Nitshill and Surrounding Area

Alex Glass · Nitshill and Surrounding Area

I have some material relating to Nitshill and hope to have something to post on the WetPaint section at some point.

The first group of maps I am posting were part of a school pack prepared by Bellarmine Resource Centre with information on the Victoria Pit Disaster in 1851. For years the actual location of the pit remained a mystery. A friend has recently done some work with the maps and has been able to locate the site at Shilton Walkway which if anyone knows he area they will know is paralel to Linnhead Drive about 100 yards from the north of Cleeves Road.

1864

1898

1938

This next group are taken from the Environmental Impact Study carried out on behalf of Stewart Milne, developers of the greenbelt at the end of Parkhouse Road. This was done in 2002 and included an historical section. These map sections were included for the site area.

2002

1857

1897

1912

1939

2002

There was some discussion on another site about the Darnley Fire Station which was located on Nitshill Road near Parkhouse Road. This can clearly be seen on the 1939 map section.

neilmc

Not one of my better photos but it shows the site of Darnley Fire Station (from the rear), taken from Parkhouse Path, with Nitshill Road on the left. Quite a bit of landfilling would have taken place here when they landscaped this site to create the slope, as the fire station was of course on level ground.

Since this picture was taken last summer the thicket of trees and shrubs to the right have gone, to lay drainage pipes from the new houses and flats in South Nitshill to an outlet into the Brock Burn at the Ashoka At The Mill.

Alex Glass · Some old Nitshill Personalities

An extract taken from a booklet I have on Nitshill. The booklet is called "Some Notes on Old Nitshill" written by CRW (don't know who this was). The booklet was held by the old Bellarmine Resource Centre which was based in Bellarmine Secondary School till about 1990.

I have a couple of other booklets that I am in the process of re-typing and as the original booklets didn't include photos I hope to add some old and new photos of Old Nishill and the surrounding area.

Some Old Nitshill Personalities

The people of old Nitshill seem to have called themselves variously Nitshillonians and Nitshillites. Which of these is best is hard to say but as in all villages the older citizens talk affectionately of notable friends who have gone.
Jim Currie
Perhaps the best-known of these was Jim Currie the Gasman. Who lived in his cottage next to the gasworks on the west bank of the Levern where it flowed under the Nitshill-Hurlet Road. Mr Currie although he had lived for more than ninety years in the village was an “in-comer” having been born elsewhere. He had been for many years the manager of the two-man gasworks which drew its coal from the Waterloo and Watermally Pits at Hurlet. The two men worked about the retorts and the gasholder which was a well-known part of the industrial landscape. Jim and his assistant knew every nook and cranny of the village for every house was regularly visited in the course of their duty. It was Mr Currie who emptied the pennies out of the gasmeters into his Gladstone bag for transfer to the two-wheeled money-box outside.

Old Jim died a few years ago at the ripe old age of one hundred and two. Many were the tales he had to tell of his long association with Nitshill. He remembered the Old Toll Bar at Darnley, where the road tolls were collected. He had helped as a lad at the milling of grain at the Darnley Mill Farm. He had watched the prowess of Sergeant Middleton, the local crackshot rifleman at the Darnley Firing Ranges, behind Darnley Main Farm. He had seen the building of Darnley Hospital in the eighties and of the Fire station later. He told of the limestone quarries that belonged to the Kirkwood family who lived in the historic Darnley House until it was pulled down. This house and Queen Mary’s Tree opposite Darnley Mill Farm are traditionally associated with the wooing of the young Queen by Lord Darnley.

He told also of how the Misses Cranston of Househill were driven daily in their coach-and-pair to Nitshill Station on their way to their restaurant in Glasgow. Mr Donohue their coachman-gardener also had the pleasure of delivering flowers and plants from their beautiful gardens to the restaurant for the delectation of their customers.

He related the pranks of the boys about Howden’s Lawn and the Tap-o’-the-Knowes, round the pitheads and on the railway tracks that criss-crossed the district. He told of the drowning of two children in the “lade”. This was a small canal which left the Levern near the Levern Church and carried water at a higher level than the falling river. This water was used to supply the Dam which was used as a curling pond, and to drive the mill-wheel in the alum works whose site is now occupied by the English Electric Company. Thereafter it rejoined the river on its way to meet the White Cart.

On his hundredth birthday, 15th October 1960 Jim was the proud recipient of the Queen’s congratulations. To his relatives and friends who gathered in his cottage to be with him on that day, he was reported by the “Barrhead News” to have asked what all the fuss was about.

Mr Currie’s house lies right in the path of the new highway coming down from Hurlet Cross and I fear that its days are numbered.

Ronnie

Thanks, Alex, for all of this. I would really like to have a walk through Nitshill, with some work done beforehand to map out a route that would show us the most important places and help us to appreciate the history of the area. I lived in Cleeves Road for a year, and often cycled or walked to Barrhead, so I have some knowledge of the landscape, but would really enjoy a walk through the area, with some preparation that made the most of the journey. Thanks again, and best wishes,
Ronnie

Alex Glass · Some Notes on Old Nitshill

There are some interesting locations but unfortunately not much of Old Nitshill remains.

I think you are right about the preparation and I have been doing some research using the booklets I have so I am sure I could come up with a walk that would provide some detail and I am sure Neil would be happy to help.

