Latest news with #GlasgowCorporation
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
See the ruined Lennox Castle near Glasgow were Lulu was born
Constructed by David Hamilton for John Lennox Kincaid, the woodland manor replaced the older Kincaid House. It was later purchased by the Glasgow Corporation in 1927 and converted into a hospital. See the dark history behind the 'infamous' Lennox Castle near Glasgow Lennox Castle is located close to Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire (Image: Getty Images) However, very quickly, the facilities here became "vastly overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded," according to The Scotsman. The BBC adds that by the 1980s, standards had gotten so bad that a study by the British Medical Journal found residents to be dangerously underweight and malnourished. Alasdair Sim, the hospital's medical director, even said in 1986 that he had "never worked in a worse pit". The infamous hospital at Lennox Castle closed in 2002 (Image: Getty Images) In 2002, the hospital closed down, a move that reflected the changing attitudes around housing people with learning disabilities within the community. Between the 1940s and 1960s, part of the castle was also a maternity hospital and was the birthplace of a number of famous faces. Recommended Reading: These include beloved Scottish singer Lulu, who sang hit songs like Bang-a-Bang and Shout, as well as footballer John Brown, who played for teams like Rangers FC. Nowadays, the castle is still a category A listed building despite suffering from a fire in 2008. Part of the grounds was converted into Celtic F.C.'s Lennoxtown Training Centre, with other parts towards the Campsie-side village becoming a long-term residential development.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The dark history behind this abandoned castle near Glasgow where Lulu was born
Just a 40-minute drive from Glasgow lies the large ruin of Lennox Castle, a former estate built between 1837 and 1841, which later became a maternity hospital and an "infamous" institution for people with learning disabilities. Constructed by David Hamilton for John Lennox Kincaid, the woodland manor replaced the older Kincaid House. It was later purchased by the Glasgow Corporation in 1927 and converted into a hospital. See the dark history behind the 'infamous' Lennox Castle near Glasgow Lennox Castle is located close to Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire (Image: Getty Images) However, very quickly, the facilities here became "vastly overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded," according to The Scotsman. The BBC adds that by the 1980s, standards had gotten so bad that a study by the British Medical Journal found residents to be dangerously underweight and malnourished. Alasdair Sim, the hospital's medical director, even said in 1986 that he had "never worked in a worse pit". The infamous hospital at Lennox Castle closed in 2002 (Image: Getty Images) In 2002, the hospital closed down, a move that reflected the changing attitudes around housing people with learning disabilities within the community. Between the 1940s and 1960s, part of the castle was also a maternity hospital and was the birthplace of a number of famous faces. Recommended Reading: Why this 'hidden gem' steakhouse in Glasgow with 'unreal' food is the best See why the oldest pub in Glasgow is an 'incredible' find and an 'absolute gem' Inside the 'picturesque' seaside town that is the cheapest to live in Scotland These include beloved Scottish singer Lulu, who sang hit songs like Bang-a-Bang and Shout, as well as footballer John Brown, who played for teams like Rangers FC. Nowadays, the castle is still a category A listed building despite suffering from a fire in 2008. Part of the grounds was converted into Celtic F.C.'s Lennoxtown Training Centre, with other parts towards the Campsie-side village becoming a long-term residential development.
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- General
- Glasgow Times
The controversial reason FOUR Glasgow areas were demolished in the 60s
However, opinion is divided on whether the bridge is an icon of ambition and progress, or emblematic of a "scar" on the city inflicted by the motorway. A motorway bridge over the Clyde was first proposed in the First Planning Report to the Highways Committee of the Corporation of the City of Glasgow of 1945, more commonly known as the Bruce Report. Prepared by City Engineer Robert Bruce, the Bruce Report is most famous for its recommendation to flatten the historic city centre and replace it with zones of modernist tower blocks. Charing Cross under construction (Image: Glasgow City Archives) While, thankfully, not all of Bruce's visions were implemented, his proposal for the construction of an inner ring road and the demolition of several areas of overcrowded housing in the city has shaped the face of the Glasgow we know today. The Kingston Bridge was at the heart of Bruce's proposed inner ring road. Bruce's vision was to construct a road bridge at ground level, linking Carnoustie Street on the south of the riverbank, and Clydeferry Street to the north. Bruce predicts an obstacle to his plan: the Clyde Navigation Trust. For nearly 100 years at the time of the Bruce Report, the Trust had been responsible for the maintenance of the river and its docks. A ground-level bridge in the location proposed by Bruce would block river traffic and prevent dredging of the Clyde upstream of the new structure. For Bruce, there was no option but for the Trust to 'surrender their use of the River Clyde eastwards of Carnoustie Street'. The Trust did not agree. Souvenir brochure (Image: Glasgow City Archives) In the years between the publication of the Report and the release of formal proposals for the bridge in 1962, Glasgow Corporation argued for a bridge at quay level. Ultimately, the Trust's insistence that the bridge have enough clearance to allow for ships to pass would prevail. It is for this reason that the Kingston Bridge flies above the city, 18 metres above the river. Postwar financial constraints, combined with the considerable challenges of planning such a large infrastructure project, meant that progress towards the construction of the bridge was slow throughout the early 1950s. In 1957, the project received a boost when the Secretary of State for Scotland approved Glasgow Corporation's proposed Comprehensive Development Areas. In the postwar