13% growth of population from Medieval to start of industrial revolution period.
Townhead Townhead has no fixed boundaries. In ancient times it was the undeveloped area north of the cathedral and town. Taking in historic landmarks such as Glasgow Cathedral and Provand’s Lordship, Townhead is one of the oldest parts of the city. It is also where St Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow, built his church on the banks of the Molendinar Burn. The oldest part of Townhead, and Glasgow, is the Glasgow Cathedral. Figure 1 The city's ancient cathedral is dedicated to Glasgow's patron saint, St Mungo (or Kentigern) who established a church on the site at the beginning of the 7th century and was buried there around the year 612. The present structure was built in the 12th and 13th centuries over a long number of years and is Glasgow's best example of the intricacies of mediaeval architecture. The cathedral was consecrated on 6th July 1197, during Bishop Joceline's term in office.
Figure 3 The house was later occupied by the Lord of the Prebend (or "Provand") of Barlanark, giving it its name. The martyrdom of the Covenanters took place in the modern area called Townhead. The northern part of Castle Street was the town limits beyond which was called the "Howgait". Howgait was the scene of public hangings and used until 1781, when they moved to Glasgow Green. The area is now mainly taken up by Junction 15 of the M8.
Figure 2 It replaced an earlier cathedral church which originated in 1124, when Bishop John Achaius began work on a small place of worship built of stone and wood which was solemnly dedicated to its patron, St. Mungo. Provand's Lordship was built in 1471 as part of St Nicholas's Hospital by Andrew Muirhead, Bishop of Glasgow. The Muirhead coat of arms is still visible on the side of the building. Provand's Lordship was likely used to house clergy and other support staff for the Cathedral, providing temporary housing.
Figure 4
High Street Medieval Glasgow from its beginnings in 1119 with the building of the Cathedral on the site of St Kentigern’s first church, to becoming the seat of an archbishopric in 1492 has stirred considerable interest. Glasgow’s Medieval ecclesiastical centre had an important economic impact on the development of the town. When a charter was issued by William the Lion, between 1175 and 1178, giving Glasgow the status of burgh. Figure 5 This gave rights it endowed to the burgesses of the city to own land, to trade and hold an annual fair led to the expansion of the town towards the Cathedral. Glasgow by the 15th century had become a thriving town second only to St Andrew’s in ecclesiastical importance. The medieval landscape of buildings such as the Bishops Castle and the College, which dominated the High Street for hundreds of years, now lie hidden beneath Glasgow’s Victorian architecture and new developments.
Figure 6 Surviving Medieval Features • Glasgow Cathedral • Provands Lordship • Castle Street • Saltmarket • Steeple • Trongate
Figure 7 Some Lost Features • Blackadders Hospital • Molendinar Burn • University of Glasgow • Huntarian Museum • Greyfriars and Blackfriers Wynd • Tollbooth Figure 8
Glasgow Cathedral
Figure 9 The original church building on the site may well have been a simple church built from timber, however as the importance of St Kentigern grew as a cult figure, more pilgrims were attracted to the site. As visitors flocked to the church, with them grew a large religious community, who built many buildings which served the needs of the pilgrims and clerics. The 12th century cathedral would have been built from stone and development of the site as a cathedral continued throughout the next century. The great church we see today, largely dates from the 13th century.
The first church at Glasgow on the site of the cathedral may have been founded by Saint Kentigern, also known as St Mungo, at the place where Saint Ninian had consecrated a cemetery and St Fergus was reputed to have been buried. Associations with these early Celtic saints of the 6th and 7th centuries cannot now be substantiated but we do know that a church was founded in Glasgow in 1136 on this site, blessed in the presence of David I.
Figure 10 Provands Lordship The building’s name derives from its use as the manse belonging to the clergy of Barlanark or Provan, but it is believed to have been built as a manse for the hospital of St Nicholas. The hospital, which lay to the side of Provand’s Lordship and today is roughly in the same place as the Barony Hall.
Figure 11 It was erected sometime around 1471, with accommodation for twelve poor men and was presided over by a priest. Today the manse is known as Provand’s Lordship which was built about 1471, by Andrew Muirhead (Bishop of Glasgow from 1455-73), whose Coat of Arms can be seen on the southside of the building. Castle Street was in existence from the time of the Bishop’s Castle, the castle was eventually removed and the street widened in around 1778.