When I have finished the prep I will let you know.

Here is another extract

The Victoria Pit Disaster 1851

Over a century ago the name of Nitshill was on the lips pf everyone throughout the land for in the Victoria Pit there occurred one of the most tragic catastrophes in the industrial history of Scotland. The Renfrewshire Statistical account in 1845 drew attention to the fact that all the mines in the Nitshill area had contained what it called “inflammable air” which had been the cause of quite a number of fatalities, especially in 1814 when seventeen men were killed. It also stated that great improvements had been made in sealing off derelict workings underground and in introducing the very latest equipment for keeping a free circulation of fresh air throughout the whole pit. The owner and workers were proud of the fact that the pit had been chosen as an example of all that was best in mining and that working models were being designed to send to the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace in Hype Park.

Despite these precautions a few years later between half-past four and five o’clock in the morning of Saturday 15th March 1851, a fearful explosion took place underground in the mines between the main shaft and the Free Trader Pit half a mile to the west.

Sixty-three miners were underground at the time and of these only two were saved. Great efforts were made during the next week to reach the other men. Volunteer parties of men from the day shift at the Victoria and from Hurlet, Nether Pollok, Cowglen and Govanhill found their work hampered by the fact that the winding gear had fallen to the bottom of the main shaft and that the pieces were to embedded in the gallery mouths that the men were unable to enter the level where the victims were known to have been at work. Besides this, fires were still raging and minor explosions still taking place.

Among the victims were two pit ponies whose Stable had been blown up and whose bodies had been carried by the explosion a distance of fifty yards along on of the underground roads.

Round the scorched entrance to the pit were scenes of harrowing distress. The bereaved women and children had hoped against hope that their menfolk would be brought out alive. But during the three black days of 22nd, 23rd, and 24th March a succession of bearer parties and hearses carried the bodies to the churchyard of St John’s Church in the Darnley Road at Barrhead. The mangled corpses of fifty three men and eight lads had to be laid out awaiting identification. Some of the poor widows had to identify not only their husbands but two of their sons.

The Glasgow Herald drew attention to the plight of the men’s widows and families and expressed the “earnest hope that the Public would not forget that these poor men had left widows and sixty-five orphaned children in a state of utter destitution.” Very considerable sums were collected after The Lord Provost of Glasgow and the owners, Messrs Coats had put up substantial sums. This may have been some consolation but only those who have experienced such tragic losses can appreciate the magnitude of the horror of such a disaster.

Stuball

Thats a great wee read :)

Fjord

That was a great read Alex can't wait to go on your tour of the area.

I wouldn't be too fussed if little remains to be seen today after 150 years. A rough idea of these locations is all that's needed and let the minds eye do the rest, the devils in the detail as they say.

wee minx

Excellent read.
My granny lived in Househillmuir, we used to play on the "Black hills" " Red Hills" around there, I was very young so its a very distant memory now, but after reading this, I'm keen to find out more about the brick works there.
And it sounds like a great day out coming up regarding this thread

Alex Glass · Victoria Mine Disaster

A couple of photos relating to the Victoria Mine Disaster.

Thanks to Neil we have discovered the location of the Victoria Mine. It was near Shilton Walkway which goes from Glenmuir Drive at Cleeves Road to Elliston Drive. I don't have a photo yet but will try and ge one soon.

However the disaster took place somewhere between the Victoria and the Free Trader which was located over where what is now called Craigbank. This area was previously known as Househillmuir.

My estimate is that the Free Trader was located in Newfield Square.

About here.

Some of the dead where buried in the St John's Church Graveyard.

There is no evidence of any grave stones here. As the church was demolished it may be that the grave stones were relocated to another cemetery.

For Wee Minx

The old brick works were located here where a new school is currently being built.

neilmc

Re: Freetrader Pit; I've already checked the 1897 County Series map shown below against the current Ordnance Survey map, and can confirm that this pit was on the North East side of Nitshill Road, exactly half-way between the shops on Craigbank Drive and the corner of Nitshill Road and Peat Road. You'll need to take my word for it as I cannot reproduce the OS map for obvious copyright reasons.

Looking at the 1897 map below I was surprised to see that, as well as the Volunteer Arms, the Railway Inn and the Royal Oak, there was also a pub called the Nitshill Inn. You can see that it was located on Nitshill Road just about 10 yards down from the junction with Cleeves Road, right next to the 'big tree' at that corner. Although the building occupying the site is shown on the 1857 and 1913 maps, it is the only one of the pubs not indicated as such on those maps, so couldn't have been in business for as long as the others.

You'll notice that Dove Street was called Dunlop Street at the time of this map - the change of name came when Nitshill became a suburb of Glasgow - but did you know that Cleeves Road was once called Victoria Road, and the path across Nitshill Road from the Railway Inn was part of Salterland Road?

Alex Glass

Yes Neil now that I see the larger map it is clear that the Free Trader was on the site of the Craigbank Shops.

I noticed the Salterland link on some of the other maps although I did find it strange.

There seemed to have been a lot of activity nearer the Hurlet and Barrhead Road if you look at some of the old maps. It is also near here the Jim Currie lived, at the bridge across the Levern on Nitshill Road. I think it is where there was a recent planning application to build a nursing home. There is what looks like a compound on the banks of the Levern on the North side of Nishill Road.

