Glasgow City Archives

09/10/2021

#GlasgowMunicipalHousing
Today’s post looks at ‘Rehousing’ schemes in the 1930s for those from slum clearance areas. We highlight (a) Hamiltonhill the pioneering slum-clearance scheme and the first new ‘Rehousing' Scheme and (b) Blackhill, controversial because of its proximity to the Provan Gas Works.
With the pressure to provide housing with affordable rents, these were built to a higher density, with cheaper materials and with little opportunity for aesthetic refinement in architectural design. They were deliberately nearer the City centre than the earlier schemes to be close to workplaces, some of them were in fact uncomfortably close to industrial premises. Yet the disadvantages had to be counterbalanced with the urgent need for slum clearance in Glasgow's older and more dilapidated communities. The new estates provided a vast improvement in living conditions and were popular with the original tenants

09/10/2021

New shop front, 322-330 Garscube Rd, 1936 Archives Ref: D-CA 8/1242
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

New shop front, 322-330 Garscube Rd, 1936 Archives Ref: D-CA 8/1242
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

08/10/2021

Lovely colour postcard of Regent Place UF Church, Dennistoun

Ref: P9724, postmark 1909

Lovely colour postcard of Regent Place UF Church, Dennistoun

Ref: P9724, postmark 1909

07/10/2021

A transport map taken from 'Seeing Glasgow by Tram and Bus', a guide to the city by the Glasgow Corporation published in 1938 🗺️

Ref: PA3/5

A transport map taken from 'Seeing Glasgow by Tram and Bus', a guide to the city by the Glasgow Corporation published in 1938 🗺️

Ref: PA3/5

06/10/2021

#OTD 6 October 1883 the foundation stone of the new municipal buildings in George Square was laid with a full masonic ceremony. A public holiday, 600,000 watched a trades’ march of skilled workers from the city’s heavy industries and a masonic procession. The foundation stone of the new municipal buildings was laid by Lord Provost John Ure with due pomp and ceremony. The building s were inaugurated by Queen Victoria, in August 1888, and the first Council meeting was held on 10 October 1889.
#ArchivesAtHome #GlasgowLifeGoesOn

Pic 1 Laying foundation stone of the City Chambers, with a view of the Parochial Board offices then being built, 1883 (Ref No: P1749)
Pic 2 Laying of foundation stone, 1883 (Ref No: P1743)

05/10/2021

Amazing aerial view of Yorkhill, including the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Kelvin Hall, circa 1930.

Ref: P571

Amazing aerial view of Yorkhill, including the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Kelvin Hall, circa 1930.

Ref: P571

04/10/2021

The Boys’ Brigade was founded in Glasgow #onthisday in 1883. Glasgow City Archives holds records from the Glasgow Battalion, including the 1st Glasgow Company founded by Sir William Alexander Smith. The BB has grown from this single company into a worldwide movement.

Ref: T-BB

The Boys’ Brigade was founded in Glasgow #onthisday in 1883. Glasgow City Archives holds records from the Glasgow Battalion, including the 1st Glasgow Company founded by Sir William Alexander Smith. The BB has grown from this single company into a worldwide movement.

Ref: T-BB

03/10/2021

#GlasgowMunicipalHousing
Images of council housing at Drumoyne, Ruchill, Carntyne and Shawlands.
Glasgow's acute overcrowding problems were bound up with the need for better housing and this was addressed in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. Between 1919 and 1939 many styles of council housing were built in Glasgow. A number of municipal "schemes" quickly emerged on undeveloped ground in Glasgow under the Housing Act of 1919. These were the ‘ordinary’ houses in schemes such as Mosspark which met high building standards. A further act in 1923 enabled a large increase in the number of affordable homes as rents were subsidised. Glasgow built ‘intermediate’ houses which were usually to a similar standard as the ‘ordinary’ houses, but rents were cheaper.