Figure 12
Saltmarket
Figure 13 The commercial medieval centre of the town was however to develop along the Saltmarket, Trongate, Gallowgate and the High Street. From the late 12 century, after Burgh status had been granted, the development of the town had been planned and laid out. Burgage plots had developed along the main streets, these were strips of land rented out to the important middle class burgesses of the town, who had houses fronting onto the main streets. Booths or early shops, were situated on the lower halves of these houses with living accommodation above.
Figure 15 The candle makers of the burgh were th moved to what we know of today as Candleriggs, which in the 17 century was set outside the main area of the burgh. They were blamed for causing several great fires in the town. In 1652 , a third of the town had been destroyed, by the fire, eighty closes which ran between the houses were destroyed and over one thousand families made homeless. Until late in the medieval period, the majority of the houses and cottages were made of wood and thatch, contrasting with the mainly stone built ecclesiastical centre of the burgh.
South of the Cross, the Saltmarket extended to the Briggait (the road to the bridge). Since the twelth century, Glasgow had been evolving into almost two towns; in the north of the town lay the ecclesiastical centre, while in the south around the Cross and the Saltmarket, Glasgow’s mercantile centre expanded. The town had received Burgh status in 1175, this gave certain trading rights to the townspeople, allowing them to hold an annual fair and a weekly market. Before this any trading would have been carried out near to the cathedral.
Figure 14 Behind these frontages, along narrow vennels or wynds, lay other houses and buildings, which housed the craftsmen of the town. There were many crafts that grew with the rising prosperity of the town, this reflected the town’s importance and the skills of the craftsmen. Incorporation of the crafts came in the 16th century and their rising importance and influence on the development of the town, can be seen as these guilds were able to license and set standards within their own trades. Tanners, skinners, fullers, waulkers, weavers and fleshers are among the trades that grew up within the burgh.
Figure 16
High Street Tollbooth and Steeple Little information is available about the earliest of Glasgow’s tolbooths, which lay at the northwest corner of the modern High Street and Trongate. A 12 century burgh may well have been expected to have a centre of civil administration, but until 1454 there are no surviving records of its early medieval history.
Figure 17 Trongate To the south side of St Thenew’s Gate, or ‘Tron Gait’, lay the first location of this large weighing mechanism. A charter of 1490, granted the right of the burgh to have this public weighing beam, which served to regulate duty on traders in terms of measures and weights. The site of the beam was located in various places along the Trongate but situated near to the Glasgow Cross and its marketplace. Blackadder Hospital The Blackadder hospital was founded in 1524 by Roland Blackader, sub dean of Glasgow Cathedral and nephew of Robert Blackader, the first Archbishop of Glasgow. The hospital ‘ for the support of the poor and indigent coming into the city’, lay to the north of the Stable Green Port on the corner of Dobbies Loan and was to have six beds with a keeper appointed by the master of the hospital. The hospital continued even after the
Figure 18 Reformation because of its charitable status. By 1605, the crafts of Glasgow had acquired the property through Thomas Cloggie, but the hospital had become ‘rwynit and decayit’. The proposal of the crafts to restore the hospital for use of poor craftsmen, didn’t come about, preferring the site of the Parson of Morebattles Manse to build the new hospital which adjoined the hospital of St Nicholas. By 1610 Blackadder Hospital had been fued out.
High Street Molendinar Burn
Figure 19
The Molendinar Burn was central to the development of the early medieval town. Up until the 17 century the burn was an essential water supply to the townspeople encouraging trade and commerce. Mills were situated along the Molendinar, the textile and craft industries used the water sources in the preparation of their goods and the town grew up around the burn.
The growth of the town eastwards was prevented as the need for a good water supply was essential to the life of the burgh. Today the Molendinar has been absorbed into the landscape, and can only just be seen along Duke Street.
Figure 20 College/University of Glasgow
Figure 21
In 1451 Glasgow University was founded by Pope Nicholas V, modelled on the University of Bologna, with a faculty of arts, divinity, law and medicine. Initially the arts faculty of the university had been held at the old pedagogy on Rottenrow and the main teaching was done in the Dominicans chapter house. By 1467, a tenement on the high street used by the Dominicans along with other houses and lands was given over to the university by its then owner the 1 Lord Hamilton.
