On re-reading Jean Marshall’s history of Cathcart ‘Why Cathcart?’ (published 1969) I puzzled again over this mention of the change in local industry towards the end of the 19th Century … “several local firms closed down, among them …Verel’s Photographic Works and the Cassel (Castle?) Gold Extracting Company …”   I knew about the […]

  Let Glasgow flourish, but do not let her forget the example of the curlers to whom she owes so much of her success, and who owed so much of their success to the curling by which they lightened the burdens of civic and commercial care. [1.] The remaining pond   I was taking a […]

A reflection of history and the spirit of a community   Mrs. Barbour’s Army spread through Glesga like the plague The maisters got the message and the message wisnae vague While oor menfolk fight the Kaiser we’ll stay hame and fight the war Against the greedy bastards who keep grindin’ doon the poor Alistair Hulett, […]

  The St. Andrew’s Quoiting Club on Butterbiggins Road   From the late 1890s until about 1928, a small patch of ground just off Butterbiggins Road, near what we now call Eglinton Toll, was used to play one of the oldest games in the world – quoits – and was home to one of Glasgow’s […]

  If you’ve ever been to Pollok House and stood on the old bridge across the White Cart River you might be forgiven for believing that the view you see is timeless. On one side sits the stately mansion, high on its mound surrounded by rich foliage; on the other side, empty fields with an […]

  Local folk passing the unloved and empty Poundworld shopfront on Kilmarnock Rd may not know of its colourful past and the contribution it made to the Scottish music scene in the 1970s and 1980s.     Some key and influential names in Scottish, UK and global rock and pop plied their musical skills and […]

  This is a place founded on being ‘on the outside’—sited just beyond the original city limits, the Gorbals built its formidable reputation on the ability to accommodate migrants from around the world, give them a start, and then watch them leave to make way for the next arrivals. A tight community that paradoxically eulogises […]

  Places have their own private and public life and can feel haunted in multiple ways: some because they’ve changed but remain familiar; others because they spark vivid personal memories difficult to express in words, embodying fragments of times past that we can’t – for better or for worse – return to.   They help […]

  Many of us who walk through the Linn Park area admire the river Cart and its surroundings, but if you look closely you can find some reminders of the river’s industrial past. Mills existed on the river Cart from Netherlee to Pollok from the late 1600s and provided employment for many local people, made […]

  Glasgow Golf Club was formed in 1787 and they played originally on Glasgow Green. Industrialisation in the first half of the nineteenth century led to a rapid increase in Glasgow’s population, which meant that there was more pressure on the available green space within the city than ever before. Faced with a lack of […]

  In a recent blog post I highlighted material from our archive collection on the No M77 and Pollok Free State protests. I have since been in conversation with artists Hannah Brackston and Dan Sambo, currrent artists in residence in the ward of Pollok.   Here they describe how they have been drawing upon the […]

South Glasgow is the proud home of several historic architectural gems, the most well-known being Pollok House.  It is maintained and funded by the National Trust for Scotland, which itself was established in this Maxwell family home in 1931.  Places like Pollok House are preserved, in the words of NTS, to ‘encourage people to connect […]

  With #LoveYourLibraries month drawing to a close, World Book Day fast approaching on 3rd March and Covid restrictions easing, there’s no better time to visit a local library and find a good book. The Southside of Glasgow boasts several historic libraries which have provided its communities with fiction, information and welcoming reading space down […]

  The Ponderosa, that is what we called South Nitshill when we moved there from Harley St in Ibrox in October 1960. I was six months old, so it didn’t mean much to me. Bonanza had first aired in 1959 and my 11-year-old brother was a TV addict, though his preference was for Davy Crockett, […]

  The puzzle of four carved stones in Old Cathcart Parish churchyard remains unsolved but the time is ripe for further investigation, writes Dougie McLellan…   Many people are familiar with the history of the growth of Cathcart from sleepy post-industrial village, home to many mill workers, to the grand Victorian suburb of Glasgow whose […]

  While it can be entered at points from within Glasgow city’s south side, the picturesque Cathcart Cemetery sits largely in the modern-day council boundary of East Renfrewshire. Designed and laid out in 1878, it’s a tranquil place for locals and visitors to escape the urban hubbub, but less known are the circumstances surrounding the […]

  Bruce Downie immerses himself in some of the oldest known references to Polmadie, and explores the history of the ancient hospital. Get lost in a world of medieval references and travel through Polmadie’s history via kings, popes, pigs and recycling.   In the 19th century, Polmadie, just east of what we now know as […]

The bowling green ultrasound aims to seek out the centre spot and maybe some old pitch lines like penalty areas. The recreational ground dig aims to find evidence of the grandstand. And the rose garden dig hopes to find remains of the clubhouse.

How did this grand Streamline International Style cinema come to be, what does it tell us about Glasgow’s Art Deco era and where next after 15 years lying empty?

