Map - Bellshill

Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, 10 mi southeast of Glasgow city centre and 37 mi west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell 2 mi to the south, Hamilton 3 mi to the southwest, Viewpark 1+1/2 mi to the west, Holytown 2 mi to the east and Coatbridge 3 mi to the north. The town of Bellshill itself (including the villages of Orbiston and Mossend) has a population of about 20,650. From 1996 to 2016, it was considered to be part of the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area; since then it is counted as part of a continuous suburban settlement anchored by Motherwell with a total population of around 125,000.

The earliest record of Bellshill's name is handwritten on a map by Timothy Pont dated 1596 although the letters are difficult to distinguish. It's possible it reads Belſsill with the first s being an old-fashioned long s. The site is recorded as being east of "Vdinſtoun" and north of "Bothwel-hauch" (which confusingly is above "Orbeſton" on Pont's map). The name can also been seen on another map, which was derived from Pont's work, made by the Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu where the place is called "Belmil". The village consisted of a row of quarry workers' houses owned by Mr. Bell, who owned a stone quarry to the south of Belmill. Charles Ross' map of 1773 has "Belsihill" marked north of Crosgates and Orbiston. About 1810, this new settlement took on the name Bellshill and continued to grow. It absorbed nearby villages such as Nesnas, Black Moss and Sykehead. Bellshill was on the road which linked Glasgow and Edinburgh.

According to the first Statistical Account, in the late 1700s the parish of Bothwell, which encompasses modern Bellshill, was a centre of hand-loom weaving with 113 weavers recorded. Only 50 colliers were listed. A hundred or so years later, these occupations had changed places in degree of importance to the area economy. With the introduction of new machinery in the mid 19th century, many cottage weavers lost their livelihood. Demand for coal to feed British industry meant that by the 1870s, 20 deep pits were in operation in the area.

The first mine to open (and the last to close in 1953) was the Thankerton mine. Others followed swiftly and rapidly increased the size of the town, even attracting a steady stream of immigrants from abroad, particularly Ireland and Lithuania, so much so that the town is sometimes referred to as 'Little Lithuania' (or historically 'Little Poland', as contemporary evidence shows locals made little effort to distinguish the incomers' backgrounds). Factors adversely affecting integration for the first generation of these 'new Scots' included a language barrier, minority religion (most were Catholic) and hostility based on suspicion of taking jobs, undercutting wages and breaking strikes – therefore the Lithuanians in Bellshill and elsewhere tended to identify more closely with the Irish communities of each town who had similar issues. The rise in the migrant population (though severely impacted by the political landscapes of First World War and subsequent Russian Revolution which adversely affected the status of Lithuanians both in their homeland and in Britain) led to the opening of The Scottish Lithuanian Recreation and Social Club on Calder Road in the Mossend area, but much of the culture has faded over the decades, with younger generations sometimes unaware of their family's history due to a desire to assimilate into Scottish life and changes to distinctive surnames (either voluntarily or by obligation). Among the most famous of the descendants of this community was footballer Billy McNeill of Celtic and Scotland, while other mid-20th century players of the same heritage included Andy Swallow, Alex Millar, Matt Balunas and John Jack.

Iron and Steel production were also central to the development of the town. J. B. Neilson, developer of the revolutionary 'hot blast' process, opened the first iron works in the area (Mossend Iron Works) in 1839.

During the industrial boom there were a number of railway stations, including Mossend, Fallside and Bell Cross. The settlement is now served solely by Bellshill railway station.

Maternity services were provided at Bellshill Maternity Hospital until the hospital was closed in 2001.

According to a report by the Halifax Building Society, in the first quarter of 2005 Bellshill was the UK's property hot spot with a 46% rise in house prices. This took the average property price to £105,698 (according to reports published April 2005).

In 2006, a new mosque was opened in the Mossend area of Bellshill becoming one of the largest mosques in Scotland.

The streetscape project, a plan to regenerate and modernise the town centre, commenced Apr 2007 and was completed nearly three years later. The project, created a one way system on the main street with more space for pedestrians.