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Town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland

Bearsden (/audio=Bearsden. ogg/,/b//ɛər//z/'/d//ɛ//n/) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately 6 mile (10 km) from the city centre. The Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of a military bath house can be seen near the town centre. The current settlement began in the 17th century as the kirkton of the parish of New Kilpatrick, and when a railway connection to Glasgow was constructed in 1863, it developed into an affluent suburb of the city. By 2020, it had an estimated population of 28,470. In 164 AD, after only 20 years, the Romans withdrew to Hadrian's Wall. Little of the fort remains today. However, close to the fort was a Roman bath house, built in approximately 142–143 AD. The bath house's remains were discovered by builders digging foundations for a housing development in 1973. The site was donated to the government, and today the remains lie, well preserved, from the town centre. Two further stretches of the Antonine Wall's stone base can be seen in the New Kilpatrick Cemetery on Boclair Road.

Prior to 1649, the area formed part of a larger parish called Kilpatrick. One part was called West, or Old Kilpatrick, and covered Dumbarton and areas of west Dunbartonshire, such as Clydebank. The remaining part was named East or New Kilpatrick, covering a much greater area than Bearsden, from the River Clyde at Whiteinch and Yoker to Duntocher, Strathblane and Baldernock. Modern Bearsden began in an agricultural area as a small hamlet called New Kirk (or perhaps Chapelton) close to New Kilpatrick Parish Church, which was first built in 1649. Close landmarks included Canniesburn Toll, and a water mill at Garscube. The present day church was built in 1807.

The New Kirk settlement grew from the middle of the nineteenth century when Glaswegian businessmen built houses at a commutable distance from the city. In 1863, the Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Railway opened, with a station near New Kirk called Bearsden. This was soon adopted as the name of the community. The opening of the railway led to considerable development of Bearsden, with many large Victorian houses built in what is now known as Old Bearsden Conservation Area. moved from Rottenrow to Bearsden in the late 1860s. Managed by Glasgow Corporation, the countryside location moved the girls away from any malign influences to be found in the city and allowed the institution to be self supporting with livestock and a vegetable garden. The girls washed their own clothes and those of local residents in the Reformatory's large laundry. In addition to girls who had fallen foul of the courts, others with problems such as malnourishment and learning difficulties were also housed at Chapelton. In 1949, around 360 girls passed through the school annually and were taken to New Kilpatrick Parish church on Sundays. Buchanan Retreat was built in 1890 by the Buchanan sisters of Bellfield, near Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire. It was taken over by Bearsden Burgh in 1962 and, known as Boclair House, used as council offices (pictured below under Administration). Latterly used by East Dunbartonshire council, it was placed on the market in 2012 following council cost cutting measures and staff redistribution. In 2016 the building opened as Boclair House Hotel, a hotel, wedding venue, and restaurant, which has since won several awards. The Schaw Home (pictured) was built in 1895 by Miss Marjory Shanks Schaw in memory of her brother and gifted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The building has now been split into private residential apartments. In 1906, many buildings were built at Bearsden Cross by Mathew Henderson (he also tried, unsuccessfully, to develop another commuter suburb at Drumchapel). Westerton Garden suburb was built around 1913 and is also now a conservation area near Westerton station. Near this is the site of the former Canniesburn Hospital, which has many Art Deco buildings and where pioneering plastic surgery was performed, notably on the Boy David who was featured on many television programmes and was adopted by one of the doctors there. The hospital site has now been developed into flats, but much of the character has been retained and copied. A further station in Bearsden is at Hillfoot. Bearsden continued to expand in the twentieth century as residents built large independently designed villas, estates of bungalows, and other types of houses. Few sites are now left unoccupied.

There are two secondary schools in the town, Bearsden Academy and Boclair Academy which both have academic performance "well above average". These are fed by seven primary schools within the town (Boclair Academy's fourth feeder primary is located outside Bearsden in Torrance) and a small number of placing requests from other areas. An eighth primary school, St Nicolas’, feeds three Catholic secondary schools outside Bearsden. The High School of Glasgow has a primary school section in the town – this is the result of a merger between the school and the former Drewsteignton Home School, founded in 1922. 73% of working residents surveyed travel to work by car, 16% by train or bus, 5% by other methods, and 6% work mainly at home. Many of the west of Scotland's most expensive houses are in the Old Bearsden Outstanding Conservation Area – Bearsden's postcode (G61) was ranked 7th richest in the UK by a 2005 survey, with an estimated 176 millionaires living there. By comparison, just 235 people were estimated to be receiving Jobseeker's Allowance in 2011.

