Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about miles (km) east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. It was awarded the trophy for the Best Small City in Scotland in September 2009 in the Beautiful Scotland environmental and horticultural competition. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era. Foundations of the town can be traced back to the 12th century when the area was gifted by Royal Charter to the Monks of Newbattle Abbey by Malcolm IV. It was during the last years of the 18th century that the area developed from a loose collection of hamlets into the town of Coatbridge. The town's development and growth has been intimately connected with the tec