Unfortunately I will have to wait until Monday to post any more of the Booklet "Some Notes on Old Nitshill". I saved it on a pen drive and left it in the Chambers.

There is another booklet with more detail and covers a wider area. I will try and find time to retype it and post some of it up.

Neil Thanks for clarifying the location of the Free Trader Pit.

Alex Glass · John Meikle VC MM

Another small extract from the booklet "Some Notes on Old Nitshill

Sergeant Meikle, VC, MM

Another famous Nitshillian was Sergeant Meikle, VC, MM, of the Seaforth Highlanders. On the platform of Nitshill Station stands a memorial to this former railway clerk. John had been a popular lad in the village, well-known for his enthusiastic support of the local junior team, Royal Victoria FC for whom he acted as hamper boy. At sixteen he had given up his job at the Station, and giving his age as eighteen he had enlisted to fight in the Great War which had broken out in 1914.

In July 1918, still under twenty years of age, and now a sergeant, he led an attack on a German machine-gun post, armed only with a pistol and a branch of wood. Though he was killed in the action, his men, inspired by his example were able to complete the destruction of the post. This brave young man was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Alex Glass · Priesthill circa 1995

Thanks to Parkview LHA Community Housing Manager for giving me permision to use her photos.

A selection from Priesthill before the area was cleared and new houses built.

1. Priesthill Water Tower

2. Priesthill Single Women's Accommodation

3. Linnhead Drive - renovated in 1986

4. Glenmuir Drive - Square

5. Glenmuir Drive

6. Glenmuir Drive - View from Darnley

7. Muirshiel Crescent

8 Freeland Court

Fjord

Those photo's alone are dramatic they look like they were taken on a Holga camera.
All the bit's of dust and scratches gives them a fantastic aged look more than they actually are

neilmc

The photos also show how grim Priesthill was, and I'm speaking as someone who spent a sizeable chunk of his childhood living there (most of the 1960s).

The ghastly wedge-shaped roof extensions added to most of the tenements were a desperate measure, meant to combat water penetration from the flat roofs of the original build. I don't know how successful they were in this, but they certainly did nothing to enhance the appearance of the flats.

At least when Barratt took over some of the tenements on Linnhead, Ravenscraig and Househillmuir Drives, albeit for private sale, they at least made them a bit more attractive, so it's a shame that some of these flats have subsequently been boarded up and abandoned; I feel sad that the owners have had to resort to this.

Here's a photo I took in 1978-79 featuring the water tower, with some of those tenements which were later 'Barratt-ised' shown:-

james73

Alex Glass

To answer Neil's question my friend lived in the top flat of one of these buildings and before he moved his roof leaked badly.

The problem was that under the roof the old concrete roof remained and still leaked like a sieve.

This one is from South Nitshill. I though I should post it for Neil as it shows the Sky Dragon.

I will post more later.

neilmc

Fjord

scallopboy

Alex Glass

Suggested location of the Free Trader Mine.

More of the history of Old Nitshill

History has little to tell us of the small communities on the lower Levern before the middle of the seventeenth century. The origins of Nitshill are lost in antiquity and it is even uncertain how it got its name. Tradition says it came from a small hazel-nut grove that capped a little hill which was levelled by the bulldozers of the late nineteen-twenties. Some of the oldest inhabitants tell us that for hundreds of years this wood was the favourite haunt of the village children and that they themselves used to pick the nuts in the early days of this century.

Certain facts would seem to lend credence to this theory. In the fifteenth century when the earth was still flat and the sun still drove his fiery chariot daily across the heavens, reference was made in the Paisley Abbey Parish records to Nuttishill. In 1695 the Poll Tax Roll tells us that Robert Miller of Nuttishill had to pay a tax of £1.17s.2d. to King William III. Only a few years ago when the foundations were being cut for the new Bellarmine School the engineers discovered an old bed of the Brock Burn and eight feet down they found dozens of hazel-nuts embedded in the ancient silt.

Incidentally the name of HURLET, now part of Nitshill is thought to have been HARE-LEA, the field where the hares used to play.

Apart for the tales of Crookston Castle and the Barony of Darnley, little seems to have been recorded of the region. Yet a few references are made to the doings of Levern folk. In 1138 for instance, the “Levernani” seems to have been a powerful body of soldiers, recruited from the lower Levern villages among which no doubt were Nitshill and Hurlet. They are known to have fought bravely and to have suffered great losses at the Battle of the Standard under their leader Walter Fitzalan, the founder of Paisley Abbey. Later in 1164 they played a major part in a battle at Renfrew in which Somerled, the Lord of the Isles and his son were slain. For many years these fierce sea-rovers had ravished the Clyde coasts. After this engagement the “Levernani” seem to have disappeared from history.

One other reference to the early history of the region might be mentioned. In 1180 an “old man’s hostel” was founded by Robert de Croc, the builder of Crookston Castle. This is thought to have been one of the earliest hospitals in Scottish history. It was situated somewhere on the Levern, between Crookston and Barrhead. It might well have been in the district now known as Nitshill.

These few glimpses of light serve only to emphasise the darkness of the Middle Ages.

It was not until the seventeenth century that Hurlet and Nitshill began to write their names in the history books.

