Schools from across South Glasgow (P6-S3 classes) have fashioned their own models of local Art Deco buildings. Come to our Community Exhibition & Celebration Day where the pupils will showcase their creations and get feedback from our Community Panel!

BOOK HERE (free but registration required):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-deco-southside-alive-schools-model-building-challenge-celebration-day-tickets-1048784441497

VENUE: 170 Queen’s Drive, Glasgow G42 8QZ

12.25 – Doors open

12.35 – Introductions of the Challenge exhibition themes, school teams, and Community Panel members.

Then tour the models before the big finale of the shared Feedback Session!

Event ends 2.20pm

On the cusp of Art Deco’s Centenary in 2025, Glasgow Southside is out in front, taking creative inspiration from the architectural icons of our Art Deco landscape where it really matters… at the community level.

With a new generation discovering this era and unleashing their creative design skills in parallel with the incorporation of recycled materials… new perspectives will emerge about the sustainability of these gems, their potential for adaptive re-use, and their place in shaping the city’s identity and Glasgow’s future.

Photos of the models will be added to an Online Gallery launching later in 2025 during the Centenary year.

Join us to see our Art Deco landmarks through the next generation’s eyes.

Meet our Community Panel

Many thanks to our project funders Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For more regular updates on the Art Deco Southside Alive! project and our other activities, follow us:

Facebook | X/Twitter | Instagram

The post Schools Model Building Challenge: Art Deco Southside Alive! appeared first on SGHET.

Classes will be held 1-3pm on: Sun 9th June, Sat 15th June, Sat 22nd June, Sun 30th June.

Suited to residents (aged 17+) of Gorbals, Tradeston, Pollokshields East & Govanhill – but also open to people living elsewhere in Glasgow on Sat 22nd & Sun 30th June.

BOOK HERE (10 places per class, 1 class per person):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/urban-sketching-art-deco-southside-alive-tickets-907081935487

Get creative with Glasgow Art Deco in & near your neighbourhood – no prior experience required.

Materials will be provided. Classes facilitated by Govan-based artist Fiona Fleming.

Safety note: Demolition works are underway in this area so sturdy footwear is advisable. There’ll be plenty of literal grit alongside the mix of faded and restored Art Deco glamour…

Travel: Attendees can easily walk from surrounding neighbourhoods, but for those travelling by bus alight at Bridge St by the subway. Paid parking is also available in Bridge St subway car park.

This event series is part of SGHET’s new project ‘Art Deco Southside Alive!’ which has been made possible with the kind support of Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For news of future activities, events and outputs in this project: sign up for our email Newsletter and follow us on Eventbrite, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram.

The post Urban Sketching: Art Deco Southside Alive! appeared first on SGHET.

As our research accumulated, alongside a series of articles on our website and a guest article in Greater Govanhill Magazine, we also gave talks at three events, for the Scottish Civic Trust 2020 conference, Govanhill International Festival 2021, and Black History Month Scotland 2021.

Now we are delighted to announce that our lead researchers in the project – Dr Saskia McCracken and Mark McGregor – have had a jointly-authored five-page article published in the January / February 2022 issue of History Scotland Magazine.

It has been our intent to begin to assemble a more honest picture of our current and past landscape, and we’ve achieved a lot in two and a half years but more could be done.

If you have ideas or suggestions for our project, want to write for it or get involved in other ways, please contact us on our social media channels or by emailing info@sghet.com and check out the resources below.

