The church of St Bride was dedicated around 1150, and formed the nucleus to the early community of East Kilbride with agriculture the keystone of the growth of the village. In the early eighteenth century, brothers William and John Hunter were born in the village and later rose to become world-famous surgeons and anatomists. John Hunter is buried in Westminster Abbey. The turnpike roads of 1791 and the advent of the Caledonian Railway in 1868 became defining events in the prosperity of East Kilbride.

In 1947, East Kilbride New Town was established and, until its wind up in December 1995, the population had increased thirtyfold to 75,000. A vigorous Burgh Council and its successor – East Kilbride District Council – set high standards in social and economic development to match the New Town initiatives in the build-up of industrial growth and the creation of shopping malls. Since 1996, East Kilbride has become the most populous community in South Lanarkshire Council.