About this time men began to realise the value of coal and as a result of extensive geological surveys were undertaken in the Hurlet district where coal had been mined in small quantities since 1634. The surveys revealed that Hurlet, Nitshill and Househillmuir stood on valuable deposits of coal iron and limestone.

Enterprising men of wealth poured capital into the region. Mineshafts were sunk, winding gear installed, roads constructed and miners’ cottages built along the banks of the Levern and at Hurlet corner.

Now Nitshill and Hurlet entered on a career of prosperity which was to last for nearly two hundred years. By 1790 ten thousand tons of coal were being mined every year by more than two hundred colliers.

There was considerable competition for employment in the mines. The statistical account for Renfrewshire tells us that miners received from 3s.4d to 4s. per day, together with free houses, fires and gardens. The labourers were not so well off. They earned from 2s. to 2s.3d. per day, without the added emoluments of free houses and coal. These were considered to be reasonable terms for the day.

Before long it was realised that coal was not the sole source of wealth in the mines. As the shafts became more numerous and were driven deeper many interesting strata were revealed. Fossilised marine vegetation was found in the ancient sandstone. An example of a petrified tree stump five feet high and five and a half feet in girth, was found in the sandstone of the Househill Quarry near at hand. This relic can be seen in the public gardens at Househillwood.

The presence of various kinds of seashells gave the name of Roughmussell to the miners’ row on the Levern.

But vastly more important than these curiosities, highly significant though they were to the geologists, was the discovery of layers of “aluminous schists” known locally as “black blaes” lying on the coal seams beneath thick beds of limestone.

This rock was so characteristic of the district that the technical name of “Hurlet Limestone” was given to this rock formation wherever it was found in the West of Scotland. These valuable deposits soon attracted chemical manufacturers of high repute, among whom were Mr Nicolson of Liverpool and Mr Mackintosh the inventor of the raincoat, which bore his name. New chemical works were established first at Nitshill and later at Hurlet, for the manufacture of “Copperas” and “Alum” so important to the numerous bleachfields and printworks of Glasgow and Paisley, Barrhead and Pollokshaws. These substances were made nowhere else in Scotland at the time.

In 1831, Mr Taylor the Author of the famous book “Levern Delineated” wrote “passing from Darnley through Nitshill to Hurlet the beautiful scenery gave way to views of many furnace chimneystacks. limekilns, wooden pumps, engines and railways to say nothing of men wheeling barrows”.

Mr Wilson the owner of the Hurlet Alum Works on hearing the local bings being called “chaff-hills” said he would “not change them for their weight in oatmeal.” From which you may gather that the critic was a miller.

In the latter years of the prosperity of Hurlet when the coal and iron seams began to fail, pits were sunk in the village of Nitshill itself, about a mile further South East. The coal seams in these mines were so thin that, except at considerable depth they had to be worked by open cast mining after the upper strata had been removed. Fortunately there was always a brisk demand for the overlying and intervening layers of sandstone, limestone, ironstone and “black blaes”.

In some places the coal and blaes could be reached by “in goees” or horizontal shafts driven into the hillside. Here and there the remains of these can be seen in the district around Nitshill.

Apart from these minor undertakings a few deep pits were sunk to reach the coal at the lower levels. Much of the district is undermined, some of the galleries running for miles underground. The position of some of these mines can be traced by the remains of their ventilator shafts which can be recognised today.

The most important of these pits was the Victoria Pit and subsidiary the “Free-Trader Pit” which were connected underground by a warren of workings many of which being exhausted, had been abandoned. These pits belonged to Mr Coats of Paisley and were considered to be the most up-to-date and most safety-conscious in the country. Unfortunately many of the colliers would not use the Davy Safety Lamp and this may have contributed the catastrophe which made the pit notorious in 1851. This pit whose massive winding gear and miners’ rows could be seen early in this century left behind great bings of waste which have fed the Nitshill Brick Works for many years. This brickworks stands in what was then known as Peat Road, (now Cleeves Road). This road before the days of coal led to a boggy area where the villagers used to cut peat for their cottage fires. The moderns Peat Road, a major road in its own right, dates only from the nineteen-twenties.

To use a cliché, The Victoria Pit bings did not die in vain for most of the millions of bricks used in building of housing schemes of the Pollok area, including Nitshill and South Nitshill were baked in the local ovens and bore the name of Nitshill.

As can be imagined the volume of the produce of the various mines and chemical factories in the Nitshill-Hurlet area had become so significant in the early part of the nineteenth century, that some special means of transport became imperative. At first it was hoped to cut a canal to connect up with the Glasgow-Paisley Canal at Crookston, but a survey made under the direction of the famous Scots Civil Engineer, Thomas Telford, showed that the cost would have been prohibitive. A mineral railway was built instead, which followed the proposed canal route up Crookston Road and over the Levern to Nitshill by a bridge, the remains of whose piers are visible today.

A corps of more than forty horses was kept to draw the waggons. Loads of coal, ironstone, limestone and alum went north to the canal for distribution to Paisley and Glasgow. On the return journey, ammonia and other chemicals from the Glasgow Gas Works were carried to the factories for the conversion of the black blaes into alum.

All this was in the heyday of the Hurlet-Nitshill industrial boom.

