of the estate was demolished, and the names Kirkland as well as Denny and Graham were quietly dropped. The remaining housing was renamed Cordale. After a rethink, and learning the lessons of the Kirkland failure, a new approach to redeveloping the Cordale was decided on and the Cordale Housing Association was created, so some good came out of Kirkland.

Kirkpatrick Crescent, Alexandria

This street is named after Rosie Kirkpatrick, Labour County Councillor for Levenvale and Tullichewan for many years from the 1930's to the 1960's. She lived in Lansbury Street and represented the area in which a street is named after her. Rosie was one of the first women to be elected to the Council not only in the Vale, but also in Dunbartonshire.