Purchase a copy of the History Scotland Jan/Feb 2022 issue here:

https://www.historyscotland.com/store/back-issues/history-scotland/history-scotland-vol22issue1-janfeb22-issue-123/

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More #SouthsideSlaveryLegacies info:

Read our Southside Slavery Legacies posts here:

The Tobacco Lords: James Ritchie of Craigton & Daniel Campbell of Shawfield

The Stevens and Bellahouston Park

The Maxwells of Pollok
[see sections on: Sir James Maxwell 6th Baronet (1762-1785) & William Stirling of Keir]

Maxwell Park, Pollokshields Burgh Hall & Henry Edward Clifford

Sugar, Enslavement, and Glasgow’s Southside [Greater Govanhill Magazine]

Watch our presentation at the Scottish Civic Trust 2020 ‘Race & Heritage in Scotland’ conference:
https://www.scottishcivictrust.org.uk/race-and-heritage-in-scotland-conference/

Subscribe to our Southside Slavery Legacies mailing list

Follow the #SouthsideSlaveryLegacies hashtag on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Follow SGHET on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Image sources:

Craigton House, 1870 [blog post header photo] – photo courtesy of Glasgow City Archives, Virtual Mitchell website (brightness adjustments by SGHET)

History Scotland Jan / Feb 2022 cover – cropped and full versions courtesy of History Scotland magazine

History Scotland ‘Meet the contributors’ and ‘Contents’ snippets – photos by Deirdre Molloy

The post Slavery Legacies in Glasgow’s Southside – History Scotland article by SGHET appeared first on SGHET.

This talk will cover some key people and historical sites south of the Clyde, including the Stirling Maxwells of Pollok.

The talk is from 6pm-7.15pm Monday 25th October on Zoom, including time for Q&A.

BOOK HERE (free but registration required): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transatlantic-slavery-and-south-glasgows-heritage-tickets-171750890537

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We’re grateful to CRER / @crer_scotland for inviting us to participate in their annual month-long programme of events. See the full Black History Month Scotland 2021 event listings here: https://www.blackhistorymonthscotland.org/

#SouthsideSlaveryLegacies Project

This talk is part of our ongoing #SouthsideSlaveryLegacies research project begun during summer 2020 in response to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. See the hashtag on Twitter and Facebook & sign-up to the project Newsletter.

If you would like to write for or contribute information to the project, email info@sghet.com

Photo Credits:

Slavery Made Glasgow handkerchief on the lockdown 2020 community washing lines in Maxwell Park – by Annika / @museumofjoy

Black Lives Matter banners on Camphill Gate in Shawlands in June 2020 – by Deirdre Molloy

The post Talk: Transatlantic Slavery & South Glasgow’s Heritage appeared first on SGHET.

Despite a long and proud history, the Pollok story that most people are familiar with is one of post war housing, of growing up in a community on the margins, a community that was overlooked and easy to ignore. At G53Together, we’re planning on changing that narrative through a fuller telling of Pollok’s story. In telling that story we want to celebrate our community and shape its future, by understanding its past, both the good and the bad.

Today’s Pollok owes much of its existence to Sir John Stirling Maxwell, the 10th Baronet of Pollok, who sold a 746,368 acre site of fields and farms from his family lands to the City of Glasgow Corporation for the sum of £111,712 and 15 shillings in 1937. Working with some visionary Corporation Officials, they set to work on creating Pollok as a prototype community. Pollok is Glasgow’s first large scale housing scheme. It was fastidiously considered and confidently planned; Stirling Maxwell saw to that. In the year following the sale of the land, he writes in his book Shrines and Homes of Scotland:

“It is at last realised that the creation of a new suburb entails more than the mere erection of rows of houses – the indefinite extension of a large city, without attempt to preserve the beauty of the countryside or provide space for recreation, can end in nothing but discontent and calamity.”

The plan was to create a community, not just houses. Key to the plan was the inclusion of open community green space with local shops, schools and other amenities.

A report from the Corporation’s Housing Department in October 1937 details the desired hopes for the area to include “pleasure walks and garden plots which will give health and delight to many” “romping space for children” to play and explore among the “sylvan beauties” and “extensive woodlands.” The report further details the “central idea” of Pollok as the “foremost garden suburb in the City” with 50% of the total area of land “set apart as open space”.

It was a revolution of civic thought.