Sad to say by the end of the century the workable seems were almost exhausted and the dependent chemical industries declined. With the loss of employment the population, numbering at times more than a thousand souls had to disperse. Their thatched cottages along the Levern, at Hurlet corner and at the Victoria Pithead were abandoned to the elements, soon to be reduced to mouldering ruins and to merge only too readily into the general background of desolation.

The long honeymoon with prosperity was over. Over the next twenty years the life-blood of Old Nitshill slowly ebbed away until when it was taken over by Glasgow in 1926, it was little more than a quant old village of a few cottages, a chemical works, a brickworks, three public houses and a railway station. A new Nitshill with other traditions and other roots has swallowed the ruins of the old.

And now even the great mounds of chemical waste at Hurlet Corner are gone. Known affectionately for decades as “The Rid Hills” they, significantly, if unlovely, as landmarks to the Glories that are past.

Fjord

Great read that and a surprising amount of industrial activity in what was just a small village on the outskirts of Glasgow going back as far as the early part of the 15th century.

james73

Whitriggs Road, 2005. The flat on the bottom left was Jack Jarvis' original flat
in the first episode of 'Still Game.' In the same episode he moves out into the
same towerblock as Victor. The building has since been demolished.

James H

Alex Glass · Whitriggs Road 8 Nov 2007

Whitriggs Road 8 Nov 2007

neilmc

Re: suggested location of Freetrader Pit; I think Alex's 2nd photo has it about right; just behind that bus shelter, probably in the back gardens of the houses shown! Very interesting read on the pre-history of Nuttishall, Hare-lea and the Levernani, which sounds like a gang name. I'll post a map showing the alum works when I get a chance.

Re: Whitriggs Road, 2005; you're spot-on, James73. The flat was actually ex-council and was apparently hired out to the production company by the proprietor, who was an acquaintance of my brother. Note that there's still one tenant/proprietor left in the remaining block in Alex's photo, much like the guy in the sole remaining block at Househillwood Road/Glenlora Drive corner; both of them have been holding out for a couple of years now.

Alex Glass

I thought this was where you had said it was located. The shot was taken from the bottom of Seamill Street.

Would be good to see where the Alum Works was located. From the maps I have seen I have a general idea but confirmation would be helpful.

Alex Glass · Crookston Castle

There are two leaflets produced promoting the Castle. The text is reproduced here with a couple of photos not in the leaflets.

Crookston Castle
Friends of Crookston Castle and Grounds
Crookston Castle was built in the 12th century. It was one of the first castles in this area. The huge ditch is all that remains from this early castle.

The stone tower you see dates from the early 1400s. The Stewarts of Darnley lived in it for 100 years. They made their name fighting in France and became Earls of Lennox in Scotland. One of them married Mary, Queen of Scots.

-the last medieval castle in Glasgow

You can see where the castle servants worked in dark cellars and kitchens on the ground floor of the tower. The lord and lady feasted and entertained their guests in the Great Hall. There are traces of the lords’ private rooms and stairways overlooking the Hall.

In 1489 James IV blasted Crookston with the famous cannon Mons Meg. Two later sieges did more damage. The family built a new palace and neglected their old castle. In time people came to appreciate it as a romantic ruin.

History comes to life at Crookston Castle. There are lots of stories to tell, and it’s a great place for a family picnic in the summer. But although people have dug it up and studied its documents, the ancient castle keeps some of its mystery.

THE FRIENDS

Historic Scotland looks after the castle for the National Trust for Scotland. But local people have done a lot for the castle too. In recent years it has played host to gala days, ceilidhs, concerts, storytelling events, guided tours, educational visits and civic receptions. In 2006 5,000 people came to events at Crookston.

We have set up the Friends of Crookston Castle and Grounds with three main aims.
1. To ensure that the castle remains a centre for education, fun and family events.
2. To promote Crookston Castle to the widest possible audience, including the people of Glasgow and visitors to the city.
3. To raise awareness of the castle as an important part of our local and national heritage.

Historic Scotland
Crookston Castle
The last medieval castle in Glasgow

The castle hill at Crookston is a magical place. If you’re looking for a castle, you’ll find two at Crookston – one inside the other. You will also find the best view in the city. It’s a great place for picnics and outings. If you pick the right day – or evening – you can also get a guided tour, some storytelling, or even a ceilidh.

Explore the ruin and you will get a pretty good idea of life in a medieval castle. Explore the history and you will find the Stewarts of Darnley, who made their mark on Scotland and France in the days of Joan of Arc and Mary, Queen of Scots.

The first castle

The magnificent ring-shaped ditch which encloses the top of the hill dates back to about 1145. It is probably one of the oldest castles in the West of Scotland.

The name ‘Crookston’ comes from a family of huntsmen. Sir Richard Croc, laird of Cowglen in the 12th century, was proud to carry three forester’s crooks on his shield.

Eventually, the Croc family lost their lands and, in the 14th century most of the Levern valley was acquired by a branch of the Stewarts.

The Lion & the Lily

Sir John Stewart completed the castle on the hill near Crookston just after he inherited the lands of Darnley in 1404.

