Woodside Heritage Trail

The Heritage Trail route East Loop Start St George’s Cross E1 Woodside Library E2 Round Toll / Garscube Cross E3 St Joseph’s Primary / Woodside Baths E4 Bridge at Phoenix Park Flowers E5 New City Road West Loop W6 Clarendon StreetW7 Hopehill Road W8 Community Central Halls W9 Napiershall Park W10 Boys’ Brigade building, North Woodside Road W11 Territorial Army building, Jardine Street W12 Kelvinbridge Church (formerly Kelvin Stevenson)W13 Lansdowne Church W14 St Mary’s Cathedral / Holyrood Crescent

The trail easily divides into two loops - east and west of St George’s Road. Choose as much or as little as you like, depending on your mobility and fitness.

The tree in the chimney, showing the decline of industry in the area, eventually came to represent renewal, as the symbol of the Maryhill Corridor Project

The history and heritage of WoodsideWoodside is situated immediately to the west of Glasgow city centre and on the perimeter of the Forth & Clyde Canal. It takes in part of the old Cowcaddens district, which in the19th century had been the most densely populated urban area in the developed world, mainly due to the many employment opportunities provided by the industry in the district. Today most of these industries have gone and there are pockets of real social deprivation.

Designated a Comprehensive Development Area in the 1960s, many buildings were torn down, and the Inner Ring Road driven through.

The area has a fascinating and unique history, and many local people are unaware of the rich heritage on their doorstep. These trails may also be of interest to tourists and other visitors to the city. Both east and west routes will take you around an hour and a half each to stroll along, taking in the sights along the way.

MORE AT: www.woodsideonline.org.uk

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NB Photo numbers refer to copyright holder (see last page)

St Georges’s CrossPrior to the comprehensive redevelopment of the area in the 1960s, the Cross was both a major transport junction and the hub of a vibrant community.

A busy shopping centre, it was the location of a num-ber of large department stores which were household names across the city, such as Hoey’s, Wood & Selby’s and the Co-op. At the corner was a branch of Massey’s, one of the first self-service grocery stores in Glasgow.

Known locally as “Massey’s Corner”, it became a popular meeting place due to its prominent location. There were many small, independent shops as well as entertainment venues.

The widespread demolition that was carried out in the 1960s to facilitate the building of the inner ring road ripped the heart out of the community, transforming the area beyond recognition.

Interestingly, this was not the first attempt at major development in the area. In the 1830s, plans were drawn up to provide a high-class housing development on the lands of what was then the South Park estate.

The centrepiece was to be a pair of imposing buildings with Greek Corinthian porticos at first floor level, on either side of Maryhill Road. This would provide a grand entrance to the west of the city. These dwellings were intended to be:“first class houses, being in a healthful, well-aired, and rapidly improving situation”.

Only one was built, advertised in 1841 as “the very elegant range of dwelling houses, called Clarendon Place”. Today only the corner block remains of the original building, following a major fire in 1972.

Whilst at St George’s Cross, there’s a lot of history to think about, from the 1800s onwards...

Above: St George’s Cross 1960sBelow: the same view, today

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Left: Proposals for a grand entrance to the West End, 1830

Below: Only one side of the grand plan was eventually built

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The TramsAs a major transport hub, the Cross had the distinction of running the first tram in the city to Eglinton Toll, at a cost of tuppence. The formal opening took place on 19 August 1872 with dignitaries present, and crowds of spectators lining the route. At 12.05pm the first car set off to cheers from the crowds. The trams had an open upper deck and were drawn by two horses, electrictrams being introduced in 1900. Sixty years later the Jubilee procession ran from the Cross, also attracting huge crowds.

St George’s RoadThe road was originally the continuation of a lane lead-ing from Anderston and was doubled in width when made a turnpike in 1841. While the Trustees collected the tolls, they appeared to do little to maintain the road, which was regularly a source of complaint at the Dean of Guild Court. It was said to be:“...swimming with mud or flying with dust. The pavements were execrable’.The 1878 Road & Bridges Act abolished the Turnpike Trusts, and responsibility for building and maintaining roads then passed to county councils.

St George & the Dragon (1897)This statue is the work of prolific sculptor C. B. Grassby, who was involved in many important projects in the city. He was one of a number of sculptors who had worked on Glasgow City Chambers. Today, much of his work has been demolished, but another remaining example is the statue of James Watt on Glasgow Green.

This particular work had been commissioned by the St George’s Co-op Society, to adorn the wall head of theirheadquarters at Gladstone Street. It was carefully removed prior to the building being demolished, dismantled into 12 pieces and placed in storage on the Clydeside Quay. Gifted to the people of Glasgow by the Co-op, it was erected as a free-standing monument after St George’s Cross was redeveloped.

Fire MemorialSet in the pavement, this stone commemorates the bravery of Sub Officer Adrian McGill (34) who was killed during a devastating fire in 1972. Officer McGill had already rescued several people before going back in to the building to rescue Alice Mulgrew. It is thought that he removed his breathing equipment to give his oxygen to the lady. The equipment was found lying beside the two bodies, both of whom died from smoke inhalation.

The fire had started in an empty shop in Maryhill Rd, one of a row beneath a tenemental block housing many families. The speed with which the fire spread was blamed on the early Victorian construction methods, exacerbated by alterations carried out in 1875. It took the firefighters nearly six hours to bring the fire under control.

More than fifty families were made homeless, with Woodside Hall being turned into an emergency reception centre. Taking place just a few months after the Kilbirnie Street fire when seven firemen were killed, there were calls for greater enforcement of existing bye-laws on fire prevention, and special measures to be applied to disused buildings, especially under tenements.

From the Cross we now walk north up St George’s Road, all the way to the Round Toll at Garscube Cross, taking in the following sights and memories along the way...