Further grants of land to the north of the university, by Sir Thomas Arthurlie gave the university land that ran from the Molendinar to the High Street. Little else is known about the university until a grant is made by Mary Queen of Scots of the ‘manses and Kirk rowme’, of the Dominican friars and thirteen acres of land, for the purpose of making ‘ane parte of the scholes and chamlmeris being biggit’. Figure 22
13% growth of population from Medieval to start of industrial revolution period.
Figure 23
Figure 24
Figure 25
Merchant City The Glasgow trading merchants gained access into the English colonies from the treaty of union between England and Scotland in 1707. Glasgow is positioned in the River Clyde where the trade winds benefit the Glasgow ports and merchants to a two to three week over other ports in Britain. In 1740 trading from Glasgow were very successful developing trade links which related in being a part of the Atlantic trade triangle. Glasgow was one of the main trade ports in Europe within the Atlantic trade triangle between Africa and America. In the Mid eighteenth century, the major materials that were traded were Tobacco, Sugar, Rum and slaves. Glasgow bears testimony to the most successful Tobacco lords such as Glassford, Buchannan, Ingram, Oswald, Virginia and many more which are celebrate under street names within Glasgow city centre. Many of the tobacco lord were very wealthy which allowed them to build mansions and bought large estate in the surrounding country side. Some of the most common buildings that still stand today that were involved in trading and depending on slave workers involvement were the Stirling’s and Cunninghame’s whose mansion is now the GoMA Building.
Ken-hengram was a wealthy Glasgow tobacco tycoon who made his fortune through the triangular slave trade. It was bought by the royal bank of Scotland in 1817 and later moved to buchanan street; It later became the royal exchange. From 1827 to 1832, David Hamilton rebuilt the use and added many additions to the building, including the Corinthian column on the facade of queen street, the dome above, and the great hall behind the old house. In 1954, the Glasgow area library moved the Stirling library into the building. When the library returned to miller street, the building was renovated to house the city’s contemporary art collection.
Figure 26 Retail
Figure 27 Gallery of Modern Art The modern art gallery opened in 1996, housed in a neo-classical building in the royal exchange square in downtown Glasgow. The 1778 townhouse was built by William Kirkham
The map below is from 1778 era which has a highlighted area showing the main retail streets which consisted of home-grown stores and stalls. The reason behind High Street and Glasgow Cross being the heart of Glasgow in the 1778 was for there being on one main access in in and out to the East of Glasgow for there being burns running from the South East to the North East. In the Mercantile period the retail district ran from the North of High street to the south of Saltmarket which created the spine of Glasgow’s heritage. This spine spills into Glasgow cross and the start of the Merchant city area which housed the wealthy traders that got their trades from the ports that supplied Glasgow Cross, Saltmarket, High Street shops and stalls.
Industrial Revolution 1760 – 1840 • 150,000 to 275,000 population. • In the time period the population grow by 12%.
Tobacco Trade There were two main reasons that destroyed the tobacco trade which first started with the American revolution in 1775 as no cargo could be shipped to and from America as it was to hostile. From this America cut out the Glasgow merchant as they didn’t need a middleman anymore.
Figure 28 The second reason that destroyed the tobacco trade was in the late 18th century took a hit with the anti-slavery movement influencing the world which was backed up with serval members of Glasgow university to abolish slavery. Most tobacco lord that tried to diversify into another investment such as cotton and linen. The benefits what tobacco provided was 50 years of major growth within the city of Glasgow. This follows up on Glasgow’s motto with ‘’The People Make Glasgow’’
Figure 29 Within the boundary area the mansion houses that are funded or built by Tobacco Lords are as follows; 1.William Cunninghame (GoMA Building – Still Standing) 2.Robert Findlay (Commercial Building – Still Standing) 3.St Andrews Parish Church (Funded by Tobacco Traders – Still Standing)
Figure 30 Within the boundary area the streets names that are named after Tobacco Loads are as follows; 1. John Glassford (Glassford Street) 2. Andrew Buchannan (Buchannan Street) 3. Archibald Ingram (Ingram Street) 4. James Oswald (Oswald Street) 5. Lord Alexander Speirs Virginia (Virginia Street) 6. James Dunlop (Dunlop Street)
Figure 31
University of Strathclyde 1796 saw the foundation of the Andersonian Institute, which is now Glasgow’s secondoldest university. The university was founded by a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow at the time, John Anderson. He ensured to leave instructions and the majority of his estate to create this second university in Glasgow which would focus on “A Place of Useful Learning”.