03/10/2021

The Great Retreat
Hello, Ross here continuing the story of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH) in the Balkans. Serbia's peaceful summer of 1915 would not last long. Austria-Hungary, Germany and Bulgaria invaded in the autumn and by November the SWH was retreating alongside the Serbian Army. Travelling along roads swollen by thousands of refugees, SWH personnel wrote that ‘this was something more than an army retiring – it was a whole nation passing into exile, a people leaving a lost country’.

Members of the First Serbian Unit met in Kruševac and were faced with the decision to remain in Serbia and face capture or continue the retreat with the Serbs to the Adriatic coast. Those that chose to retreat were led by Dr Beatrice MacGregor and William Smith, the Unit’s secretary, and their route lay across the mountains of Montenegro and Albania. As a member of the Unit recalled, ‘The retreat was a terrible experience. Almost the entire journey of 300 miles was taken on foot. Mountains 7000 feet had to be climbed in blinding snow; perilous tracks had to be traversed and rivers crossed on narrow plank bridges. Many nights were passed in the open and food was always insufficient’. During the retreat Sister Caroline Toughill died when her car was swept off the road by a landslide and newspaper reports recounted that Serb soldiers gave her a funeral in a ruined roadside church.

The trek to the Albanian coast took seven weeks and left the members of the Unit ‘looking as lean as bears in spring’. Even at the coast the Unit was not entirely safe: food was scarce, they faced German aerial bombardment and feared their evacuation ships would be torpedoed. The Unit was eventually evacuated from San Giovanni di Medua (present day Shëngjin) to Brindisi from where they made their way back to Britain, while the Serbian Army was evacuated to Corfu to recover its strength.

Archive ref:
TD1734/19/1/38 – Serbian transport on the retreat
TD1734/19/1/104 – SWH retreat, Serbia
TD1734/19/1/140 – Serbs lined up during the retreat

03/10/2021

75 Govan Rd and Greenhaugh Rd, 1935 Archive Ref: D-CA 8/1336
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

75 Govan Rd and Greenhaugh Rd, 1935 Archive Ref: D-CA 8/1336
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

02/10/2021

Central Station, 97 Gordon St, 1936 Archive Ref: D-CA 8/1322
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

Central Station, 97 Gordon St, 1936 Archive Ref: D-CA 8/1322
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

02/10/2021

#GlasgowMunicipalHousing Slum clearance between the Wars
Glasgow undertook major house-building activities after WW1. Its 1919 housing strategy had included limited plans for slum-clearance but from 1923 it established various schemes to tackle slum housing. The city undertook mass slum clearances in the 1930s, much of it in the inner City area. These had originally been built for workers during the period of rapid industrial development with little regard for overcrowding or amenities. Using powers to acquire and demolish privately owned properties, slum clearance schemes were put into action across Glasgow. The next housing post(s) will look at the slum rehousing schemes.
#Arvhivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

01/10/2021

Glasgow Corporation Cleansing Department in Partick, 1969.

The Department was established in 1868 but street cleansing first became a public responsibility in 1800, with the passing of the Police Act.

Ref: D-TC8/20/N17/1/011

Glasgow Corporation Cleansing Department in Partick, 1969.

The Department was established in 1868 but street cleansing first became a public responsibility in 1800, with the passing of the Police Act.

Ref: D-TC8/20/N17/1/011

30/09/2021

Happy #WorldMaritimeDay! We hold a vast collection of archives that showcase Glasgow's maritime history, including many ship plans and photos.

The beautiful drawing shows La Marguerite, built by Fairfield's in 1894.

Ref: UCS2/120/375/5

Happy #WorldMaritimeDay! We hold a vast collection of archives that showcase Glasgow's maritime history, including many ship plans and photos.

The beautiful drawing shows La Marguerite, built by Fairfield's in 1894.

Ref: UCS2/120/375/5

29/09/2021

Shops on Paisley Road West (nos. 1493-1501) taken shortly after opening, 1934.

The interesting-looking row is still standing.