Top: Trams at St George’s Cross during the Jubilee Procession

Above: Statue of St George and the Dragon, C B Grassby - the railings round the statue are from the public toilets which originally stood nearby.

Left: Pavement Memorial, commemorating the bravery of Fire Officer McGill

Below: The fire raging in Maryhill Road, pictured in 1972

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Jimmy Logan’s MetropoleA theatre was first established on this site in 1913, operating under various names such as the West End Playhouse and the Falcon. As the Empress Variety & Picture Playhouse, it attracted many of the big names of music hall.

In 1964 it was bought by the Glasgow entertainer, Jimmy Logan. Despite being a popular entertainment venue, he struggled to make it financially viable. Logan had intended to take over the former Hospice building next door, and transform it in to an American style bar/diner with cabaret acts. This would have provided an income to help keep the theatre viable over thetraditionally quiet summer period. However, he was unable to obtain either a licence or planning permission.

Logan had bought the theatre at a time when televisions were entering every home, and many entertainment venues were struggling to compete. In addition, the Metropole was in the heart of an area that was being redeveloped. Local people were being moved out to peripheral housing schemes as their homes were demolished, and the inner ring road built.

His one major financial success was in 1970 when he brought the controversial musical Hair to the theatre for the show’s first performance outside London, but this simply delayed the inevitable. The theatre closed in 1972 and was demolished after a fire ten years later. There are now modern flats on the site.

Directly across the road are modern flats which now occupy the site of the former headquarters of the St George’s Co-op Society.St George’s Co-op (1897)The Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society (SCWS) was founded in 1868, with local societies quickly developing across Scotland. The organisation supplied goods directly to these societies in working class areas, with profits being shared with their customers rather than with wealthy shareholders - the dividend or “divi”.

St George’s Society was founded in December 1870 following a meeting in Grove Street Hall, organised by a group of weavers from the nearby Grove Park factory. Their first shop at 398 St George’s Road opened for business in July 1871. Various other stores across the north-west of the city soon followed, and by March 1897 they had acquired a total of 45 branches, as well as a variety of functional buildings. That year the Society opened their landmark store on St George’s Road and Gladstone Street, with the distinctive sculpture of St George slaying the Dragon on top of the building.

The Co-op was an integral part of daily life for many working class people, and not only for their shop-ping. They branched out into other service industries, such as restaurants, banking, insurance and funerals. It provided all kinds of social activities for members including a library, choirs and a literary society. Their Guilds provided an introduction to political engagement for many women, very few of whom had the vote in the early days, and who were not generally encouraged to become involved. Sporting activities were financed from the education and benevolent fund, and they had a representative on the Glasgow School Board.

Later in the 20th century the Scottish Cooperative move-ment began a terminal decline, and ceased to exist in 1973 after merging with the English CWS.

Left: Jimmy Logan’s Metropole

Below: the same view today, with modern flats now replacing the Metropole

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Above: St George’s Co-operative Society, at Gladstone Street

Woodside Library (1905)The largest of the Carnegie libraries in Glasgow, Woodside was the first of seven to be designed by J. R. Rhind.

Andrew Carnegie was the son of a poor Scottish hand-loom weaver, who emigrated to America with his family as a small boy. A self-made tycoon, he became one of the greatest philanthropists of his time. He donated a large sum to Glasgow Corporation in 1901 for the provi-sion of branch libraries across the city. One condition of funding was that the Corporation had to provide land for the building and a budget for maintenance. The service was also to be free to all.

The opening ceremony was performed by the local councillor, Mr Stevenson, a long-time advocate of free libraries. In his speech he declared that the building provided further evidence that Glasgow was “…a city with foundations and with a growing perception of what constitutes true civic greatness”.

A large, glazed dome on the roof is a distinctive feature, and sculpture on the front of the building is attributed to William Kellock Brown. Today the library is a popular community hub, with a variety of events and activities taking place. The foyer has a good selection of local history photos on display.

Last Remaining Villa (1830s)In the early 19th century when St George’s Road was still a rural thoroughfare, a number of villas were built along both sides of the road.

This is the last one remaining and gives an indication of what was originally intended for the area, before the influx of workers required housing in tenement blocks. An attractive feature is the Greek Doric colonnade supporting a cast iron balcony beneath the first floor windows.

In the 1870s it was the home of John Kay, manager of the Phoenix Foundry. Ater his early death in 1878, his widow Jane Cairns continued to live in the house until her own death in 1913 at the age of 91. In later years she had employed a lady’s companion, a cook and a housemaid as live-in servants.

The house then passed to the Bogie family and it remained their family home until the death of the last daughter, Jemima, in the 1980s. It was then converted into separate flats.

St George’s in the Fields (1886)This building replaced an earlier church from 1832 which had been destroyed by a fire in 1884. By that time it was being said that the church “was in the fields no longer” due to the rapid building that had taken place over previous decades.

The architects were Hugh & David Barclay, and the sculpture of Christ Feeding the Multitude is by William Birnie Rhind.

The building gradually deteriorated and an extensive restoration programme was financed by Glasgow District Council in 1972-3. Just a few years later, the congregation moved out and the building has since been converted into luxury flats.

Left: Woodside Library, 1907

Below: Woodside Library today

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Above: the last remaining grand villa in St George’s Road

Below: St George’s in the Fields Church - now luxury flats

Fire Station Building (1889)For nearly a century this building served as Glasgow North Fire Station. It was built for that purpose on a piece of vacant land, acquired from the kirk session of St George’s in the Fields church. Being immediately adjacent to the church, a condition of sale was that the building would be designed to harmonise with the church architecture.

Appliances were housed on the ground floor of the building. In the early days these were horsedrawn,the spacious courtyard at the rear providing stabling for the horses and accommodation for two coachmen. Accommodation for officers and their families was on the upper floor.