Figure 32 The institute would focus on specialising in practical subjects which were “for the good of mankind and the improvement of science “. The University later named its city centre campus after him. The Andersonian Library is the principal library of the University of Strathclyde. Established also in 1796, it is one of the largest of its type in Scotland.
Figure 33
Figure 34
Figure 35
Late Modern 1840 – 1945 • 275,000 to 1,100,000 population. • In the time period the population grow by 75%. • Had two major city expansions. • Hit its peak for highest population within the city.
Retail
From the 1865 map shows the expansion from the industrial revolution from the mercantile period which in turn illustrates the retail streets highlighted in red. The expansion didn’t affect the retail on High street and Glasgow Cross but added to it by bringing more foot fall to the area. The retail expansion makes sense as it need to follow the expansion direct of the population.
To the 1902 map show movement of transport come to Glasgow from the East and South, this was in the form of railways which took over High Street destroying the retail character frontage to the street on both sides. This railway expansion benefitted Glasgow trading and footfall as a whole but from this came the collapse of High Streets retail and frontage. The way the railway broke up the retail frontage on High Street was giving it a slow death by breaking through the middle which broke it into two halves. The top half of High Street that survived the railway movement was secluded off from the main retail streets highlighted in red. Following up from 1902 in 1938 there was also a railway to the south at Argyle Street call St Enoch Station that took over the joint between Argyle Street and Buchannan Street. From this station being built in 1876 and expanding around 1938 strangled the retail frontage at the corner Argyle and Buchannan Street nearly dividing the main retail streets into three. From High Street getting broken into two halves, High Street reconnected to another main retail street from the growth from the Merchant City markets that connected it to Ingram Street. This connection helped but didn’t restore what has already been taken.
Theatre The first cinema that was built in Glasgow was in 1857 on Trongate called Campbell’s Music Salon/ Britannia Panopticon which seated 800 people and 300 standing which was the only cinema in Glasgow until 1881 when St Enoch Picture Theatre was built. This added a unique building that was never seen before that was so close to Glasgow Cross and High Street. The Britannia was a grand colonnade frontage built from sandstone which made the area feel classier. Please refer to 1865 site map. From Britannia Panopticon Music Hall came the flood of cine variations across Glasgow’s Argyle Street and union Street which were City Picture House, Classic Grand, Vaudeville Picture House, St Enoch Picture Theatre and Cranston’s Cinema De Luxe. These new Cinemas that came after followed the high level of footfall within Glasgow which was either next to the train stations or in the main retail street. These new cine-variations came with luxury grand facades that made a statement to the street as powerful architectural pieces in themselves. The reason the cinemas were growing in numbers more west of High Street was there was no high level of public footfall within the street from the major development from the railway depot and rail yards destroying the public street frontage. Please refer to 1902 site map. Following up from 1902 in 1938 there was also a railway to the south at Argyle Street call St Enoch Station that took over the joint between Argyle Street and Buchannan Street. From this station being built in 1876 and expanding around 1938 strangled the retail frontage at the corner Argyle and Buchannan Street nearly dividing the main retail streets into three. From High Street getting broken into two halves, High Street reconnected to another main retail street from the growth from the Merchant City markets that connected it to Ingram Street. This connection helped but didn’t restore what has already been taken.
Glasgow Cross Opened in 1895 to 1964. This railway station was an underground station that was situated in the heart of Glasgow Cross island. The location of this station the centre of five point which were Trongate, High Street, Gallowgate, London Road and Saltmarket. The stations neighbouring buildings were Tron Steeple and tolbooth steeple and Mercat Cross. Figure 36 The original building that was location on the ground floor was a single storey building with a dome that was then demolisged around 1923 during the road improvement which was replaced with a squat block. The replacement building survived until 1977 when it was dismantled for the relaunch or Argyle Line in 1979, but Arglye line didnt open but was replaced by Argyle Street.
Glasgow St Enochs Station
Figure 38 The western frontage and its northern side were a large hotel opened in 1879 but closed in 1974. After the station closed in 1966 the station remained opened as a parcel depot, then the tracks were lifted which lead it to become a car park. The hotel that opened survived the closure for a short while. During the Demolishment of the station the stonework was used to fill in the Queens Dock in 1977. The station was sited were the St Enochs Shopping Centre is not sited which serves Argyle Street, Trongate and St Enochs Square.
