[3] Coal seams in the immediate area to the east were considered commercially exploitable from the late eighteenth century onwards once the canal had been built.

[4] The former Monkland Canal to the immediate north of modern Riddrie was begun by James Watt in June 1770 as the first stage of a plan to allow transport of coal to the centre of Glasgow.

[7] By the 1920s, the abandoned canal waterway had become a public danger, resulting in Riddrie children drowning, and has been described as a source of "continuous outcry" from residents.

In 1978, the section from Riddrie to Ballieston roundabout was designed and constructed to a dual three lane motorway standard, in the immediate expectation of 45,000 vehicles per 16-hour day.

[13] By 1852, the limited buildings in the area are seen in detail on the Map of the country for ten miles round Glasgow at the National Library of Scotland.

The development was a response to the urgent need for additional housing following the First World War, and it was the first scheme to be completed on behalf of the City Council under the Addison Act.

In the three years since it was built, levels of brick-throwing and vandalism from the Blackhill youths from the other side were said to make life unbearable for Riddrie residents.

[36] Alasdair Gray (born 1934) describes his childhood, recalling the Riddrie Housing Scheme development where he grew up as "good, pleasant and normal" with well-kept gardens and tree-lined streets.

For Riddrie the Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal (GEAR) Project, ending in 1987, saw significant refurbishment at public expense of the existing 1920s development.

The project investigated quality of life in low income areas, specifically concentrating on households, housing, neighbourhoods, communities, empowerment and health.

[45] Riddrie, alongside nearby Carntyne, Townhead and Govan are housing investment areas where gradual upgrades are taking place to dwellings, both internally and externally.

[46] In 2016, the ambitious Seven Lochs Wetland Park project was awarded approximately £4.5 million to create and enhance a linked wildlife/nature scheme with pathways and access routes.

The lochs, parks, nature reserves and woods are all in the 16-square-kilometre (6.2 sq mi) area that begins in Riddrie and extends to Coatbridge in Lanarkshire.

Plans include significant "greening" of the space by the provision of gardens, trees, hedges, shrubs, wild flower planting and benches.

[56] In 2008, Riddrie Community Gardens, an unincorporated charitable body, received from the National Lottery a grant to set up a wildlife breathing space, a pond, flower meadows and fruit trees.

[69] These numbers are recorded as reflective of the status of Glasgow as headquarters of the Highland Light Infantry and as the location of several large military hospitals during the First World War.

[75] The cemetery contains the burial plot and marker stone of Lt Henry May VC (1885–1941), who was awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War for outstanding gallantry.

The soldier was serving in the First Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) when at La Boutillerie on 22 October 1914 he voluntarily acted despite great personal risk so as to rescue others whilst under heavy enemy fire.

In August 2002, a freak accident occurred during heavy rain when old mine workings under the cemetery opened, causing a teenage boy to drown.

[84] It has a hall and a church with a brick-faced exterior and integral design of a simple Gothic high vaulted building with Art Nouveau influence.

The church also contains a black marble memorial with a brass plaque commemorating those parishioners killed in service in the First World War.

[86] The church (completed 1957) is at the triangular base of Smithycroft Road/826 Cumbernauld Road and the site is shown on Ordnance survey as including a separate hall and Roman Catholic primary school.

[87] The church itself has a brick-faced exterior which displays a large, striking triform three-quarters statuary relief mimicking the shape of three linked window spaces.

[90] Described by Historic Scotland as a "rare survival of iconic streamline Art Deco style super-cinema complex," the former cinema building at 726 Cumbernauld Road, Riddrie, converted for bingo use in 1968.

[95] Jimmy Boyle, convicted murderer, reformed gangster, artist and novelist spent his 14 year sentence in Barlinnie prison, Riddrie.

Internationally acclaimed, double Grammy award-winning conductor and choirmaster (subsequently disgraced and imprisoned) Joseph Cullen lived in Riddrie.

[98][99] Writer and artist Alasdair Gray grew up in Riddrie and the "Thaw" sections of his novel Lanark loosely document his early life there.

[100] Peter McAleese, ex-SAS mercenary and leader of the team attempting the assassination of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, was brought up in Riddrie.

[103] Scottish international footballer David Marshall was born and grew up in Riddrie, attending St Thomas Primary School.

[108] The Most Reverend Philip Tartaglia, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow attended St Thomas' Primary School in Riddrie.