At one time the station was amongst the busiest in Europe, due to the large number of factories and dis-tilleries in the area. In 1984 the station closed when the service was transferred to Cowcaddens.

The building was then acquired by Queen’s Cross Housing Association and opened in 1987 as the Fire Station Project, providing housing and support for vulnerable, young, single people.

The carving on the front of the building displaying fire-men’s tools provides a reminder of its history.

Garscube CrossThe area was previously known as the Black Quarry, in reference to an early quarry which was located on the east side of St George’s Road and near to North Woodside Road. The stone had the peculiar property of turning black on exposure to the light, and was used for building many of the old houses of Glasgow.

By around 1800 the quarry had been exhausted and abandoned. In the 1840s there was “much ado of late before the Dean of Guild Court” as it contained a deep pool of stagnant water, and was used as a “receptacle for the rubbish and carrion of the district”. There had also been a number of drownings over a period of time, and the quarry was finally made safe in 1850.

Garscube Road (aka the Gaspipe) was previously a turnpike road with a round toll house from which the tollkeeper collected payment from travellers - hence the alternative name of Round Toll. Adjacent to the toll house was the Black Quarry Subscription School which ran evening classes during the winter and early morning classes during the summer. Black Quarry Baths were in North Woodside Road, a commercial enterprise where a bath cost “not less than sixpence” in the 1860s.

Elmbank FoundryFrom at least the 1930s the business was located in Farnell Street, producing large amounts of decorative architectural work - examples of their work are the stair-case lamps and exterior railings on Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson‘s Great Western Terrace.

The foundry also produced more utilitarian products such as fire escapes and urinals in iron. During the First World War, local women were also producing grenades on the premises. The firm continued to expand during the early 20th century, and opened offices in London. It is a mark of their success that they survived until 1969 as one of the last great Glasgow foundries.

Left: A carving can still be seen on the front of the Fire Station Project, showing firefighters’ equipment

Below: The Fire Station Building when it was still a serving Fire Station.

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Left: Elmbank Foundry

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Below: Women munitions workers at Elmbank Foundry around 1916

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Left: The Tower Building

Below: The Tower Building today

The Tower Building (1875)This was built as offices and warehouses for James Allan of the Elmbank Foundry. In the 1930s the top floor of this building was a popular venue for local people as the Tower Ballroom, when dancing fever swept across the city. Today the building houses a number of small businesses and enterprises.

Now cross over St George’s Road at the crossing, and turn right down Raglan Street, until you reach St Joseph’s Primary School - which was built in the 1980s, on the former site of Lyon Street.Lyon StreetA short street with a dozen or so tenements comprising mainly single ends, Lyon Street epitomised the squalor and overcrowding that was endemic in parts of the city during the early 20th Century. On the night of the 1901 census, around 1500 individuals were living in the street. Speaking in 1962, just before the street was demolished, an elderly local resident recalled what itwas like in those days: “Whisky for breakfast on the corner with the boys, fights with intruders from other districts, pitch and toss and a few bob when you could pick it up”. At the outbreak of war in 1914, over 200 men and boys enlisted and went off to fight. Entire families and groups of friends joined up together. Men from Lyon Street were to be found in every Scottish regiment. Some never returned.

Every Remembrance Day until just before the Second World War, a piper and bugler from the H.L.I. at Maryhill Barracks came marching up the street under the Armistice flag. A short service would be held, which was attended by everyone in the street. Then the bugler would sound the Last Post.

St Joseph’sAlso known as the Black Quarry Church, St Joseph’s chapel was opened in 1850 to serve the rapidly expanding Roman Catholic population in the area, resulting from the influx of Irish immigrants during the Famine years and beyond.

The parish priest rented a large hall to provide free education for 130 poor children. By 1859 a new school had been built in Braid Street for boys, with girls taught in McAdams Lane (now Manresa Place). When the Braid Street school was enlarged, the girls moved there and a new building was erected in Manresa Place for infants, in 1909. That is the red brick building currently in use by Cowcaddens Day Nursery.

St Joseph’s was formerly administered by the Jesuits, and the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, who was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1877, served here as a relief temporary curate for two months in the autumn of 1881. It was not a happy time, and in a letter he described Glasgow as a ‘wretched place’, although he preferred it to his previous posting in Liverpool. It is believed that his poem “Inversnaid” was written at this time, as he is known to have visited Loch Lomond on a rare day off.

The chapel and associated buildings were demolished in the 1980s and the new primary school built.

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Left: Lyon St

Below: St Joseph’s RC Church and Chapel House

Right: view of the site of St Joseph’s today

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Continue south down Braid Street/Square, until you reach the Woodside Baths...Woodside Baths & Wash House (1882)Land was purchased from City Improvement Trust for baths and a wash house in Woodside, with the building opening to the public in September 1882. Initially there were two swimming pools with 34 large hot baths on the upper floor. The baths were filled by an attendant, who had a special key for turning the water on and off. On Fridays a long queue would form as people waited for their weekly hot bath, and at the New Year families would queue from 6.00am.

The wash house had 67 stalls, each one containing an ample supply of hot water and a wringer. A trip to the steamie was also a social occasion for the women with some bringing a flask of tea while they chatted to their neighbours and caught up with local news - hence the phrase “the talk of the steamie”. Now take the path to the left, skirting the edge of the park, crossing the bridge to the Phoenix Flowers, which mark the site of the Phoenix Foundry and Phoenix Park and Phoenix Kindergarten...

Phoenix Flowers (2010)The award-winning Garscube Link was designed to provide a safe and attractive route between the north of Glasgow and the city centre for pedestrians and cyclists. The route is illuminated by a number of coloured aluminium flowers: “fluttering through the space 8m up in the air, that draw the visitor through the route in deliberate contrast to the solidity of the concrete”.

As the site of the former Phoenix Foundry and Phoenix Park, the Link has acquired the alternative name of Phoenix Flowers.