The Stewarts of Darnley were a tough lot. During the Hundred Years War Sir John made the warcry ‘A Darnley’ famous on the battlefields of France. He defeated English armies four times in a row. His troops became the famous Scots Guards – the personal bodyguard of the King of France. In 1429 Sir John was killed in an ambush while trying to liberate some salted herrings from the enemy.

Sir John’s rich estates in France were the home of a new branch of the family, the Stuarts of Aubigny in the Loire Valley. The French Stuarts produced Lord Bernard Stuart d’Aubigny, known as The Father of Chivalry. He led French contingents against Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Sir John and Lord Bernard are national heroes in France and were buried in Orléans Cathedral.

If you’ve ever wondered how the French royal fleur-de-lys got into the Stewart coat of arms, or where the spelling of Stuart comes from, or why the French town of Aubigny celebrates Bastille Day with a Scottish pipe band – well, now you know.

Living in Style

More than sixty feet high, with a bright coating of limewash, Sir John Stewart’s castle must have dominated the whole of the Levern valley. Inside, every inch of space was utilised to support the lifestyle of the Stewarts of Darnley.

The Stewarts had their private stairways and apartments at the east end of the castle, where the two towers have survived.

The stone platform outside the main entrance may have been the spot where the Lords Darnley passed judgement on the peasants.

Behind it, in the base of the north-east tower, a trapdoor led to ‘the pit’. This was a dungeon with no lighting, heating, or toilet. When Sir John Stewart invited you to drop in, sometimes he meant it!

The ground floor was a cellar, used for storage, supplies, and sleeping – and it included the all-important well-room.

A door linked the cellar to the tiny kitchen on the ground floor of the NW tower. Food was ‘boiled in a bag’ over the kitchen fire, then pulled up through the wall in a ‘dumbwaiter’. Servants carved it up and served it out from behind screens at the west end of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was the room where the Stewarts of Darnley presented themselves as they wanted to be seen: wealthy, secure, and powerful.

The stone to the left of the fireplace in the Hall carries the outlines of two triangular shields. These must have been the coats of arms of Sir John Stewart of Darnley and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Lennox.

The castle was built in several stages –
It began with a plain square tower, with the Hall over a vaulted cellar, and a private room on the top floor.

Four corner towers were added to provide private accommodation. A large chamber was inserted in the upper half of the Hall.

There may have been a set of battlements above the central core. If so, they were very thin – just for show!

Attack & defence

The castle was designed to keep out small armies of lightly-armed men. The limewashed walls were too high to climb. The windows were heavily shuttered. The main entrance was barred by a forehouse, two doors, and a portcullis. If an enemy managed to sneak through the doors, there were further defences inside the castle.

The corner towers may look as though they were designed as firing platforms, but their real purpose was to provide private rooms, stairways, and toilets for the Stewarts and their guest.

Five of the lairds of Crookston Castle died by violence [two in battle, three murdered] – but at least they had slept safely while they were at home.

In 1489 the young King James IV brought the cannon now known as Mons Meg to Crookston Castle and knocked down the southwest tower. With the family castle spoiled, the Earls of Lennox moved to a fine, modern palace in Inchinnan.

The End?

Crookston Castle saw two more sieges but it was wind, water and neglect which turned it into a ruin. Eventually there came a time when people liked ruins, and the castle hill became a famous beauty spot.

Even now, surrounded by housing, it had held on to its unique atmosphere. It has fine parklands with memorable views. It’s a centre for local events, educational outings, and storytelling. Crookston Castle is a great place to visit – and it’s your castle – enjoy it!

Friends of Crookston Castle and Grounds

Crookston Castle line drawings

Fjord

Alex set a date for a 'Wander Around Nitshill' although there's no rush at the moment due to Xmas looming Etc. but this is worhty of a great day out sometime in the New Year.

Alex Glass

I think I have enough sites for a good day out. Will work on a route that I think will be the most interesting. I am also trying to get some information about a couple of areas that may make the difference between a good day and a great day.

The biggest problem is that there nothing old apart from Crookston Castle. Some guys did a visit there last New Year and had a great day. I think that it may be an idea to split the day into two with the morning at Crookston and the afternoon walking from there to Nitshill, though Houshill Park to see the fossils. After that it is finding locations that do not have any indication of what was previously there.

If anyone is interested I will happily arrange it.

Alex Glass

One for Ronnie

james73

Excellent stuff Alex G.

James H

Alex Glass · South Nitshill circa 1995

1. South Nitshill Shops

2. Whitehaugh Road Football Pitch

3. Whitacres Road meets Parkhouse Road

4. Weensmoor Road Pensioners Houses

5. Whithope Road

6. Whitacres Road

Alex Glass

I know this one should go on the Past and Present but thought I would post it here.

Woodhead Path in located in the Nitshill Industrial Estate and is an underpass at the Barrhead Railway line.

circa 1995

The path has been realigned to give a more open view of the underpass.

Stuball

Was the original picture intention directed at the lane or the rainbow? Or just a nice coincidence? :)

Alex Glass

A bit of both Stu

I had a shot of the path and saw the rainbow so took another couple so I got both.

Stuball

Always worth the extra little wait for a picture when you can see something extra that'll add something more to the shot

Alex Glass

Here are the other two

Stuball

Under the bridge, just to the right.... the pot of gold awaits

Alex Glass

Ha! Ha!

