Clarkston (Scots: Clairkstoun, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Chlarc) is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

On 21 October 1971, the main shopping building was the scene of the Clarkston explosion, which killed 22 people and injured around 100.

Greenbank Garden, a National Trust for Scotland property, is located on Flenders Road, on the outskirts of Clarkston.

When a new road from Paisley to East Kilbride was built through the area in the 1790s, a toll point was set up where it crossed what was then the main route from Glasgow to Kilmarnock and Ayr.

[2][3][4] The Maxwell family (owners of the Williamwood Estate, on which Clarkston was situated)[2][5] advertised the creation of a new village there in 1801, but initially, it grew slowly.

Clarkston at this time had no industry of its own, and villagers were mainly employed in the mills at nearby Netherlee.

The Stamperland terraces as well as parts of Carolside and most of Williamwood were built by John Lawrence & Co. Minor infill sites, mainly replacing derelict farmhouses in Carolside and filling in small cliffside gaps in Stamperland were built in the 1970s, but nothing to the same scale as earlier in the century.

[2] In the 21st century, flats at Aidan's Brae off Mearns Road and houses at Newford Grove were built.

[9][10] The replacement school is situated on the southern edge of the town towards Waterfoot, some distance from the old site in the South Williamwood residential area.

In 1898, the club was forced to leave, and moved to near Cathcart Castle, in the modern day Linn Park, where it remained for around 20 years.

For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament, Clarkston forms part of the Eastwood constituency, which is represented by Jackson Carlaw MSP, of the Conservative party.

Clarkston experiences a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters.

Clarkston consists almost entirely of postcode district G76, which also extends beyond the town boundary to include neighbouring settlements Busby, Carmunnock, Eaglesham, Waterfoot, Millhall, and small parts of East Kilbride.

[18] Fifty-nine per cent were married, 3.7% were cohabiting couples, 7.0% were lone-parent families and 23.2% of households were made up of individuals.

[18][20] The place of birth of the town's residents was 97.1% United Kingdom (including 91.8% from Scotland), 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 0.5% from other European Union countries and 1.9% from elsewhere in the world.

Additionally, in Clarkston 4.5% of students have jobs while 4.2% do not, 15.4% are retired, 4.8% look after their home or family, 3.0% are permanently sick or disabled, and 1.9% are economically inactive for other reasons.

The park is home to four separate sports pitches, a mini basketball court, and a large playground.

Clarkston lies within the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Passenger transport executive and is served by two railway stations, both of which are managed by ScotRail:[22][23] The closest airport is Glasgow Airport, 8.1 miles (13.0 km) northwest of Clarkston, near Paisley.

Noted residents of the area have included Sir William Kerr Fraser, Principal and Chancellor of Glasgow University; Harry Benson, international photographer, and Judy Murray, tennis educator and promoter.

Greenbank Parish Church originally opened in 1884 on Eaglesham Road, at the far south of the modern town centre, having been built at the cost of £4055.

In the 1950s Greenbank helped fund churches in the newly built Castlemilk housing estates, in Glasgow.

It was built in the centre of the Williamwood area, in a narrow triangular-shaped plot between Seres Road and Vardar Avenue.

[35] In 1995/96 there was modernisation work carried out, creating disabled access, additional toilets and the Iona Chapel.