Phoenix FoundryEstablished by Thomas Edington in Queen St c1800, the premises were located in Garscube Road from 1847-1890. The main entrance gates to the Necropolis were produced by this company, as were munitions for the British Army during the Crimean War.

Although not legal tender, the foundry tokens pictured opposite were accepted in local shops in exchange for goods.

The firm was commissioned by “Sweetie” Buchanan, a local confectioner, to produce an ornamental fountain for Phoenix Park, which was built on the site after the foundry moved.

Phoenix ParkOne of a number of parks provided by the Public Health Committee and laid out in 1892. At £25,000 for the land, it was the most expensive purchased by the Committee. The expense was considered justified, with the area being “one of the most crowded and congested in any part of the city”. The ground was enclosed and landscaped with seating provided.

There was a gym with separate sections for boys and girls, plus a “competent caretaker to maintain order and prevent accidents”. In addition to the Buchanan fountain (demolished 1959) there was a drinking fountain and a bandstand.

Above: Woodside Baths and Wash-house

Left: A typical Glasgow scene in the days of “the steamie”...

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Above: Phoenix Flowers

Left: Tokens struck at the Phoenix Foundry

Below: Phoenix Fountain and bandstand

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Phoenix Park KindergartenThis pioneering institution opened in May 1913 as the first nursery school in Glasgow, and also amongst the earliest in Scotland. Funding for the original building was raised by volunteers, mainly from the staff and pupils of Laurel Bank private school.

It was a single storey wood and roughcast building surrounded by a small garden, and was situated on Dobbie’s Loan just across from Phoenix Park.

The health and well-being of the children was the primary concern of the volunteers who established the nursery. Cowcaddens was a densely populated and poverty-stricken area, described by one medical officer as “...presenting every conceivable health and social problem”.

A holiday home near Helensburgh was gifted to the nursery by the wealthy parents of one of the volunteers, providing the children with the opportunity to escape the smog of the industrial city. It also provided respite for others in need of a holiday, such as invalids or convalescents.

Education was also given priority, with the teaching based on the progressive ideas of the German educationalist Froebel which placed great emphasis on learning through play and outdoor activities.

In 1938 the kindergarten came under the control of the Education department who replaced the building on the same site. It closed in 1997 and merged with two other local nurseries.Continue along the road, taking the underpass just before Cowcaddens Underground through to New City Road. On your left across West Graham Street you can see the former Sick Children’s Dispensary.

Sick Children’s Dispensary (1888)An outpatients dept for the Sick Children’s hospital, the choice of location was based on the fact that: “the north west of the city, including the large district of Cowcaddens and Garscube Road and east and west of there up to the canal, was in most need”.

To obtain funds, a Ladies’ Committee was formed and they organised a “Fancy Fair” which ran for several days in St Andrew’s Halls. This raised £15,000, which was a significant sum for the time, adequate for the purchase of a site and building costs, with money left over to run the facility.

During the first year of opening, 16,000 attended and an extension was required within 5 years. No payment was required, the only condition being that the child was “poor and sick”.

From 1897-1922 the Dispensary was run by Sister Laura Smith, who became a household name in the area. In 1911 she cooperated in the establishment of The Sister Laura’s Infant Food Co. Ltd. which marketed a proprietary infant food based on a recipe she had used at the Dispensary - it sold well, being of good quality and cheaper than the other commercial infant foods available at the time.

In 1953, the Dispensary merged with a new out-patient department at Yorkhill Hospital.

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Top: Phoenix Park - the Nursery is the white building in the background

Above: Staff and children pictured at Phoenix Park NurseryLeft and Below: The Sick Children’s Dispensary Bottom: Sister Laura Smith

Now continue down New City Road, past the following sights...Normal School (1837)Designed by David Hamilton, this building is of historical importance as the first institution in Britain specifically for the professional training of teachers. It was founded by David Stow, a leading figure in the Glasgow Educational Association who had previously founded the Glasgow Infant School Society.

Stow was prominent in the campaign to provide professional training for teachers, as he considered its lack to be a real defect in the parish school system of education, which was run at that time by the Church of Scotland.

The cost of the building left inadequate funds for running costs, and financial difficulties soon arose. In order to avoid closure they had to accept a grant from the Church of Scotland and agree to the Church taking over the running of the establishment. A short time later in 1843 the Disruption occurred, when many ministers along with their congregations left the Established Church over the issue of patronage (a minister being appointed by the landowner).

Stow and most of his staff joined the Free Church and in 1845 they had to leave the building, marching in solemn procession along New City Road to the top of Hope Street. There he set up tents to establish a new college, before building the Free Church Normal Seminary. The Seminary later moved to Southbrae Drive and became Jordanhill College of Education. For a time the original building was used as an auxiliary fire station and is now the Dundasvale Business Centre.

Scottish Zoo, now Chinatown (c1890)This building has a fascinating history which can be traced back to the 19th century. The iron frames are all that remain of the original building, the once-ornate interior having being removed and the building entirely re-clad.

Originally the Olympia Theatre, from 1897 it housed a large, fully enclosed entertainment complex, including the first permanent zoo in Scotland. The complex was owned and managed by E. H. Bostock who had visited Glasgow regularly with his travelling menagerie and circus.

A star attraction was Sir Roger the elephant. He was taken by his keeper for walks in the countryside twice a week, along with a smaller companion and dromedar-ies. Sadly, Roger developed a hormonal condition which can cause male elephants to become aggressive anddangerous. He attacked his keeper, breaking an arm and several ribs. It became difficult even to feed him, and it was impossible to clean his enclosure which soon began to stink.

In 1900, Bostock engaged the services of local soldiers, who shot Roger while he was eating his favourite breakfast of wet bran. The execution made world wide news, with a New Zealand newspaper reporting that a crowd of “considerable dimensions” was present. A firm of local taxidermists then stuffed Roger and gave him a set of wooden tusks - the originals had been removed for safety as he was a menagerie animal. Their entire shop front had to be removed to get him out. The elephant was displayed for several weeks at the zoo before being transported to the Kelvingrove Museum, where he has remained ever since.