Dove Street

I think the bird must have flown away with the pot.

neilmc

Alex Glass

Neil

The Indian Takeaway was the original place where the owner of the Husina was located. He went on to own about four units at the shops on Nitshill Road next to the Husina.

neilmc

Alex Glass

The best pakora I've ever tasted.

It is much better than Ashoka for pakora but I prefer a bhuna from there.

wee minx

Am hungry now

HollowHorn

Is there no a tin o' Grants black pudding in you pantry?

Alex Glass

Get yourself down to the Husina on Nitshill Road WM and get a portion of vegitable pakora and a potion of chicken pakora.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

ex-tobester

Do they deliver to

G23?

Alex Glass

It'll cost you.

james73

Somewhat

here, folks...

James H

wee minx

I'll just put in the usual Chicken wings.....again

But come the weekend..I'll be there....at Husinas

cybers · Whitriggs Road 8 Nov 2007

neilmc

Alex Glass

Excelent Neil

Here is the are today.

Househill Park view from Barhead Road

Path from Nitshill Road

neilmc

Nice photos Alex; those meandering paths make you want to put your walking gear on!

Here's what you see when you get to the other side (taken on Sunday morning - Househill Park playing field):-

Alex Glass

On the 1857 map you can see Hurlet House. By 1897 a second building is visable.

Today more buildings have been build near the old Hurlet House. This building was ravaged by fire in about 2006. It was renovated and completed earlier this year.

The second build which appeared on the 1897 map is now used as a depot for Glasgow City Council Parks Department.

Alex Glass

Great photo Neil

A walk through the park should be worthwhile as the fossils should still be visible but no doubt covered in graffiti.

neilmc

Thaks Alex; I've always liked that view of the Park, finally caught it when the light was just right.

Looking at your photos of Hurlet and East Hurlet houses, I guess there will be no trace of that railway shown on the 1857 map. It looks as if the entrance road to the original house went over the railway line, creating a short tunnel underneath. There's a possibility it could still be there.....no, no more tunnels!

Alex Glass

The pavement and road have been reconstructed so I am not sure ifthere will be anything left of the old railway line.

Thought it may be worth having a closer look.

neilmc

Ah well, just a thought.......

Going back to the subject a few posts ago of the wee shop on Woodhead Road, I did a bit of research on my lunch break: the shop, and the area of ground surrounding it which was occupied in the 1990s by Welsh the builders, was formerly the depot of McQuatter Bros., who were hauliers and bus/coach operators. They were there from (I think) 1951 until the early 1970s. There's a photo of one of their single-deck buses on the SCRAN website; a rather dilapidated Albion.

Alex Glass

Don't tell Glasgow Ken

He will not be happy to hear about a dilapidated bus.

neilmc

I've just checked the photo on the SCRAN site again (can't reproduce it here - copyright issues). It's an Albion Viking 6 (cylinder engine). It's described therein as 'sorry-looking' but on a second look it wasn't that bad. McQuatter is mis-spelt as 'McQuerter'; that site needs a lot of corrections made.

As a lorry lover as opposed to a bus enthusiast I was hoping there would be a photo of some of their trucks - nothing. I just wonder how they got in and out of their yard before the existence of Woodhead Road; I'm sure Salterland Road wasn't particularly suitable for heavy vehicles.

Alex Glass

They could be doing with letting go a bit as well.

I was talking to fourbytwo from the other site today. He has many memories of the area and had a few stories to tell.

Suggested that some of the older residents from the Craigbank area would have been a great source of some oral history of the area. Shame it is a bit late to do anything along these lines to develop the history of the area.

AlanM

neilmc

Thing is Alan, you could be there all day. As I said, my main interest is in lorries and Scottish Hauliers, and almost every caption needed corrected in the ones I've so far looked at - and that's quite a few!

AlanM

send them enough and they'll offer you a job

neilmc

Alex Glass

On a late night trawl I came across these little gems.

Nitshill Fire Station

Nitshill Road

james73

Superb stuff, beyond words, Alex...

James H

Alex Glass

I thought it was mentioned here before but it must have been somewhere else.

The Darnley Fire Station was located at the bottom of Parkhouse Road across from the Darnley Hospital. To the left is the old Darnley Mill (where Ashoka is)

Neil first brought this to my attention and took a recent photo from the rear of the site where it use to be located.

neilmc

What a great find, Alex!

The first two photos were obviously taken from Nitshill Road, and the next two, showing the fire station from the rear, were taken from Parkhouse Road; in the 4th photo you can just see the main entrance to the old Darnley Hospital in the background on the left of the photo.

That last photo has me stumped (for now!). If it is Nitshill Road, I'm guessing it's somewhere along towards the Jenny Lind; is that the tramline across the road behind the low hedge? It looks as if it was taken from an upstairs window, so I'll check some old maps in work during the week to see if I can find anything.

HollowHorn

Never seen those before, Alex, great stuff.

Scary

Great pics Alex

The Nitshill road one looks like the old Cowglen road pre Pollok Centre.

Alex Glass

The 4th photo will have been at Jenny Lind as they all appear on the
East Renfrewshire site

They can be found under the Thornliebank section.

I think this must be a new addition to their site. When I did a search previously for Darnley Fire Station this site never appeared.

neilmc

scallopboy

Brilliant stuff all those concerned, really interesting to see everything.