Neighbourhoods in Bearsden, like those in many other towns, do not have clear boundaries; where places like Kessington were once a few houses together surrounded by agricultural land, they now merge with other (once distinct) areas, like Killermont. In general terms, however, the neighbourhoods of Bearsden can be described as follows:

The town centre (also known as Bearsden Cross) is located at the intersection of the A809 (Drymen Road) and A808 (Roman Road). It was formerly known as New Kirk, as can be seen on postcards from the early 20th century. There are four functioning church buildings (Bearsden Cross Parish Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, New Kilpatrick Parish Church and St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church) a primary school, Bearsden Burgh Hall and Brookwood Public Library. Bearsden Ski Club and the Roman bath house (across from which is Bearsden Baptist church and the Scout Hall of the 24th Glasgow Scout Group) lie on the edge the town centre. The former Bearsden North Church is a listed building, but is currently unused and is awaiting redevelopment proposals. Old Bearsden describes the area in Central / West Bearsden which are some of the most desirable residential areas of the country with sizeable sandstone villas. In 1855, John Campbell Colquhoun (a director of the Glasgow & Milngavie Junction Railway Company) drew up plans for housebuilding near Bearsden Station. Ledcameroch Road and Crescent were part of this plan, but the remainder was never completed as intended. Three of the largest houses, (Ledcameroch, St Germains and Lochbrae) were demolished and redeveloped between 1977 & 1985. The term now generally includes Bearsden Cross. Westerton is to the Southwest of the town, particularly the conservation area of 1920s buildings, shops, library and church around Maxwell Avenue, having clear boundaries with Drumchapel, Knightswood and Netherton in Glasgow. It has its own train station, Westerton railway station and primary school (Westerton Primary School). Castlehill/Courthill and Baljaffray lie to the Northwest of the town, and principally compose of post 1970 developments. The name Castlehill relates back to the presence of a Roman fort along the line of the Antonine Wall, although this is no longer visible. Mosshead lies to the North of the town, having a boundary with Milngavie. Hillfoot lies to the East of the town centre, and was once a large house, demolished and built on in the first half of the 20th century. Kessington and Killermont cover the remainder of the East of Bearsden, a rough dividing line between the two being from Kessington Hall to Boclair Academy. Chapelton is shown on some of the oldest maps of the area. Originally just a few houses on Drymen Road south of Bearsden Cross, the area now covers the area between Milngavie Road, Drymen Road and Roman Road. To the South and West of Chapelton is Canniesburn, formerly the site of a tollhouse and smithy, now a huge roundabout. Canniesburn Hospital was partly demolished after its closure in 2001 and premium residences now stand on the site.

The Bearsden Amateur Football Club was constituted in 1890 and its founders were drawn mainly from the employees of the staging post, originally situated at Bearsden Cross. Their first ground was in Drymen road, now the site of the public hall and All Saints church and when the ground was re developed the club moved on to Station Road where they played until the club disbanded on the outbreak of war in 1914. In 1919 the club reformed and played for the first time on their present ground at Thorn Park. The club won the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1961–62, beating Pencaitland 1–0 at Hampden Park. Presently they participate in the Caledonian Amateur Football League and other cup competitions. Westerton United (1997) and Baljaffray FC, established 2002, are the most recent new football clubs in Bearsden.

The Glasgow Golf Club is one of the world's oldest, founded in 1787. In 1904 the club moved premises to Killermont House and its surrounding estate, built in 1805 for the Campbell Colquhoun family. The club is unusual in having a links course (at Gailes, near Irvine) in addition to its home course. Douglas Park Golf Club, Hillfoot, has a full course and can trace its history back to 1897, although the current layout dates from 1972. Windyhill Golf Club (founded 1908), West of Baljaffray, has an 18 hole course laid out by James Braid, who subsequently modified Glasgow Golf Club's Killermont course 16 years later. The course has views of the River Clyde, Campsie Fells and Kilpatrick Hills.

Highland Games for Bearsden and Milngavie are held annually at the West of Scotland Rugby Ground.

Bearsden Ski Club was formed circa 1964 by a small band of enthusiasts. The club has a membership of about 1200 skiers, boarders and social members. The club facilities include the Main alpine slope, two nursery slopes, a freestyle slope and a club house, it also currently undergoing further renovation. It provides a wide range of activities from skiing cross country on one of their trips to tubing on the freestyle slope.

Bearsden have a competitive chess club, with one team from the club winning the Glasgow Division 1 League outright in 2010.

There are two Scout Groups in Bearsden. The 24th Glasgow (Bearsden) Scout Group, was formed in January 1908 and is one of the largest Groups in the UK with four Beaver Colonies, four Cub Packs, three Scout Troops and an Explorer Unit, as well as providing a meeting place for Scout Network. There is a published history of the group. and currently has over 600 members. The 183rd Glasgow Scout Group, was formed in 1947 by the Home Guard and has two Beaver Colonies, two Cub Packs, one Scout Troop and an Explorer Unit. It currently has over 130 members. Like the 24th, it goes on many international camps during the summer holidays to Germany, Canada, Belgium, and more recently, Croatia. Both Groups are part of the Clyde Region of the Scout Association. Girlguiding is also active in Bearsden, with units based at Killermont Parish Church and at the Guide Hut in Pendicle Road. The local units are members of the Girlguiding Dunbartonshire.

Bearsden has three Boys' Brigade Companies. The 1st Bearsden Company of the Boys' Brigade, Founded in 1898. The company has three sections – Anchor Boys, Junior Section and Company Section. The 2nd Bearsden Company of the Boys' Brigade, attached to the Westerton Parish Church which was established in 1957, but the BB Company can trace its history back to before that date. The 3rd Bearsden Company of the Boys' Brigade is attached to the Killermont Parish Church.