Balfron

Balfron Scottish Gaelic: Both Fron
The church and war memorial in Balfron
Balfron Location within the Stirling council area
Population	2,140 (2022)[1]
OS grid reference	NS546890
Civil parish	Balfron
Council area	Stirling
Lieutenancy area	Stirling and Falkirk
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GLASGOW
Postcode district	G63 0xx
Dialling code	01360
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Stirling
Scottish Parliament	Stirling
List of places UK Scotland 56°04′18″N 4°20′14″W / 56.071775°N 4.337256°W / 56.071775; -4.337256

Balfron (

In 1789, when Robert Dunmore built Ballindalloch Cotton Works, he expanded the settlement from a hamlet of around 50 people to a bustling Industrial Revolution planned village with a population of almost 1,000 within a year.[2]

As the cotton boom began to fail, the arrival of the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway transformed Balfron into a popular holiday resort. Testament to this was the presence of the Tontine Hotel, which stood at the corner of Buchanan Street and Cotton Street. The plethora of no longer required ex-army vehicles after World War I began the village's connection with buses which still survives today.^[2]

Balfron Tower, a high-rise residential building in London designed by Ernő Goldfinger, was named after the village in 1967.

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Balfron has shops, a health centre, a village hall and a secondary school (Balfron High School). The town also contains a fire station, garage, ambulance depot, police station, primary school, bowling green and an 18-hole golf course. There is a branch of the Bank of Scotland. There is a gift shop – Wonderland and Doyles cafe – also situated in Balfron.

The game of golf is not a new tradition in Balfron. There had been a 9-hole course at the top of the village for many years until, in 1939, Balfron Golf Club was dissolved and the land given up for agricultural use during the 2nd World War. In 1991 Balfron Golf Society was formed to re-create a nine-hole course on the site of the original one. A 9-hole course opened in 1994 and in 2001 was extended to 18 holes.

The Secondary School (Balfron High School) opened in 2001, replacing a 1960s-era building which had previously acted as the secondary school. The new school was built as a

Balfron Church is situated in the settlement and shares a minister with the neighbouring parish of Fintry. The catholic community is served by St Anthony's, which shares a priest with St Kessog's, in Strathblane. Strathendrick Baptist Church is also based in Balfron and meets at McLintock Hall.

There are eight listed buildings in Balfron, and a further fifteen in the area around the village.^[3]

Many youth groups work in the village including Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, scouts and guides.

Balfron Rovers Football Club are a Scottish association football club based in Balfron. As of 2014, they play in the Forth and Endrick Football League.^[4]

Balfron railway station was opened to serve the town in 1856. It served as a junction between the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway and the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle Railway. The station closed in 1951.^[5]

The main road in Balfron is the

The Balfron telephone exchange serves (approx) 970 residential premises and 55 non-residential premises.[8]

Internet Broadband services are available, but BT Openreach have not upgraded the Balfron exchange since it was updated for ADSL Max Broadband in March 2006. 21CN WBC and fibre services are not available from this exchange. There is no Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) operator presence.^[8][9]

• sustainable building.^[10]
• epiphytic orchid of the genus Pachystoma was named Pachystoma thomsonianum in his honour.^[12]
• Wright Brothers in America they returned to Scotland and began building innovative designs in Bridge of Allan.^[13]
• Sir William Bilsland (1847–1921) was born at Ballat, near Balfron, of forebears who had been for several centuries farmers in the neighbouring parish of Kilmaronock. He joined his brother, James, who ran a small family bakery in Anderston, Glasgow. He acquired 12 vans, as well as horses and carts, to distribute Bilslands bread all over Scotland. He later acquired other firms including Gray and Dunn biscuit manufacturers in 1912. William later became Lord Provost of Glasgow and was created a baronet in 1907.^[14]
• Sir Robert Muir, FRS, FRSE, FRCP, FRCPE, RFPSG (5 July 1864 – 30 March 1959) was a Scottish physician and pathologist who carried out pioneering work in immunology, and was one of the leading figures in medical research in Glasgow in the early 20th century.^[15] Born in Balfron, he was the son of a minister.^[14]
• Prof
  Strathclyde University
  , lived with his family in Balfron.
• Dr Brian Douglas Keighley was a general practitioner (GP) who practiced in Balfron for 40 years, and was the chair of the Scottish Council of the British Medical Association (BMA) from 2009 to December 2014.
• British Postal Museum & Archive
  and a signatory to the Book of Scottish Philatelists and the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. Muir was born in Balfron.
• Brian McGinley was rated one of Scotland's top referees and was on both the FIFA and UEFA lists.
• Lauren Gray (born 3 November 1991) is a Scottish curler. She won a gold medal at the 2013 World Championships for Scotland, and a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics for Great Britain. She won a gold medal at the 2017 European Championships.
• Logan Gray (born 23 June 1986), brother of Lauren Gray, is a Scottish former curler. He is a two-time World Junior curling bronze medallist.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balfron.

• Balfron Heritage Group aims to promote the history of the village and parish : preserving the past – protecting the future.