In the decades that followed, the Pollok project would suffer cutbacks and blows. The vision was bulldozed in favour of higher density, lesser quality, flat roofed, cramped, damp, cheaper housing. But people continued to arrive and Pollok became a home to tens of thousands of people; several generations of families have passed over the threshold of these homes.

Throughout those times, Pollok suffered from a lack of hope and an absence of belief. And that’s understandable when so much of what made the community was robbed from it. Schools and community centres, local shops and whole neighbourhoods have been wiped from the map. The last farm and parts of an ancient woodland were levelled for a motorway.

But the seed of a new idea has been planted. Covid-19 and isolation has in a strange way brought the community back together. It has given Pollok a new boldness and a growing sense of self resilience. We’ll be enabling a new sense of community spirit and empowerment through G53Together, a community collective of organisations, charities, housing associations and local residents.

While our focus for now is on covid-19 recovery, from next year, G53Together and our community partners will turn our attention to working to protect Pollok’s rich inheritance, to remembering the people and places that have shaped our community, to celebrating our heritage, and enhancing our green and public space.

If you want to be part of the dialogue and help build Pollok’s future, visit www.g53together.scot or like and follow our social media @G53Together (Facebook / Twitter).

By councillor David McDonald.

The post Pollok’s Story: G53Together appeared first on SGHET.

As part of  Glasgow Doors Open Day – which has gone virtual this year – we’ve launched our new podcast series: ‘Southside Explorations‘.

Subscribe on a range of platforms including Apple and Spotify and walk alongside our local experts as they explore Glasgow’s Southside and the origins and hidden stories of what surrounds us.

Each episode takes you on a guided walk around one area, peeling back the layers of time and shining a light on the places, people and events past that make South Glasgow the fascinating place it is today.

Pollok Park Heritage Trail Podcast

Ownership of Pollok Park and surrounding areas can be dated back to 1124, but the history of the lands can be traced back to prehistoric times with a burial mound in Pollok Golf course and an Iron age fort in the North Wood. From the grandeur of Pollok House to the long-forgotten, hidden tree-lined drive, together we’ll walk some of the 361 acres of historical parkland of Glasgow’s only country park.

As well as the heritage of the house and the lands you’ll learn about a long-forgotten town, witch trials, castles, escapee cows, iron-age forts, prehistoric burial mounds, mouse breeding and why the Pope’s approval was needed…  ( ~ listen here ~)

Govanhill Heritage Trail Podcast

Govanhill was at one time the beating heart of Industrial Glasgow; the iron and steel produced here, the ships and trains built here, fuelled a revolution and helped forge a city and an empire. The industrial days have long gone but Govanhill remains one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in Glasgow.

On this guided walk, find out a little about the history, heritage and culture of a remarkable community and some of the people from around the world who have made their home here, the miners, the iron workers and the shipbuilders, the rifle regiment that became a football team, cinemas and roller-skating rinks, churches, mosques, synagogues, circuses and swimming pools… ( ~ listen here ~)

Subscribing and future podcasts…

As we develop future episodes, we’re keen to hear your feedback and what you’re interested in. Let us know on Facebook, Twitter or by emailing info@sghet.com and sign-up to our email newsletter for news of upcoming episodes.

Our podcasts can be found on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and other platforms… subscribe and listen on our Anchor podcast page, or find these and all the other platforms ‘Southside Explorations’ is available on listed there. 

Glasgow Doors Open Day interactive brochure is now available to download from their website. Bookings will open on 1st September – but you don’t need to book for our podcasts.

Have a great Glasgow Doors Open Day 2020 festival and enjoy geting out and exploring!

The post Doors Open Day: Pollok Park and Govanhill podcasts appeared first on SGHET.

The post Queen’s Park free family and schools activity appeared first on SGHET.

To piece together the new experiences, habits and feelings of the moment, we invite residents of South Glasgow to share photos from everyday life – images captured by you that reflect how it is being re-shaped and our moods and activities are changing in this new situation.

