Springburn
| Springburn | |
|---|---|
| Population | 14,863 (2004) |
| • Edinburgh | Template:Mi to km |
| • London | 403 miles (649 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area |
|
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Glasgow |
| Postcode district | G21 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Springburn is a semi-suburban (partly urban) area in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working- and middle-class households.
Springburn developed from a small hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. By the mid-century, an influx of tradesmen enlarged the village, and with the arrival of the railway the village became a parish in its own right.
It has a strong historical link to heavy industry, particularly railways, with the manufacturing of locomotives. In the past, Springburn produced 25% of all the trains in the world, thanks to its many train workshops.
These included the North British Railway's Cowlairs Works, Neilson and Company's Hyde Park Works, Sharp Stewart and Company's Atlas Works and the Caledonian Railway's St. Rollox Works. Later it became the headquarters of the amalgamated North British Locomotive Company. Also in Springburn was Eastfield Running Shed, built by the North British Railway near Cowlairs. St. Rollox became the largest works, and is the only one still in operation today. In 2007 Railcare limited, who also own the Wolverton Railway Works site in Milton Keynes, took over operations at St. Rollox. After a significant refurbishment programme, the site currently operates as a Rolling stock repair and maintenance facility. Another major industrial company operating in Springburn is Cape Industrial at the Germiston Works on Petershill Road.
The highest point in Springburn and of the City of Glasgow is it's famous park on Balgrayhill, 364 feet above sea level. Springburn Park was opened by Glasgow Corporation in 1892. James Reid, a business colleague of locomotive manufacturer Walter Neilson, gifted a bandstand, built by the Saracen Foundry, to the park in 1893. His son Hugh Reid of the Hyde Park Works also gifted land for the park to be extended in 1900. It was at this time that Glasgow Corporation funded the construction of the Park's spectacular Winter Gardens, in return for a £12,000 gift from Hugh Reid of the Hyde Park Works to build a Public Hall in Springburn, both buildings however are currently derelict. A statue in honour of Sir James Reid was erected in the park in 1903. Stobhill Hospital was later built adjacent to the park in 1904. Cowlairs F.C. were a founder member of the Scottish Football League in 1890 but were bankrupt by 1896. Petershill F.C. was founded in 1897 and continues to play today at New Petershill Park, a modern stadium with a 2000 capacity, including a 562 all seated stand.
The old suburb of Springburn was heavily affected by the redevelopment of the area in the 1960s. Selected as one of Glasgow's "Comprehensive Development Areas", Springburn saw the construction of a sequence of housing estates and a major dual carriageway, the A803 road (originally designed to be the northern link to the aborted Glasgow Inner Ring Road) which transformed the area completely. The handful of Victorian villas which remain around Balgrayhill gives only a glimpse of what had gone before. The vision remained incomplete, and by the mid-1970s Springburn had become one of Glasgow's most notorious areas, exacerbated by decaying housing. Since then, there has however been a degree of regeneration in the area. In Springburn there are various suburban middle class areas such as Forest Hall, Fernbank and Colston, which were largely unaffected by the revelopment. The area also incorporates housing schemes that were developed in the Interwar period, such as Balornock and also Post-war housing schemes such as those in Balgrayhill, Barmulloch and Sighthill.
More recently the area of Keppochill Road, which links Springburn with Possilpark, has been regenerated through the work of the West of Scotland Housing Association Ltd, many of the tenement flats in Gourlay Street, Carlisle Street and of course Keppochill Road have been renovated and work continues to maintain and improve housing in the area. A new build development in recent years has seen old Glasgow City Council flats demolished and new modern low rise houses built in the area. West of Scotland housing Association now has a head office based at 252 Keppochill Road however the interest of the charitable organisation extends into Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. The most notable architectural feature in this area, the former Public Hall, was opened in 1902 and designed by William B Whitie, who also designed Springburn's public library. Since closing in the mid-1980s, the building has however fallen into a state of dereliction.
Springburn is served by Springburn railway station and Barnhill railway station, offering regular commuter services on the North Clyde and Cumbernauld lines of the Glasgow suburban rail network. The area is also served by numerous bus routes.
Many people from Springburn have left their mark on the world, some of more the famous being Scottish International footballer James McFadden, singer Sydney MacEwan, broadcasters and writers Tom Weir and his sister Molly, the railway author John Thomas, and the politician John McAllion.
Springburn's former MP, Michael Martin, was the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2000 to 2009. In July 2009,Tommy Sheridan has said he will stand for the North East Glasgow MP job. Sheridan has stated he will put his name forward in September 2009.
References
- Lowe, J.W., (1989) British Steam Locomotive Builders, Guild Publishing
- Thomas, John, (1964) The Springburn Story: The History of the Scottish Railway Metropolis, David & Charles
- Weir, M., (1970) Shoes Were For Sunday, Hutchinson
- Williamson, Elizabeth, et al. (1990) The Buildings of Scotland: Glasgow, Penguin