Figure 37 Opened in 1876 to 1966. Opened on the City of Glasgow Union Railway. This was a Large Terminal that had 12 platforms and the main entrance was from St Enoch Square. It was originally built for cross city but became the main terminus, headquarters, of the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The station was covered by two large glazed train sheds which also had temporary terminus at Dunlop Street in 1870 – 1876. The construction of the platforms were as follows; platforms 1 to 3 were departures and 4 to 6 were arrivals.
Figure 39
Barrowlands Ballroom & Market
Figure 40 When they were not selling from the barrow, the hawkers would travel to the middle-class parts of town to source bundles of clothes and other goods. Once home they would wash and mend anything saleable. This system of bartering and street hawking served many social purposes: it gave the poor and unemployed a degree of respectability, preferable to begging or stealing, and it also served to clothe the majority of the poor.
The city’s east end has been a hotspot for brica-brac hunters since 1921. With the industrial expansion of Glasgow, and mass immigration from the Scottish Highlands, Ireland and elsewhere in Victorian times, the area became overcrowded. The swelling population of the lower working class needed somewhere to trade and make a living in the city. The Briggait was synonymous with the rag and second-hand clothes trade at that time.
Figure 41
Figure 42
It was from this background that Maggie McIver, later known as "The Barras Queen" was introduced to a way of life which was to become her destiny and affect the lives of thousands of people for generations to come. The original building of the Barrowlands Ballroom opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow's city centre. The Barrowlands building includes large street-level halls used for the weekend markets, with a sizeable weatherproof dance hall above.
The front of the building had a distinctive animated neon sign of a man holding a wheelbarrow which was then later removed during WW2 for fear of recognition from German planes, due to the notoriety of it in the area. William Joyce, known as Lord Haw Haw, who was a fascist propaganda politician based in Germany, repeatedly broadcast of its bombing. The original building of the Barrowlands was largely destroyed by fire in 1958. Following the fire this lead to a complete rebuild of the building in order to keep the historic venue alive. The only single item to survive the fire was the cartwheel from the original neon sign, which is now placed on the existing stairs. The rebuilt ballroom then opened again on Christmas Eve 1960.
Figure 43
M8 Motorway
Figure 44 In order to revive the city’s fortunes, the Corporation of the City of Glasgow came up with the idea for A Highway Plan for Glasgow. At the end of WW2, the quality of life in Glasgow was becoming increasingly bad. The rampant overcrowding and subpar living conditions needed to be fixed. The First planning report to the Highways Planning Committee of the Corporation of the City of Glasgow (1945) and the Clyde Valley Regional Plan (1946), also known as The Bruce Report, an inclusive plan for the redevelopment of Glasgow was written for the City Corporation of Glasgow.
Figure 46 As houses were constructed on the outer green belt of the city or in the New Cities of East Kilbride and Lanarkshire, families were being relocated and their old homes were being repaired or destroyed. This was known as the Glasgow Clearance. The Highway Plan for Glasgow took advantage of these clearances to place their new motorway. The new highway was designed to connect these relocated families back to the city centre, reduce traffic in the city, and account for the growing number of car ownership.
Following the two world wars, and their consequences, Glasgow began to suffer economic decline and competition from cheaper and more accessible foreign markets. The containerisation of the shipping industry during the mid-20th century moved operations further west along the Clyde. An outgoing investment began, and the city was left with the problem of a large, unemployed population.
Figure 45 These reports that detail the massive redevelopment of the entire city are most notably recognised as the concept for the Inner Ring Road (IRR). This was a plan for a motorway surrounding the city centre and was to act as a hub for the Outer Ring Roads that linked the surrounding area to the city centre. The first step in fixing Glasgow was to correct the living situation of the overcrowded city centre. 29 CDA’s were marked throughout the city (one of the being Townhead).
Figure 47
College Goods Yard/Glasgow High Street Goods Yard
Figure 48 The name High Street Goods didn’t immediately apply in 1907 but was used to distinguish it from College Goods just to the south. High Street Good opened in 1907 to 1982. The depot was developed on the site of the original good yard of the College terminus. The Glasgow City and District Railway was opened to the north of College Depot it cut through the southern part of the goods yard. The goods yard survived into the early 1980’s. Following closure the depot building was demolished but the boundary wall to Duke Street partly retained. The remaining wall to Duke Street was incorporated into a modern development.