Ref: D-CA8/2297

Shops on Paisley Road West (nos. 1493-1501) taken shortly after opening, 1934.

The interesting-looking row is still standing.

Ref: D-CA8/2297

28/09/2021

The Cantilever Shoe Store, 131-133 Buchanan Street, 1938. 👞 👟 👠

Ref: D-CA8/441

The Cantilever Shoe Store, 131-133 Buchanan Street, 1938. 👞 👟 👠

Ref: D-CA8/441

27/09/2021

Knightswood was Glasgow's largest housing scheme when it was built, with a total of 6,714 houses. The land was bought from the Summerlee Iron Co in 1921, and the Council set about building a garden suburb. The buildings include semi-detached, terraced houses and cottage flats, all limited to two storeys. Provision of amenities often lagged behind the building of houses in Glasgow housing schemes, but Knightswood fared better than most areas. The Corporation acquired 148 acres for Knightswood Park in 1929. In addition to the two bowling greens and four tennis courts, the park included a golf course, pitch and putt course, boating pond, running track and cricket pitch. Four new shopping centres, eight churches and six schools were also provided. #glasgowmunicipalhousing
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

27/09/2021

#OnThisDay in 1831, the first railway to enter Glasgow opened. The Glasgow & Garnkirk Railway was built mainly to transport coal and other minerals to works in the north and east of the city, but also carried passengers. Its terminus in Glasgow was in Townhead near the St Rollox Chemical Works, shown here c1930.

Ref: P544

#OnThisDay in 1831, the first railway to enter Glasgow opened. The Glasgow & Garnkirk Railway was built mainly to transport coal and other minerals to works in the north and east of the city, but also carried passengers. Its terminus in Glasgow was in Townhead near the St Rollox Chemical Works, shown here c1930.

Ref: P544

26/09/2021

Phoenix Park, Garscube Rd, 1911, with poignant image of small child on swing Archive Ref: P276
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

Phoenix Park, Garscube Rd, 1911, with poignant image of small child on swing Archive Ref: P276
#Archivesathome #Glasgowlifegoeson

25/09/2021

Riddrie Housing scheme
#GlasgowMunicipalHousing Riddrie was the first housing scheme built for Glasgow Corporation under the provisions of the Housing Act, 1919 in an attempt to meet the estimated need for 57,000 new houses in the aftermath of the First World War. The Act placed a responsibility on local authorities to provide working class housing with the help of Government subsidies. The Riddrie scheme was built between 1920 and 1927 on open fields to the west of Cumbernauld Road. There was a mixture of semi-detached and terraced cottages with gardens and three-storey tenement flats. All the houses had cavity walling and electric servicing, an innovation at the time. Around 1,000 houses were built, most of them allocated to skilled workers earning above-average wages.

25/09/2021

Woodlands Parish Church, c.1935. Built as Woodlands UP Church and designed by John Burnet Senior, it became Woodlands Fee Church, and latterly St Jude's Free Church Archive Ref: P714

Woodlands Parish Church, c.1935. Built as Woodlands UP Church and designed by John Burnet Senior, it became Woodlands Fee Church, and latterly St Jude's Free Church Archive Ref: P714

25/09/2021

Hello, it’s Ross, the Glasgow City Archive intern, continuing the story of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH) in the Balkans. The Serbian Government requested further assistance from the SWH to help the country during the typhus epidemic of early 1915 and in April of that year the Second Serbian Unit, overseen by Dr Alice Hutchinson, set off. The SWH Committee felt that Hutchinson was ‘perfectly fitted’ to run a hospital in Serbia as she had previously worked in Bulgaria for the Women’s Sick and Wounded Convoy Corp during the First Balkan War.