period, Glasgow Corporation had determined that the city's housing problems should be resolved by a massive programme of slum clearance and relocation of communities. Kingston Bridge from Springfield Quay (Image: Glasgow City Archives) As part of this scheme, 29 inner-city areas were marked for demolition and renewal, including Kinning Park, Anderston, Cowcaddens and Townhead. The areas identified for demolition provided Glasgow Corporation's planners with a route for the proposed inner ring road. In 1963, the location of the new motorway was finalised and folded into the existing Comprehensive Development scheme. Progress towards the construction of the bridge now accelerated. WA Fairhurst and Partners were appointed by Glasgow Corporation to produce a design for what was initially known as the Carnoustie Street Bridge, with plans approved and revealed to the public in the mid-1960s. Demolition of the Charing Cross area to make way for the Kingston Bridge's northern approach road began in 1966, with the controversial loss of jewels of Glasgow's architecture such as the iconic Grand Hotel. The start of the bridge's construction was officially marked on April 28, 1967, at a ceremony presided over by Lord Provost John Johnston. Fairhurst's cantilevered design allowed for the north and south sections of the bridge to grow towards each other from the banks of the river, minimising disruption to traffic on city roads and on the Clyde. The Kingston Bridge opened on time and on budget on June 26, 1970. As the Queen Mother cut the ceremonial ribbon to mark the bridge's opening, a group of mothers gathered with placards to protest the dangers that the new urban motorway had brought into their communities. The damage to the neighbourhoods cleaved in half by the motorway was keenly felt across Glasgow, and strong public opposition led to Strathclyde Regional Council abandoning plans to complete the inner ring road in the 1980s. For better or worse, the Kingston Bridge remains a Glasgow landmark, and a crucial part of Scotland's motorway system. Photographs Charing Cross redevelopment, 1969 Kingston Bridge from Springfield Quay, 1970 Kingston Bridge Souvenir Brochure, 1970
Glasgow Times
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- Glasgow Times
Times Past: How Glasgow's Clyde Tunnel changed the city forever
The Glasgow Herald article from that day captures the sense of public excitement generated by the opening of the road tunnel, with drivers and passengers "marvelling at the steepness of the dip under the Clyde and the climb out on the other side." Two days earlier, on the 3rd of July 1963, hundreds of spectators had crowded behind the crash barriers on Govan Road to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at the official opening ceremony. West Tunnel under construction looking north, showing lighting, trunking and exhaust duct cladding (1963) (Image: Supplied) The effects of the new tunnel on Glasgow's traffic were felt immediately. On King George V Bridge, at the time the most westerly of Glasgow's bridges and the site of regular snarl-ups, traffic flowed freely. The long queues of cars that could usually be seen waiting for the Govan ferry at rush hour had disappeared – "they must all be using the tunnel today," commented ferryman Kenneth McKenzie in the Evening Times the day after the opening of the tunnel. West Tunnel, general view looking north (1963) (Image: Supplied) The opening of the Clyde Tunnel had been a long time in the making. Glasgow Corporation had been eager to improve Glasgow's cross-river transport infrastructure since the end of WW2. The importance of the stretch of the Clyde westwards from Govan and Finnieston to Glasgow's shipbuilding industry rendered a bridge across that section of the river undesirable. The boom of the motor car and the resultant congestion in the city, however, required a solution. A pamphlet created to mark the opening of the tunnel, held at Glasgow City Archives, outlines the difficulty faced by those attempting to cross the river by car prior to the construction of the tunnel: "motor traffic has had to rely on vehicular ferries to carry vehicles between the opposite banks or make a detour into the heart of Glasgow and cross the river by one of the four city bridges." In 1948, Glasgow Corporation acquired the powers to construct a road tunnel under the Clyde, between Whiteinch and Linthouse. Financial troubles meant nearly ten years would pass before Lord Provost Andrew Hood would sink a silver-plated spade into the soil at Linthouse to mark the beginning of the construction of the tunnel. Building the Clyde Tunnel was gruelling work for the tunnellers underground. Nicknamed the 'Tunnel Tigers', the cohort included many emigrant workers from County Donegal. The 'Tigers' spent eight hours a day digging tonnes upon tonnes of stone and silt from beneath the river. Beyond being physically exhausting, the work could also be dangerous. There were numerous cases of workers suffering from 'the bends' during and after their work on the Clyde Tunnel, and two workers, Leslie Bone and Thomas Roache, died from decompression sickness. When the first tunnel was completed in 1963, it was hailed as a feat of civil engineering. At time of opening, the Clyde Tunnel's 6% gradient made it the steepest road tunnel in the world – a fact which won't be surprising to anyone who has puffed their way out of the tunnel's cycle lane on their bike. The initial estimate was that 9000 cars a day would use the Clyde Tunnel, but within a year of opening that figure had shot up to 22000. While the Clyde Tunnel proved popular with motorists, some certainly felt its disadvantages. The neighbourhoods of Whiteinch and Linthouse were considerably altered by the construction of the tunnel, with the demolition of 250 tenements, a church, several bowling greens and a number of allotments. The residents of these areas found the peace of their neighbourhoods disturbed by the traffic of the large new roads. The Herald reports how "people accustomed to quiet nights found the late-night and early-morning traffic interrupted their sleep," while children who used to play freely in the street found themselves hemmed in by crash barriers. The Clyde Tunnel is a landmark not only of Glasgow's road network, but of the country as a whole. In the 62 years since its construction, it remains Scotland's only road tunnel, and now carries around 25 million motorists, cyclists and pedestrians a year.
