The etymology of the name is probably from the common Scottish surname Moody. Several old documents show Moodiesburn with various spellings including maps by Richardson, Forrest, and William Roy. Moodiesburn was formerly part of the parish of Cadder. The New Statistical Accounts recorded 30 families and 143 people in 1836. In 1846 there were reported to be 35 houses with 220 people living in them. Towards the end of the 19th century the population fell to as low as 150. The town was developed in the 20th century with employment in coal mining and around psychiatric institutionStoneyetts Hospital. In the 1930s, wooden houses were constructed on the estate of Gartferry House.
In September 1959, 47 men lost their lives in a coal mine near the village of Moodiesburn when a faulty fan purifying the air in the colliery went on fire due to an electrical fault. The men were in bogies travelling to the coal face to start work, and due to the intense smoke they were abandoned just a few hundred yards from safety. The mine was eventually flooded to put out the fire; there was only one survivor from the crews. The mining accident was one of the worst within the UK in the 20th century, widowing 41 women and leaving 76 children without a father. The First Minister of ScotlandAlex Salmond unveiled a memorial on 18 September 2009 at Moodiesburn. Norman Buchan wrote a song, "Auchengeich", about the disaster, recorded by Dick Gaughan and The Easy Club.
Aftermath and economic decline
Mining was shuttered following the disaster. Stoneyetts ceased operation in 1992, followed by Scottish Power and Reekie Plant Hire sites closing in 1996. A 1999 article in The Observer lamented Moodiesburn's lack of local employment, as well as the increasing disaffection of its younger residents: Auchengeich sewage works and the Moodiesburn House Hotel – previously the Bedlay Dowager House – were closed in 2003 and 2008, respectively. Two career options remain in the area: landscaping product supplier Charcon Scotland, and food processing company Devro.
Landmarks
Bedlay Cemetery is the local cemetery for Moodiesburn. The nearby Bedlay Castle has stood since the late 16th century. The suburb includes a community centre and library, a miners' welfare club, a multi-denominational school, a denominational school, a Church of Scotland parish church, a Roman Catholic church, and an independent evangelical church called New Beginnings. There is also the Silver Larch public house, a Knights of Saint Columba social club and a coffee shop called The Coffee House. The community's original 1950s council house builds comprise an area known as "Old Moodiesburn". A batch of houses with updated resources were constructed in the 1960s, and dubbed the "electric scheme" by locals. Modern homes have since been developed in this area of Moodiesburn, including by Taylor Woodrow, Persimmon and Lovell. The opposite end, by Devro headquarters, is composed mostly of private residences by Christian Salvesen, Tay/Wimpey, Bellway and Persimmon. Miller Homes are set to build on the former Stoneyetts Hospital site as of 2019. A small estate of new council builds was erected in the midst of the Salvesen area in 2013.