Above: The Normal School building, still in use today as a business centre

Below: Today’s Chinatown building, back in the days when it was an entertainment complex and zoo, and the same site today

Left: Sir Roger the Elephant - stuffed, and on show at the Scottish Zoo.

Sit Roger is still one of the star attractions at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

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During the First World War the building was taken over by the military - initially as billeting accommodation for 1000 troops. They slept on palliases that were made by Dallas’s, a well-known Cowcaddens store. The building was then used for the storage of aeroplanes.

Bostock vacated the premises in the 1920s and his menagerie made its final appearance, in front of huge audiences, at the 1931 Christmas Carnival in the Kelvin Hall. The building then became a garage for a number of years. It is now a Chinese shopping mall, serving the community of Garnethill.

James Torrens Memorial FountainTorrens was a Victorian town councillor who was noted for his Temperance activities. In 1873 he incurred the wrath of ‘The Bailie’, a popular Glasgow magazine of the time, by his campaign to close the city public houses at 9.00pm instead of 11.00pm.

Savings Bank Building (1901)A striking building which is now ‘B’ listed, this was built for the Glasgow Savings Bank. It was designed by Neil Campbell Duff, who also designed the La Scala Cinema in Sauchiehall Street, which is now Waterstone’s.

Glasgow Savings Bank was founded in 1836 for the purpose of helping the poor to save. Initially located in Hutcheson’s Hospital in Ingram Street, the bank quickly established a network across the city and the west of Scotland. Following various mergers, the Bank is now part of Lloyds TSB. This building is now private housing.

Glasgow Kelvin College (formerly Stow College), 1934-presentBuilt by Glasgow Corporation and named after the educationalist, David Stow, this was the first purpose-built further education college in the city. As Stow College for Engineering, it was known at the time as a Trades School and provided evening classes for shipyard workers on Clydeside.

The college has adapted to changing times, and now offers a wide range of courses and qualifications. In 2013 the college merged with John Wheatley College and North Glasgow College to form Glasgow Kelvin College.

Above: James Torrens, caricatured in an 1873 publication, alongside a picture of his Memorial Fountain

Left and below: Glasgow Savings Bank Buildng, then and now

Bottom: Stow College, now known as the Glasgow Kelvin College

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At this point, you have completed the east loop of our Woodside Heritage Trail. You should now continue along New City Road, crossing the motorway by the underpass and turning left back along to the start at St George’s Cross.

The west trail heads up Maryhill Road, past the old City Bakeries building in Clarendon Street, till you reach Hopehill Rd. After a detour to the top of the road and back, you continue on Maryhill Rd to the Community Central Halls. From there you cross to Napiershall Park, and along North Woodside Rd. Take the lane opposite the Boys Brigade building, keeping straight on to the top of the road. At the T.A. building follow Garriochmill Rd to the Kelvin Walk-way, where you cross the bridge at the old Flint Mill, and follow the river under the Kelvin Bridge. Go left towards the Subway, and left again under the other side of the Bridge. Now turn right, walking past Lans-downe Church, and then left along Great Western Road to St George’s Cross once more.

City Bakeries (c1924)This business began as a co-operative baking venture, the Friendly Bread Association, around 1887. The company came into private ownership at the start of the 20th century. As the City Bakeries it became one of Glasgow’s leading chains of bakeries and tearooms.

Extremely innovative for the time, the company introduced a profit sharing scheme in 1914 and had a reputation for promoting staff welfare. Sporting and other recreational facilities were provided for the staff, in addition to social outings and holiday camps. The factory closed, along with the chain of shops, in the 1970s and the building has been converted into flats.

Stockline Memorial GardenOn May 11 2004, an explosion in the nearby Stockline plastics factory killed nine people and injured thirty three others. A later public inquiry held in Central Halls found that it had been the result of inadequate health and safety checks, and that the tragedy had been “totally avoidable”. The factory owners were fined £400,000 - the equivalent of £44,000 a life.

Nine stones stand in this small garden in memory of Margaret Brown, Annette Doyle, Peter Ferguson, Thomas McAulay, Stewart McColl, Tracy McErlane, Kenneth Murray, Tim Smith and Ann Trench.

St Columba’s Church (1941)An ‘A’ listed building designed by Jack Coia, the church has its origins as a mission for St Joseph’s. St Colum-ba’s became a separate parish in 1906 and their school was opened that year in Hopehill Road.

Construction of the church began before the 2nd World War broke out. It is said that the parishioners paid six-pence per brick to enable the church to be built.

The interior contains panels of Stations of the Cross by Hugh Adam Crawford, which were transferred from the Catholic Pavilion at the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Bella-houston Park, and a carved crucifix by sculptor, Benno Schotz, who was Head of Sculpture at Glasgow School of Art until his retirement in 1961.

R.S. McColl Factory SiteRobert Smyth McColl (aka Toffee Bob) was considered by many to be one of the finest footballers that Scotland has ever produced. He played mainly for Queen’s Park during his career, apart from a short interlude when he turned professional. Capped for Scotland on many occasions, his most notable performance was a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over England at Celtic Park in 1900.

The following year he opened a sweet shop on the south side of the city in partnership with his brother Tom. The brothers used Bob’s name so as to capitalise on his footballing fame and recent exploits against England. Initially operating on a small scale from the back shop, the business rapidly expanded and they moved to large premises at Woodside. At one stage they had around 200 shops across the UK, many strategically located at the entrance to cinemas. These were all supplied with confectionery from the North Woodside Road factory.

In the 1930s the brothers sold a controlling interest to Cadbury’s. The factory buildings were demolished in the late 1960s and today the business operates under the umbrella of the Martin McColl group.