Glasgow Times
28-06-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
Dramatic pictures reveal how much Glasgow area has changed
One of my favourites is an image of the old railway bridge at 1551 Great Western Road in Anniesland (pictured). It was taken in August 1936 and shows workmen labouring in an open trench parallel to the main road. Part of its appeal is that, although elements of it have changed, the bridge itself - the brick of the retaining wall, so much of the view - is still recognisable in the same place today. The railway bridge partially obscures the tenements of Herschell Street which rise behind it. It also frames part of Great Western Road and showcases a developing Anniesland. This area was once a farm that was part of the Jordanhill estate and was based in both the counties of Lanark and Renfrew before it joined Glasgow. Its rural location, far removed from the city, gave rise to its local industries in the nineteenth century. These included farming, small-scale mining, brickmaking and quarrying. Great Western Road had reached Anniesland Toll (now Cross) by 1850 and the arrival of the North British Railway in 1886 and its new station in the area encouraged residential building on a larger scale. Buildings like Anniesland Mansions, on the outskirts of Anniesland Cross, particularly attracted the middle classes to move there. The Mansions were built between 1907 and 1913 and incorporated both Edwardian-era tenements and Anniesland Hall. The entire imposing sweep of tenements on this corner site would have been one of the Cross's most recognisable landmarks before its redevelopment in the twentieth century. Pulling back from the Cross and heading back towards the city centre, we travel forward in time to the late 1930s as we approach the impressive Art Deco façade of the former Ascot Cinema on Great Western Road. Ascot Cinema, February 1940 (Image: Glasgow City Archives) Designed by Charles McNair, this cinema eventually became a bingo hall in 1975. Finally, we return to the Cross and the building which now dominates its skyline: Anniesland Court. Rising above the Cross, it is a tower block built in the brutalist style. Built between 1966 and 1968, it's an example of Glasgow Corporation housing and is now a listed building. Anniesland Court (Image: Glasgow City Archives) Anniesland Cross itself is also worthy of note. While not as large as other crosses in Glasgow, it sprawls out over a considerable area. It's where several major roads meet including Great Western Road, Anniesland Road, Crow Road and Bearsden Road. This photograph of the Cross from around 1935 shows that this meeting of the roads has always been a complex network to navigate. Anniesland Cross, c1935 with public conveniences at far right (Image: Glasgow City Archives) Stranded in an island position in the midst of the Cross are Anniesland's former public loos which were built in the early 1930s. Glasgow Corporation officials struggled to find a suitable location for them before choosing this site. Ironically, they became very difficult for pedestrians to access after the Cross was redeveloped. While now closed as a public convenience, there have been attempts since then to reopen the building as a restaurant. Many of the commercial premises which helped to define Anniesland have now disappeared. For example, Castlebank Laundry, based in Anniesland Road, became a local landmark. Its distinctive yellow-painted vans were a common sight around the city, collecting laundry from clients and delivering it to the Anniesland premises for cleaning. Castlebank Laundry exterior (Image: Glasgow City Archives) Not a stone's throw away was Birrell's Factory producing the sweets which stocked the well-known confectioner's shops and stands in cinemas throughout Glasgow. Barr and Stroud, the optical instrument engineers whose business records are held by Glasgow University's Archives and Special Collections, had premises where the Anniesland Morrison's now stands. And the Top Hat Cafe on Great Western Road was, according to my aunt who used to work there, the place for teenagers in Anniesland to hang out during the 1950s and 60s. And why is the area called Anniesland? Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer. A popular theory suggests it may have been named after someone in the area called Annie. Another suggestion is that as parcels of land there were rented out annually, the area was called annual-land giving rise to Anniesland. What are your memories of Anniesland? Email or write to Ann Fotheringham, Glasgow Times, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow G32 8FG.