Thanks to these generous donations there is a lot to be found within the archive.

Can this derelict Art Deco icon in Glasgow’s Southside be reanimated?

The connections between Glasgow and the tobacco trade of the eighteenth century are well-known.

The children were hunting the ‘Gorbals Vampire’ – a seven-foot-tall monster with long metal fangs who had killed and eaten two local boys.

  There have been many arguments about the boundaries of Strathbungo over the years, but this is because it has never had any formal designation, and still doesn’t. It has claimed to be in Renfrewshire mostly, Lanarkshire when it suited, in Govan Parish, but claimed by Cathcart. The east side of Pollokshaws Road was absorbed […]

Bellahouston Park is known for its outdoor artworks, sculptures, and House for an Art Lover, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and built in 1996. Few know of the estate’s connections to the transatlantic slave trade.

In the early 1990s, local communities gained international attention for protesting against having their access to the park obstructed by a motorway.

20 minute read Introduction to The Maxwells The Maxwells, particularly the Stirling Maxwells, have had a significant impact on the local area. Most people will have benefitted in some form from their generosity whether that is attending an event in Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, attending the Sir John Maxwell School (before it was closed), walking through […]

Bruce Downie blogs about the history of Queen’s Park Train Station and uncovers some surprising facts!

You may have heard about Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s Queen’s Park United Presbyterian Church on Langside Road (destroyed by bombing in 1943). As well as the church on Langside Road, there was also another church built on Balvicar Drive (which you can still see today) and then also a Mission Hall on Nithsdale Drive. Although this […]

  Originally opened on Christmas Day 1922 The Waverley Picture House was a 1320 capacity cinema that was designed by Watson, Salmond & Gray for Shawlands Picture House Ltd. The prominent corner dome with Egyptian columns makes it a handsome building. Inside is/was just as impressive with a barrel roof ceiling and columns along the […]

Queen’s Park and Langside synagogues form a fascinating part of South Glasgow’s heritage.

The Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women (known as Glasgow Samaritan Hospital for Women from 1886 – 1907) was established in 1886.

In 1887, Scottish politician, baronet, and philanthropist Sir John Stirling Maxwell gifted the land that is now Maxwell Park to the burgh of Pollokshields, for the development of Pollokshields Burgh Halls and public gardens. The area was entirely agricultural until 1850.

Tramway is a contemporary theatre and art space that used to be a Transport Museum, and before that, a tram shed.

Langside Battlefield Memorial Langside Battlefield Memorial was erected in 1887 to commemorate the defeat of Mary Queen of Scots at the Battle of Langside, 300 years after her death. It marks the spot where Mary’s forces fought those of her half-brother, James Stewart, Regent Moray, on May 13th, 1568. The memorial stands at roughly 18 […]

  Battlefield Rest is an Edwardian former tramcar shelter, once considered ‘the most exotic tram shelter in Scotland’ (Battlefield Rest: About). The building has had quite a history, involving disputes over a replica tram tearoom, and current closure threats as the result of increased business rates of 400%. The shelter was designed by Frank Burnet and […]

In Use 1917 – present 99 Calder St, Glasgow G42 7RA It has been a long campaign, but Govanhill Baths are set to reopen soon thanks to the hard work of local people. In 1914 the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Sir Daniel Macaulay Stevenson, laid the foundation stone of Govanhill Baths, complete with a time […]

The Bailie (James) Martin Fountain stands close to the People`s Palace in Glasgow Green but originally stood outside Langside Halls This elaborate cast-iron Moorish canopy was erected in 1893 to honour James Martin (1815-92). James Martin was a senior councillor (local bailie) represented Whitevale Ward from 1870, the Town’s Master of Works, a member of […]

In Use 1873-1884 10 Kingsley Ave, Crosshill   Hampden Bowling Club sits on the 1st Hampden Park. This fact was lost for over 113 years. Yes – Scotland didn’t know where its true home of Scottish Football was. There was no map that people knew of. People know about the current Hampden and some even […]

Opened 1907 Closed 1986 Memories of Crossmyloof Ice Rink, Glasgow. by Kenny McKie. It wasn’t much, but it was home. I first laced on a pair of skates at the old Crossmyloof Ice Rink in Glasgow. Nothing exceptional in that you might think, unless you had been there. It was a dump. Don’t get me […]

Built 1906-07 Closed 2011 25 Bengal Street, Pollokshaws   Whilst walking in Pollokshaws you may have noticed a beautiful red sandstone building that was the old Sir John Maxwell Primary School. It was built 1906-07 on a site that had been donated by Sir John Maxwell for its predecessor school of the same name. Unfortunately […]

By Dr Jeffrey Meek, University of Glasgow The National Bank of Scotland (NBS) was established in 1825 and after a failure to acquire the Glasgow and Ship Bank, the NBS undertook to open their first Glasgow branch in 1843. Occupying temporary accommodation in the first instance the bank launched a public competition to design a […]