Top: City Bakeries

Above: Stockline Memorial Garden

Left: Interior of St Columba’s

Below: R S McColl factory site, then and now

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Top: Seamore Cinema site, then and nowAbove: Maryhill Community Central HallsBelow: Waddell’s Sausage factory site, then and now

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Seamore CinemaA number of picture halls were dotted across Woodside, during the years that Glasgow was known as “cinema city”. Amongst the most popular and long-lived was the Seamore, at the junction of Maryhill Road and North Woodside Road.

The cinema was built for the eccentric and flamboyant millionaire, A.E. Pickard, opening in 1914 with the slogan: “You’ll see more at the Seamore!”

A large, fan-shaped building which seated nearly 2000, Pickard had alterations carried out in 1926. These included a revolving windmill being added to the roof and the auditorium being decorated with nude paintings. Due to dwindling audiences, the cinema closed in 1963 and was demolished after a fire in 1968.

Community Central Halls (c1924)This is one of a hundred such buildings that were built in urban areas around the UK by the Methodist Church during the late 19th/early 20th century. They shared vari-ous features, one being that they all had a row of shop units on the ground floor, thereby providing a rental income to help with the cost of the building.

Although built primarily as places of worship, all these buildings were specifically designed not to look like churches. This was because they were also to be used as places of entertainment. As keen supporters of the Temperance movement, the Methodists wanted to provide an alternative to the pub on Saturday nights for the working population. In their heyday, thousands packed into these buildings to watch films, concerts and variety shows.

The building contains an organ built by T.C. Lewis and donated to the Methodists by St John’s U.F. Church in George Street when that church closed. Lewis was one of the leading organ builders of the late Victorian period. Another of his organs is in Kelvingrove Art Galleries.

When the building closed in 1976 an action group was formed by local people to preserve the building for community use. A Trust was formed and essential repairs carried out. Since then the Halls have been at the heart of the community, providing services for the youngest to the oldest. Volunteers and staff provided support to families of the Stockline explosion victims, and the building was also chosen as the venue for the public inquiry, held in 2004.

Waddell’s Sausage FactoryRobert Davidson Waddell (1855-1829) was one of the best known pork butchers in the city. He learned his trade with Annaker’s Ltd, a company whose name was familiar to many Glaswegians as in “this place is like Annaker’s midden”. The phrase originated from the midden in the backyard of the east end factory in the early days, and was used to describe any place that was dirty or messy.

Waddell soon set up in business for himself, becoming a household name both north and south of the border for his sausages, pies, haggis and ‘potted heid’. He also had a chain of shops across the UK. The business continued to expand and in the 1890’s he built his factory in Napiershall Street at a cost of £47,000 - a sub-stantial sum in those days. Built in the renaissance style with six storeys plus attics, it was the largest sausage factory in Scotland.

An increased public awareness of hygiene issues around that time led to Waddell promoting the hygienic conditions of his factory in his advertising material. A great self-publicist, customers were invited to inspect the factory and see for themselves the hygienic conditions in which the food was produced.

The company’s advertising tag was “Waddell’s Sausages are the Best” and there were a number of variations of children’s rhymes:Waddell’s sausages are the best, in your belly they will rest!;Annaker’s sausages are the worst, in your belly they will burst!

During celebrations at the end of the First World War, flags were handed out to local children by the company. On one side was the Union Jack and on the other side “Waddell’s Sausages are the Best!

The business passed to his son, and was wound up in the 1950s. Latterly, only the ground floor was in use as a car showroom. The building was demolished in the 1980s and the ground landscaped.

Napiershall School (1900)Designed by Robert Bryden, this is one of a number of schools built by the Glasgow School Board, which was established in 1873, the year after the Education Act made schooling compulsory for all children under 13.

Members of the Board were elected by popular vote and by secret ballot, in contrast to the parliamentaryelections of the time. An even more revolutionary aspect of the Boards was that women had equal voting rights with men, and were even allowed to stand for election.

To begin with, fees were charged and jotters had to be bought, although parochial help was available for the very poor. By 1892 all fees had been abolished in the city’s primary schools.

Napiershall served the local community as a primary school for around 80 years and is now a multi-cultural community centre. The building also rents out office space.

Herbert StreetNamed after George Herbert, a dairyman and cow feeder who had a number of dairies in the area, including the Priory at 315 North Woodside Road. Herbert’s farm was over in Woodlands, roughly on the site of the Burnbank Bowling Club.

Kelvinbridge Artistic Stationery Works (1890)This ‘B’ listed building was commissioned for Alexander Baird & Son, an artistic stationery manufacturer. Amongst their products were greetings cards and other artistic stationery.

From 1902 the company also produced dance programmes. At that time people attending formal dances were given small programmes listing the dances, and would book partners for each.

In the 1960s the building was occupied by Wilson & McCaig Ltd, upholsterers and ship furnishers. Today it provides office accommodation for local businesses.

Top: Waddell’s Shop - Maryhill RoadAbove: Napiershall Street School in the early 1900sBelow: Kelvinbridge Artistic Stationery Works, Herbert Street, 1890s

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Site of Cooper & Co (c1890)T. G. Bishop (1846-1922) was born in Carlisle and he became the Scottish agent for Tetleys tea. He founded his own company in 1871 and named the venture Cooper & Co after his mother-in-law, Lilias Cooper, who had lent him the capital to open his first store.

Bishop catered for an upmarket clientele. In Glasgow his two flagship stores were in Sauchiehall Street and Gt Western Rd (at Bank St). In store factories were built at both these premises. A large range of groceries were manufactured, which included in house blends of tea and coffee. In the 1890s he had offices built in Herbert Street with brick stores and stables to the rear. The stables had a cart shed on the ground floor, stalls on the first floor and a hay store on the second floor.