College Goods opened in 1870 to 1907. This opened on the Coatbridge and Glasgow Branch (North British Railway). This was a large goods depot in Glasgow. The depot was located on the east side on High street which it opened in its final form in 1907 as part to improve the North British Railway. This provided goods facilities in the city which also involved the good bound for Sighthill goods at Cadder Marshalling Yard and Shettleston Yard.
Figure 49 Townhead St Mungo’s Church, on Parson Street was designed by architect George Goldie in 1869. The church is Italiante-Gothic in style. It is the birthplace of architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh, who also aided in the design of Martyr’s School in Townhead.
Figure 50 University/College of Glasgow In 1860 the university was moved to its present location in Gilmorehill.
Figure 51
Modern Day 1960 – 2018 • The population dropped to 620,000. • In this time period the population dropped by 56%. • In this time period two events happened such as local government districts introduced, and Unitary councils introduced.
Townhead By the early 1900s, Townhead had developed into a densely-populated, close-knit community, but, like many other workingclass areas of the day, it struggled with high levels of poverty and deprivation. In 1962 the decision was taken to make Townhead a Comprehensive Development Area to allow for the construction of the M8 and the expansion of Strathclyde University. A great number of streets, and ancient road layouts, including the legendary kilometre-long Parliamentary Road, vanished in the process. Within just a decade of the CDA declaration, an area once teeming with young working families and vital industry had been replaced with a construction site and a massive motorway interchange.
Figure 53 The former Martyrs’ Church building, moved to its current location in 1975 and then closed by members vote in 2011, contained until September 2013 the Martyrs stone, which details the executions in 1684 of James Nisbet (a farmer from Louden Parish in Ayrshire), James Lawson and Alex Wood. The stone, which originally stood in front of Townhead library, along with a large part of the once densely packed Townhead, was demolished to make way for the M8 motorway. The stone can now be found in the church wall of “The Evangelical Church” which is at the South East side of Cathedral square. Martyrs church also contained the “Martyrs church bell”, which was preserved from the old Martyrs West church building until 2013 at which point, finding no new home, the bell was melted.
Figure 52 The population of Townhead by the end of the 20th century was around 8,000, less than half the number of people who had lived there a generation before. New multi-storey housing in tower blocks replaced the slum tenements, whilst others were moved to new estates on the outer fringes of the city. As a result, very few of the original tenements in Townhead have survived. The southern reaches of the area were cleared to make way for the burgeoning campus of the newly established University of Strathclyde, where can be found the famous and oldest of Townhead’s streets – Rottenrow. It was from this high vantage point that St. Mungo could see, south, down to the River Clyde and be forewarned of the approach of any hostile people. Rottenrow was also home to the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital. This hospital is now demolished and replaced by a garden.
Figure 54
Financial District Glasgow’s financial district was built up in the 1980 as it was the start of modern office blocks and high-rise developments which have opened the gates to large companies opening their headquarters within the IFSD (International Financial Services Distract). The financial district is nicknamed the contemporary ‘’Square Kilometre’’ or ‘’Wall Street on Clyde’’ which house major companies such as Glasgow Stock Exchange, BT Group and many banks like Lloyds TSB, Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland.
Figure 55
Figure 56
Figure 57
Theatre From 1857 to 2018 there has been 22 Theatres showcasing in all cinevariety. The most recent cinema to be built is Cineworld which is currently located in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street that is now the largest cinema that opened in 2001 and is the tallest cinema in the world that seats 4300 in over 18 screens. Currently in 2018 there is only a one cinema left which are now located within one of the three main retail streets and sandwiched between two large shopping centres where all the footfall flows within the Glasgow. All the previous cine-variations that were in Glasgow now have shut down or been destroyed due to the transport development and re-development act. Please refer to 2018 site map.
Figure 58
Retail From the late 19th century to the present day the retail district has been broken up into three defining streets, as the high street and merchant city have either been left in the darkness of the past and been destroyed by the new age that brought transport. The three main streets that are now classed as main retail streets in the present day are Argyle street running parallel with the River Clyde, Sauchiehall Street running from Mitchell Library to Buchannan Galleries, and Buchannan Street which connects both Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street. Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street and Buchannan Street these three main streets also have large shopping centres sited within them such as St Enoch Centre, Buchannan Galleries and Savoy Market. These three main streets and shopping centres attached take away from any hope that high street has to bring into the street with how bad its been destroyed by previous developments. When 2018 map is compared to 1938 map there is a massive change in retail with St Enochs Station being demolished to now being a shopping centre and Buchannan Galleries shopping centre opening to the north of Buchannan Street.
