For more than 800 years, Rutherglen was a small hamlet in Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its local council and became an administrative part of the Glasgow city district within the Strathclyde region, together with neighboring Cambuslang. The city is believed to have been named after Reutherus, King of Scotland, the fifth to descend from Fergus I. Rutherglen is situated on the banks of the River Clyde, connected to Glasgow's suburbs by a five-arched stone bridge.
The city's current church was built in 1794 and can accommodate 800 people. There is also a simple chapel with 800 rooms, which until recently was annexed to an ecclesiastical district called West Church. In addition, there is a Free Church and a Relief Church in the city. The Royal Burgh of Rutherglen has Rutherglen railway station (opened in 1884), and Croftfoot and Burnside stations are closer to the southern parts of the city.
The station connects to Rutherglen's main street and there are also numerous bus connections to central Glasgow. The region is home to the Rutherglen branch of the South Lanarkshire Council youth club, Universal Connections, and also the new Clyde Gateway stadium for the Rutherglen football club, Glencairn. Rutherglen was a parliamentary borough represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Glasgow Burghs constituency from 1708 to 1832 and as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs from 1832 to 1918. The area has modern and attractive developments and maintains the green theme of Glasgow and Rutherglen, with gardens everywhere. Rutherglen Glencairn recently moved to a new stadium (The Clyde Gateway Stadium) located in the Burnhill area of Rutherglen, after the demolition of the old land (Southcroft Park).
Scottish rugby internationals Duncan Weir and British and Irish lion Richie Gray were also born in Rutherglen and attended school there, as was Richie's brother and Glasgow warrior Jonny Gray. In 1775, Rutherglen gained its own bridge over the River Clyde, designed and built by James Watt - best known for his later work with steam engines. Clincarthill rises above Rutherglen and offers views of the Royal Burgh. To anyone traveling on the south side of Glasgow, Rutherglen may seem like little more than a name on road signs and a glimpse of its town hall tower. Rutherglen is now an integral part of Greater Glasgow conurbation, located south of the River Clyde, 2 miles (3 km) south of Glasgow city center and 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Cambuslang.
It has become an important part of Scotland's history as it marks a significant milestone in its integration into Glasgow.