There are now flats built on the site of the former stores and associated buildings.

Boys’ Brigade Building (1879)A ‘B’ listed building, designed by John Honeyman as a mission church for the Free College Church in Woodlands. During the week there were a number of religious clubs and charitable activities organised for local people.

The building is of historical interest as the foundation site of the 1st Glasgow Company of the Boys’ Brigade, the earliest uniformed organisation in the world. The organisation was founded by William Smith, an elder in the College Church, and one of the Sabbath School teachers. He was also a member of the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers - the forerunner of today’s Territorial Army. Smith had problems maintaining order amongst the unruly lads in his class on a Sunday morning, and he wondered why it was that he had no such difficulty in controlling the hundred boys under his command at the Volunteers. The idea occurred to him that it was perhaps the drill, discipline and physical exercise that made the difference. He decided to form a military-style brigade to give his Sunday boys an outlet for their energy, while helping to develop “a true, Christian manliness”.

Three recruitment nights were held over the course of a week and over fifty boys enrolled. These were mainly from the North Woodside Mission Sabbath School, but some local boys also turned up. The inaugural meeting of the 1st Glasgow Company was held on Thursday 4 October 1883. Annual summer camps were introduced from 1886, and for boys who had never been away from the city, these were a great adventure.

Other companies were soon established across the city and beyond, with the movement spreading across the UK and out to the far corners of the globe. Smith was knighted for his services to the youth of the country in 1909. Just five years later, at the age of 59, he died suddenly while visiting London for a BB event. A memorial service for him was held in St Paul’s Cathedral and it was estimated that over 150,000 people lined the route at his funeral in Glasgow.

Today, a century after the founder’s death, it is estimated that there are around a half million members across the world. The building was sold in 1973 due to the cost of upkeep, becoming a social club for a num-ber of years. It has now been converted into townhous-es. The commemorative plaque on the external wall is a replica, the original being in the former Kelvin Stevenson church (now Woodside Church).

Above: Site of Cooper & Co, Herbert Street

Below: The Boys’ Brigade Building, North Woodside Road, and historical photos of the 1st Glasgow Company, and the founder William Smith, surrounded by his officers

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Territorial Army (T.A.) Building (1894)Established in Glasgow in 1859, 1st Lanarkshire Volunteers were one of a number formed across the UK at that time. Famous names associated with the regiment include two prime ministers (Bonar Law and Campbell Bannerman), Lord Reith of the BBC and Sir William Smith, founder of the Boys’ Brigade.

Jardine Street has been central since 1864 when the Corps Training Ground was established at the site. For training days, bridges were built over the Kelvin, with simulated explosions being carried out. In 1894 this Tudor-style building was erected as the Volunteer H.Q., designed by Robert Bryden. The unit raised the cost by subscriptions and organising fetes and bazaars.

The Volunteers had traditionally been a home defence force, but in 1908 they were formed into the Territorial Army to support the regular forces. The majority of T.A. units today are directly descended from these Volunteer forces.

This building is the command centre for a number of squadrons in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England. Their primary purpose is to enable com-munication between army units on the ground, and they also provide support to the relevant UK agencies in civil emergencies such as flooding and terrorism.

Kelvinbridge Church, formerly Kelvin Stevenson Memorial Church (1902)In the late 19th century the Free College Church decided to provide a church for the expanding residential area of Woodside. Initially it was intended to convert the North Woodside mission hall into a regular church, but this was blocked by objections from adjacent house owners who used the vacant land for access. Several sites were then considered before settling on the top of Belmont Street.

More than half the cost was met by James Stevenson, a Glasgow shipowner. The building was named after his father, and designed by his nephew. As building work proceeded, a number of additions and alterations were made, resulting in extra costs. These were met by Stevenson, who said that although the church had originally been intended for the poor, “the conspicuous site chosen demanded a much better treatment than first envisaged”.

The builder was William Taylor, whose firm had built the Rennie Mackintosh church at Queen’s Cross. The social parts of the buildings, such as halls and rooms, were designed to be entered from the low road (Garriochmill Rd). This was for the convenience of the people of NorthWoodside area, whom the halls were intended to serve. The church itself is entered from Belmont Street, more convenient for the church members who would have come from Kelvinside and Hillhead.

In 1925 a fire at the Kelvin Hall resulted in an adjacent church building also being gutted. Some families transferred to the Stevenson and both Boys’ Brigade companies were amalgamated and became known as 1st Glasgow, under the captaincy of Stanley Smith, the son of the founder. Around the same time, the Boys’ Brigade building in North Woodside Road was transferred to Stevenson. The current congregation is an amalgamation of several local churches, and is now known as the Kelvinbridge Church.

Above: The Territorial Army building, seen from Jardine StreetBelow: Kelvinbridge Church, formerly Kelvin Stevenson Memorial ChurchBottom: The lower entrance to Kelvinbridge Church, on Garriochmill

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Flint Mill (1840s)Originally the site of a barley mill (c1765), it was said to have ground gunpowder for the Napoleonic Wars. It lay as a ruin for some years before being rebuilt in the 1840s for the Vereville Pottery at Finnieston, who required ground flint for the glaze on their pottery. The mill also sent ground flint to Shanks of Elderslie, for use in their sanitary products.

At the end of the 19th century a writer described the area thus: “Besides the Flint Mill, and watered by both lade and river, still blossoms within its encircling screen of trees, a garden of the olden time - this antique pleasance with a dainty boxwood-bordered walk”.

The mill was operating until the 1960s and the ruins have been incorporated into the Kelvin Walkway planning, although the original kiln had to be removed for safety reasons.

The present lade is simply for ornamental purposes, the original having been much deeper, to provide the power necessary for working the mill. An interpretative plaque has been provided at the site by the Parks Department.

