In the late eighteenth century, Archibald Montgomerie, the Earl of Eglinton, was forced to partition the land into a number of smaller properties.

An additional railway service began at the start of the twentieth century, closely followed by the arrival of Glasgow Corporation Tramways.

Giffnock's relative closeness to Glasgow coupled with the local industry and good transports links helped it to develop into a suburban town, as many wealthy merchants chose to construct villas in its smog-free environs and commute daily to the city.

Although heavy industry died out in the area during the early twentieth century, as part of Scotland's densely populated Central Belt, Giffnock has continued to grow as a dormitory town, supported by its position within the Greater Glasgow area, from roughly 1,425 residents in the early twentieth century to 16,178 in 2001.

[6] The first written mention of Giffnock came in 1530, when James V presented Rockend (Ruken) Mill and the surrounding lands to Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton.

[6] Giffnock was primarily a scattered farming community until the late 1780s, when Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton was forced to partition the land into a number of small properties for sale to raise finances.

[9][11] Originally, a lower level line was laid from Giffnock railway station into the Orchard Quarry to facilitate the extraction of the stone.

[13] The slag tipping continued until 1969, when Derek Crouch Limited began scrap metal extraction, which lasted until the late 1970s.

[15] The opening of Giffnock railway station in 1866 allowed business people to build sandstone villas and commute daily to the city.

[16] By the early 1890s, residential Giffnock began to grow around the railway station and Eastwood Toll,[17] and by 1892 gas was introduced to the area.

[17] The addition of this tram link and the nearby Whitecraigs railway station helped the popularity of Giffnock as a weekend destination and lead to the opening of Rouken Glen park in 1906 by Archibald Corbett (later Lord Rowallan), the M.P.

[21] On 7 May 1941, during the Greenock Blitz of World War II, the Nazi German Luftwaffe dropped a group of bombs over Giffnock, but only two houses were destroyed.

[7] On 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess, a prominent Nazi politician and deputy to Adolf Hitler parachuted out of his Messerschmitt Bf 110D near Waterfoot.

However, following 2,000 objections from local people and the opposition of the Scottish Government's reporter, East Renfrewshire Council abandoned the plans in October 2011.

[7] The underlay is composed mainly of sedimentary rocks and freestone from the Strathclyde and Clackmannan groups of early to mid Carboniferous age (354 to 316 million years).

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

[29] Giffnock's built environment is characterised by its mixture of nineteenth and twentieth-century single and two-storey dwellings, most of which are semi-detached or terraced.

Towards the south of Giffnock the properties are generally grander two-storey detached villas, commonly built with local sandstone[7] many of which are now listed buildings.

Giffnock consists of postcode district G46, which also extends beyond the town boundary to include neighbouring settlements Kennishead, Thornliebank, Deaconsbank, Carnwadric and Arden.

[30] Fifty six percent were married, 3.5% were cohabiting couples, 6.9% were lone parent families and 28.7% of households were made up of individuals.

[30][32] The place of birth of the towns residents was 94.4% United Kingdom (including 87.8% from Scotland), 0.6% Ireland, 0.9% from other European Union countries and 4.2% from elsewhere in the world.

Additionally, in Giffnock 4.2% students have jobs while 5.2% do not, 16% are retired, 5.7% look after their home or family, 3.9% are permanently sick or disabled, and 2.4% are economically inactive for other reasons.

The A77 main Glasgow to Kilmarnock road passes through the centre of the town and crosses the A727 from Paisley to East Kilbride at the Eastwood Toll.

The main bus link to the city is the number 38 line operated by First Glasgow, which runs at least every 10 minutes throughout the day.

[37] The first evidence of education in Giffnock is of a small private school that operated in the lodge house at the Redhurst Hotel.

The Tudor was an Art Deco style building and is considered Glasgow's first "entertainment complex", featuring a ballroom and restaurant as well as the 2,400-seat cinema.

On his sudden death in August 1893, the house passed into the hands of his brother, William Graham Crum, who later sold the estate to Archibald Cameron Corbett, MP (later Lord Rowallan) on 19 May 1905.

[51] The Giffnock North Social Club, located on Braidbar Road, is a community non-profit making venue run by its members.

Facilities at the club include a lounge and a games room with pool tables, darts and large screen TV.