Theses shopping centres attract all the footfall in Glasgow to the north and south of Buchannan Street which takes away from High Street. From studying the previous maps, the redevelopment themes that destroyed High Street looks like it might happen to the historical connect that joined Glasgow Cross to the Barras as there is now a large gap growing. Please refer to 2018 site map.
Figure 59
University of Strathclyde By 1956 the university had plans of expansion and by early 1960s the Students Union, James Weir and Thomas Graham buildings were constructed. The Royal College gained University Status, receiving its Royal Charter to become The University of Strathclyde in 1964, merging with the Scottish College of Commerce at the same time. The University of Strathclyde was the UK’s first technological university reflecting its history, teaching and research in technological education.
Figure 60
SWOT Analysis Strengths - One of the oldest streets in Glasgow and therefore has so many historic landmarks and substance that nowhere else in Glasgow can match - Many of the buildings are historic reminders of High Street’s past importance of serving as a connection between upper and lower Glasgow. This strong north-south connection can still be seen today and is highlighted by buildings such as Glasgow Cathedral and the Tolbooth Steeple. - The street has become attractive to students due to being close by to the University of Strathclyde and the city of Glasgow college. Many students live in the student accommodation along high street and will use the nearby shops and bars. This would suggest that high street is benefiting from this particular demographic. - High street train station is a crucial transport link in the area and makes travelling to and from high street very convenient.
Weaknesses - High street is full of unoccupied and boarded up shops as the popularity of Buchannan street for shopping has dwarfed high street as it lacks the shops and services that usually attract visitors. - There are a number of gap sites along the street which show that the street is not getting enough foot traffic to stay relevant. - As many of the buildings along high street are listed, it is difficult to bring them up to a standard of living quality that people would expect from modern accommodation. - High street almost acts as a spine between the east and west of Glasgow, however, its connection to the west is much stronger than its connection to the east. As the streets to the west are more developed, this drives foot traffic to the west and away from the east of Glasgow. - There are plenty of plans, ideas and projects to improve high street but there is a lack of an overarching strategy. There isn’t much more than the idea of transforming the street into a historic hub which won’t be enough to improve the conditions of the street. There needs to be plans for the area that satisfy and fix as many problems as possible.
Opportunities
Threats
- High street should make use of the historic buildings and the rich history that it has. The proposal to turn the street into a historic mile seems to appeal to the public and will help to contribute to the improvement of the condition of the street.
- New developments to the area are important but they must be respectful to the existing urban fabric. If the idea is to have high street’s historical past as the main attraction to the area then the new developments must respect the existing historic buildings and not try to compete or overshadow them.
- The gap sites provide opportunities for future developments along the street. - A permeant way to attract people to the street would be to provide good quality housing that attracts a large demographic. This could even encourage more businesses to move into the area if there is a higher chance of regular footfall.
- There needs to be a careful mixture of old and new and while there has to be some sort of rules when it comes to designing new developments, they still need to be something that is encouraged. - Dedicating an entire block to one development could be damaging as it makes the block less flexible and harder to adapt as time goes on. - Introducing too many developments that are trying to do the same thing at the same time could quickly oversaturate the market. - The pollution from the traffic can erode the buildings and can be harmful to the people living there and walking the streets.
Conclusion From going through the site maps from Medieval times to Modern Day highlights the significant changes that the whole of Glasgow, and more specifically High Street, has went through. The major loses that High Street suffered were within the Industrial Revolution to Late Modern Period which can be identified with the introduction of transport to Glasgow. The transport infrastructure that destroyed Glasgow and High Street was St Enoch Railway Station, High Street Station, High Street Goods Yard, College Goods Yard & Glasgow Cross. The space required to erect the railway infrastructure destroyed much of Glasgow’s heritage from High Street to St Enoch’s Square. This resulted in the loss of many magnificent buildings and areas. If transport didn’t rule over Glasgow as much as it did, Glasgow would be a very different city from what it is today. It would still have the impressive facades and heritage dating back to 1451. As High Street stands, it is broken and scattered from the past. It now acts as a barrier to the edge of the city instead of being the spine. There is much work to be done on and around High Street to re-establish it as the centre of the city.
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