Lansdowne Crescent (1850s)A number of such developments of townhouses and upmarket tenements were built to accommodate the middle classes, as they moved west during the Victorian period. Burnbank Gardens and Holyrood Crescent were built around the same time as part of that westwardexpansion. Lansdowne has been described as: “not a crescent at all but a cul de sac shaped like a hockeystick”.

At the Great Western Road entrance to the Crescent is one of the few remaining Edwardian post boxes in Glasgow, still in use.

Lansdowne Church (1863)Designed by John Honeyman and a notable landmark on Great Western Road with its high, slim steeple. It was established by Cambridge Street United Secession Church, which opened in 1834 to serve the Cowcaddens area, when there were few buildings to the west of Cambridge Street.

As the West End developed, a church was required in that location for their wealthier members. They moved to Lansdowne along with their minister Rev John Eadie. On the first Sunday a note had been pinned to the door, reading:“This church was not built for the poor and needy,but for the rich and Dr Eadie,The rich walk in and take their seat,The poor walk down to Cambridge Street.”

Due to extensive maintenance works being required, the building has been signed over to Four Acres Trust. The congregation has now vacated the building and merged with the Woodside Church.

It is hoped that funding will be available to transform the building, as happened with the former Hyndland Street church, now Cottiers. It is also hoped to restore the collection of stained glass windows by Alf Webster.

Above: Flint Mill Kiln, 1960

Left: Edwardian postbox, Lansdowne Crescent

Below: Lansdowne Church today

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St Mary’s Cathedral (1871)Designed by George Gilbert Scott, architect of Glasgow University, for the congregation of St Mary’s Episcopal Chapel in Renfield Street. As with the university, it was built in the Gothic revival style.

A number of mission churches had been established by St Mary’s across the area, including St Peter’s and St George’s. These were mainly funded by wealthier members of the congregation such as the family of Lord Kelvin, and the Campbells who owned Garscube Estate. These missions were located in working class districts and were for the benefit of the poorer people. A strong social welfare element was present, with the church providing for material in addition to spiritual needs.

In 1908 St Mary’s was designated the Cathedral for the Scottish Episcopal Church Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. Since then it has combined the role of cathedral for the diocese with that of an urban congregation. Today members are drawn from a wide area in and around the city of Glasgow.

Holyrood Crescent Shooting (1969)One hot, summer’s day in 1969 local people were sent running for cover as a heavily armed gunman went on a rampage across the north of the city. The gunman was 34 year old James Griffiths, from Rochdale in Lanca-shire. Griffiths had been in trouble with the law from the age of 10 and had spent 17 out of the previous 25 years in various institutions. Just a few months earlier he had completed a 6 year sentence for robbery with violence.

That morning the police visited 14 Holyrood Crescent, where the gunman had recently rented a room, to question him about a recent crime. Griffiths was determined not to be returned to prison and started shooting. One officer was shot in the back as he retreated down the stairs. The gunman then began firing randomly at passers-by from the attic window.

Police reinforcements arrived and the area was cordoned off, but Griffiths managed to escape out the back and hijack a car, shooting the driver. A car chase then ensued, until Griffiths mistakenly drove into a cul de sac in Springburn. He entered a tenement and began shooting into a children’s playground from a landing window. The drama ended when he was shot dead by apolice marksman.

Thirteen people had been shot by the gunman, including a 65 year old news vendor who later died from his wounds. Several police officers and civilians were awarded the Glasgow Corporation Medal for Bravery.

James Griffiths was buried in an unmarked grave in Linn Cemetery. None of his family attended the funeral. Above: 14 Holyrood Crescent

Left: James Griffiths - police mugshotBelow: Police marksmen at the ready

Above: St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Holyrood Crescent / Gt Western Rd

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Woodside Community Council has been generously funded for this project by the Hillhead Area Partnership, Glasgow City Council, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

 This leaflet was researched, compiled and produced by Woodside Community Council Heritage Group.• Doreen Edgar • Jim Findlay• May Morgan• Annie Vaz• Gill Young

The group would like to acknowledge invaluablehelp from individual supporters and friends:• Eddie Cavin• John Duffy• John Gray• Rev Euan Marley OP• Leo Morgan• Graham Twaddlewithout whom this work would not have been possible.

Apologies for any errors and/or omissions - unfortunately not everything could be included in this booklet, but you can see more on the Heritage section of our website at:www.woodsideonline.org

Woodside Community Council Woodside Community Council is a voluntary, non-political organisation, independent of local authorities. We try to make sure local perspectives are considered when decisions are taken that affect our local neighbourhood.

Our role is to reflect local grass-roots opinion and feed this back to local authorities and other agencies.

What kinds of things do we deal with?We try to help make a difference on local issues like vandalism, graffiti, litter, fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour, pavement and road repairs.

We are also regularly consulted on other matters - like road safety, NHS, transport and the environment - so we represent community opinion. We also keep a close eye on planning and licensing applications.

When and where?We meet on the first Monday of every month, at 7pm, in Maryhill Community Central Hall, 304 Maryhill Road. All meetings are open to the public.

Anyone who lives within the catchment area and is aged over 16 is eligible to become a community council member.

Find out more about us, and read local news, at: www.woodsideonline.org

Contact us at:woodsidecommunitycouncil@hotmail.com

PhotographsPermission to use copyrighted photographs has kindly been granted by:

© Gerald Blaikie (scotcities.com) - front cover

© 7NArchitects - back cover

© Glasgow City Council : Archives - 3, 5, 13, 16, 20, 23, 26, 30, 40, 41, 56, 57, 66

© CSG CIC Glasgow Museums and Libraries Collections - 12

© Glasgow Police Museum - 71, 72

© NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Archives - 34, 36

© Eddie Cavin - 51

© Bill Crookston - 1

© Duncan McCallum - 24

© Matthew Lloyd (arthurlloyd.co.uk) - 38

© Robert Pool - 29