Alex Glass

I have just received a few aerial photos taken in 1974 of the Pollok/Corkerhill/Chrookston/Mosspark area.

If I can get them scanned I will post them up but it may be after the New Year.

Also included with the photos were some old photocopies of old maps and a bit of research. I will retype the research papers and post them at some point.

Thanks Neil for your help locating the Nitshill Road photo.

One of the old maps of the area from the stuff above had the old Fire Station on it and Cleeves Road hadn't been built. I don't know when it is from but as it came with the other stuff I assume it is related with the photos.

Any ideas?

udrigle · nitshill road cottages

The 2 cottages survived up until the mid eighties i think, my younger brother was at school with one of the lads who lived in them. I might have an old photo which shows them and will try and dig it out.

johnmcn

I remember those cottages,think they got knocked down when work started on the m77/B&Q warehouse.
We used to walk up the old road between them to watch the radio controlled airplane enthusiasts on Sundays and then walk along the old disused railway line behind the fields to pick apples.

Alex Glass · Re: nitshill road cottages

johnmcn

It was my dad who told me it was an old railway line,you could feel the bumps where the sleepers where as you walked along the 'path' which was lined with trees on both sides so kinda makes sense..

It was a couple of fields in from the Nitshill rd,bit hard to figure it out on google maps but if you at a line of trees behind B&Q you can see such a path lined with trees either side,not sure if ti's that one or not..If it has apple trees that would be the one,i remember my dad making jam with some of the ones we picked.
link to google map position here

james73

johnmcn

Yep quite possibly,when walking to Rouken glen park through Arden and Canrwadric there was a similar path with trees on both sides that ran up to the industrial estate...

Bit of guess work here but if it continued up to where i remember it may have crossed over Deaconsbank...

Does that make sense to anyone ?

neilmc

johnmcn

LOL well i couldn't have been more wrong then ;D

neilmc

See my edit, John!

johnmcn

Yeahhhh!!!

I got something right anyway..

Alex Glass · Hurlet Alum Works

Thanks to Neil for the map of the location for the Hurlet Alum Works which appears on page 6 of this thread. Hope you don't mind I have copied it and posted it here so that these drawings can be put in context.

Extract from "Chemistry, Society and Environment: A New History of the British Chemical ... By Colin Archibald Russell"

"The earliest alum works of considerable size was that started by Charles Macintosh at Hurlet near Paisley in Scotland in 1797. Under tge name of Macintosh Knox & Co. the works increased in size ntil 1805 when a second works was set up at Campsie near Glasgow. The combined operation, known as the Hurlet and Campsie Alum Co. was the largest alum works in the United Kingdom. They also made copperas, prussiates and Prussian Blue. After 1880 the firm concentrated on the manufacture of Cyanides for the MacArthur gold extraction process, finally closed down during the First World War."

Hurlet Alum Works location

Hurlet Alum Works

Hurlet Alum Works Setting Tanks

neilmc

Of course you're welcome to reproduce any of my stuff, and an interesting wee article on the Hurlet Alum Works. I'm guessing that the settling tanks were situated where the shops on Barrhead Road at Crookston Road are now; on the map, that rectangular feature which is divided into six 'compartments'.

On a different subject, but less than a mile from the Hurlet, here's a photo from my family album of some distant relatives. It was taken at the very top of Househillmuir Road, and I'm only posting it here because you can see the back of the shops on Nitshill Road at the top of Peat Road, circa 1965:-

Alex Glass

That is a great photo Neil.

Do you have any others of that area?

neilmc

My mother's got a Rover Assorted biscuit tin full of family photos; I'll have to go through them for interesting backdrops.

Alex Glass

Nice one Neil. Hope you find something interesting.

I am working on a few things just now but promise to post up more housing photos soon.

Len Scaps · Re: South Nitshill circa 1995

Alex Glass

Hi Len Scaps

Welcome to Urban Glasgow.

I still lived in South Nitshill till 1994. It had started going down hill just before then and was becoming a very unpleasant place to live and being up your kids.

Where did you live? I was in Whitscres Road.

Would be interested to hear more about what you thought about the area at that time.

Len Scaps

Hi Alex, I never lived there, but even in passing I can't say I was ever over-enamoured with the place, but the shops were handy lol

HollowHorn

Progress Report No.2 (1948)
A Glasgow Corporation film about housing developments.

Moving to Pollok

Pollok Amenities

A New Home

Alex Glass

Thanks for these films HH I will get a look at them later. Can't view at the moment.

LS

Were you there for long?

Unh@ppyb@st@rd

was a great view from South Nitshill, shame i wasn't into photography then

Alex Glass

The view is still there UHB. The landscape may have altered slightly but there is still a great view.

Unh@ppyb@st@rd

yeah but the houses were 3 or 4 high and m8 lived at top

Alex Glass

There are new flats on the corner of what was Parkhouse Road/Path.

I think they are 5 high

Nitshill and Surrounding Area

Some old Nitshill Personalities

Some Notes on Old Nitshill

Victoria Mine Disaster

John Meikle VC MM

Priesthill circa 1995

Crookston Castle

South Nitshill circa 1995

nitshill road cottages

Re: nitshill road cottages

Hurlet Alum Works

Re: South Nitshill circa 1995