The new rhythms of life under lockdown…

How are you making the new norms of social distancing, social isolation, working/studying/schooling from home (and other new realities) manageable… what’s keeping you afloat, giving you hope, helping you cope and get through this?

What do you appreciate about your local area now that you spend most or all of your time in it… have your feelings changed about it?

Examples of things to share

Indoors: what activities are helping you or your family pass the time? What’s comforting or inspiring you and making lockdown bearable?

For example: art & drawing, games, decorating, cooking, family hairdressing, gardening, revisiting old stuff, exploring family history or heirlooms, mending things, making or getting into new things…

Outdoors: what do you see on your essential trips outside that strikes you or lifts your mood? What are you noticing?

For example: nature, parks, buildings, street scenes, new routes, pets on their walk, sunsets, skylines, chalked messages & games, posters, acts of kindness, community support projects, open & closed shops, cafes or pubs, traffic-free roads, other details large or small that catch your eye…

How to contribute…

• Share your photos (and any remarks you want to make about them) with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #SouthGlasgowLockdown or #SouthsideLockdownLens – or just post them to our timelines or by tagging us if that’s easier.

• You can also email us your images direct to info@sghet.com with a short description or anything you want to say about them.

• Got any questions? You can ask questions about or comment on the project on social media or by email.

We look forward to seeing your photos and getting a flavour of how the Southside is keeping on, staying safe, finding hope and sustaining itself through this new COVID-19 era.

Ultimately we plan to create a community archive of this project, to document this period for the future. Join us in taking the first step!

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Note: We appreciate and respect that this is a troubling time for many, and some may not feel like contributing or be able to. If you’d rather just keep in touch, you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or sign up for our email newsletter.

Below are some photos from the SGHET team… we look forward to seeing yours.

By Deirdre Molloy, 6th May 2020

‘Stay strong’ chalked with art on wall beside Queen’s Park Rose Garden – spotted by Jen

Rainbow window display, former British Linen Bank (flats over Halloumi) Pollokshaws Rd – spotted by Deirdre

Learning to knit during lockdown – photo by Romy

‘Together we can do anything’ banner in Maxwell Park – spotted by Saskia

‘Fear not we will return’ sign at boarded-up Hell Yeah shop, Shawlands – spotted by Deirdre

‘We need rainbows’ painted Stones at Queen’s Park Flag Pole – spotted by Jen

Volunteer posters for Glasgow Mutual Aid – photo by Sarah

Using wild garlic foraged at Pollok Park to make pesto and focaccia – photo by Romy

Den made from cut down trees in Queen’s Park – spotted by Jen

Temporary home studio in the spare room – photo by Sarah

Social distancing sign at Pollok Park gates Haggs Rd entrance – spotted by Deirdre

Regrettable quarantine haircuts – photo by Romy

Cycling & discovering new parts of local parks: sculpture installation in Bellahouston Park spotted by Romy

Sign at Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice charity shop, Pollokshaws Rd spotted by Deirdre

[Other images: trying to propogate cuttings from Southside walks by Sarah; Love NHS chalked at Camphill House in Queen’s Park by Deirdre]

The post South Glasgow seen through the Lockdown lens appeared first on SGHET.

If you’re unable to make the event you can still get your hands on a copy, pre-order today from our webstore.

We’ll then be skipping over to Dixon Halls for 1pm where Govanhill Baths Community Trust will be launching a new book written by SGHET board member  Bruce Downie. His book explores and celebrates some of the buildings in and around Govanhill where people have lived, worked, learned, relaxed, played and worshipped. Bruce will provide a talk focusing on the buildings of social, cultural and industrial significance and provide an insight into how the built environment has shaped Govanhill. He will be joined by Saskia McCracken from South Glasgow Heritage Environment Trust who will be delivering a talk exploring the people of Govanhill that have helped shape the area over the decades. We will be exhibiting some of our archive material to give local people the chance to share their memories of the area. This event will run from 1pm-4pm.

It would be great to see as many of you at these events as possible.

The post Stories from the Southside appeared first on SGHET.