When travelling to the Balkans, the Unit was commandeered in Malta by the island’s British Governor to assist wounded from the Dardanelles and Dr Hutchinson expressed her happiness at ‘having the chance of looking after our own men for a bit’. The final destination for the Unit was Valjevo, which had the highest typhus death rate in Serbia. Many of the Unit’s patients suffered from the disease and it quickly spread through the SWH personnel with Sister Bessie Sutherland dying in September 1915. Although rigorous hygiene standards were insisted upon, the hospital was plagued with flies due to its situation on a recent battlefield, which was to blame for the high rate of infections among patients.

During the peaceful summer of 1915 the Unit also enjoyed the lighter side of camp life. Personnel wrote that they ‘had time to explore the town and country’ around Valjevo, which they likened to ‘the Inverness line, Spey Valley, or Strathpeffer’. At the hospital they joined with their patients in the kolo, a traditional Serbian dance, and found time for Serbian language lessons, although Dr Hutchinson found the language ‘painfully difficult’. The SWH personnel also found themselves the centre of attention in Valjevo as, according to Margaret Kerr, the Unit’s cook, local peasants were fascinated by their rubber boots, cotton dresses and stockings.

Archive ref:
TD1734/19/1/150: Dr Hutchison and Dr Phillips with Serbian officials
TD1734/19/1/43: Dr Hutchinson
TD1734/19/1/49: Our handyman at Valjevo, Serbia

25/09/2021

Mosspark Housing Scheme
#GlasgowMunicipalHousing Prior to WW1 local authorities were empowered but not required to demolish slums and build houses, nor were they funded to do this. WW1 had changed politics and a consensus emerged about the need for a national housing policy to provide ‘Homes for Heroes’. A UK Housing Act in 1919 required local authorities to provide working class housing with government subsidies. A further act in 1923 enabled a large increase in the number of affordable homes. Glasgow built several schemes under these acts. The earliest, including Mosspark, Riddrie and Knightswood, were built under the Ordinary scheme. A misnomer as these were the elite in Glasgow housing stock , and with high rents, rarely housed the working classes.
Mosspark is regarded as the elite scheme in Interwar Glasgow, and continued to hold that position for many years after the second world war. Posts tomorrow will look at Riddrie and Knightswood.

24/09/2021

Glasgow Corporation Electricity Department bringing cables ashore after crossing the Clyde, June 1916.

Archive ref: T-CN19/645/6

Glasgow Corporation Electricity Department bringing cables ashore after crossing the Clyde, June 1916.

Archive ref: T-CN19/645/6

23/09/2021

William McMullan & Co. off licence and pub, Stow Street, c1963

Archive ref: D-PL2/1/2311

William McMullan & Co. off licence and pub, Stow Street, c1963

Archive ref: D-PL2/1/2311

22/09/2021

Collina Street, Maryhill, August 1958

Great photo of boys exploring the green space of the locks-side with the tenements of this former burgh providing a striking backdrop.

Archive ref: D-PK13/18

Collina Street, Maryhill, August 1958

Great photo of boys exploring the green space of the locks-side with the tenements of this former burgh providing a striking backdrop.

Archive ref: D-PK13/18

21/09/2021

New shopfront for wholesale jeweller, 102 Clyde Street in Aug 1936.

Archive ref: D-CA8/703

New shopfront for wholesale jeweller, 102 Clyde Street in Aug 1936.

Archive ref: D-CA8/703

20/09/2021

Greenfield Primary School, Nimmo Drive, c1970

Designed by Andrew Balfour, this school was formally opened as Greenfield Public School in September 1902. Built for Govan Parish School Board, the school had accommodation for over 1300 pupils and was made of red sandstone from Corncockle Quarry in Dumfries and Galloway. We hold log books and admission registers for the school among our collections.

Archive ref: D-ED5/29/3/62B

Greenfield Primary School, Nimmo Drive, c1970

Designed by Andrew Balfour, this school was formally opened as Greenfield Public School in September 1902. Built for Govan Parish School Board, the school had accommodation for over 1300 pupils and was made of red sandstone from Corncockle Quarry in Dumfries and Galloway. We hold log books and admission registers for the school among our collections.

Archive ref: D-ED5/29/3/62B