Old Glasgow Has Gone

It's a rather sad fact, but of all the buildings shown on John McArthur's 1778 map of Glasgow, only a handful remain today. Survivors include Glasgow Cathedral, Provand's Lordship - the oldest house in Glasgow, St Andrew's in the Square church, St Andrew's by-the-Green church, the Tron Steeple in the Trongate, Tolbooth Steeple at The Cross, Briggait Steeple (we must have been good at building steeples in the old days!), and that's probably about it.
Most of the old city of Glasgow has gone, been demolished and swept away in any number of events in the city's past, often in a blinkered blanket manner where one goal was to be achieved with no thought whatsoever to the city's heritage or appearance.
Glasgow has probably been a victim of its own success as Second City of the great British Empire. During the Industrial Revolution the city grew to become a veritable hive of industry, a powerhouse that attracted men and women from the Scottish Highlands and Ireland who arrived to find work. Most probably did find work, but the big problem was that Glasgow did not have the facilities to house them. A pretty good demonstration of the alarming state of affairs can be seen in statistics from that period: the population grew from 77,385 in 1801 to 395,503 in 1861, a quite astonishing rise. There simply wasn't enough houses.
The result was many people packed into areas that were not built to contain them, overcrowding and insanitary conditions. Something had to be done.
Glasgow, under the City Improvement Trust, decided just to knock much of the city down, first in the 1870s then in the 1890s, and build better and more housing.
But it wasn't just housing. The arrival of the railways in the nineteenth century also saw huge areas of the city torn down to make way for passenger and goods stations and depots, as well as the railway lines themselves.
The result of all this demolition is, as I've said, that there is precious little actually left of old Glasgow. Even as late as the 1950s and 60s we were knocking down some of the finest architectural and historical structures without a second thought. And you do have to wonder at an unspoken policy that has been passed down from Victorian times where demolition seems to be the preferred option over good general maintenance and renovation.
For like it or not, this architectural vandalism of the city of Glasgow continues to this day, and even as I type some of the finest buildings and interiors in the country are being left to allow time and the elements to knock them down for us. Apathy and neglect are what is really destroying Glasgow's architectural heritage. Will we ever learn?

[@nialloconnell8417]

Thanks again for sharing. What a pity. I love Glasgow old. God bless Scotland. Kind regards Naill O'Connell Dundalk Ireland 🇨🇮🙏👍❤️

[@rebelwithoutapauseFE224]

thanks for this , I'm now 69 & spent the first 5 yrs of my life living in a ground floor "single end" (1 room) in a tenement in Well St. about 100 yrds East of the Barras , I remember my Dad on a Fri. tea time standing at the window chatting to his pals wearing only a shirt & tie as he waited on my Mother going round the corner to get his suit out of the pawn 🤣

[@Chris-uk4is]

Thanks for putting this together Ed. We have lost a lot over the years but we have retained our biggest asset…Glaswegians.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely. Thanks Chris.

[@JohnnysCafe_]

It has taken less than one Lifetime to see Glasgow change to a different place. Older people today will look back with fond memories of a time when everyone in the street knew everyone else and kids would walk into a friends house and play, mothers would think it nothing to run to a neighbour and borrow a cup of sugar or flour etc, there was a strong community spirit where most people were Glaswegian sharing the same culture, foods, and sports etc, people lived and grew together. Fast forward to today and it has become multicultural which has brought many benefits meeting interesting people and learning one another's cultures, but gone are the open doors kids ran in and out of, gone is the sharing community of the past, many people now dont know their neighbours, its a different world today.

[@Teenibash1969]

I worked in a shop on Union Street. 2 floors down was a basement door. When opened it I found myself in an old cobbled street with dusty shop fronts. There was very muffled noises from the trains above at Central Station. It was fascinating.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Wow! That sounds like it may have been part of the old village of Grahamston, as seen in one of the Glasgow Central Station tours.

[@vermeerofdelftscotlandwalk3294]

Very interesting old photos. Its always sad to see old buildings being replaced by modern blandness. Great video.👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks 👍

[@slydermartin6008]

Can't get enough of this series. The City I grew up in Massachusetts underwent "Urban Renewal" in the 60's and early 70's. It was more like an Architectural Holocaust and in it's place was built what we called "Soviet Era Neglect" much like the Saint James Center in Edinburgh with all the charm and inspiration of a common bureaucrat. If you've got more of these video's in you Ed keep them coming. Excellent job once again.

[@bonniebluebell5940]

There was true progress and then the road to perdition...the treachery and treason that has determined our fate. Now we are on the brink of total collapse in the West.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks. There are areas in Scotland where we can see the benefits of good general maintenance combined with renovation to allow a building to survive. Blanket demolition rarely produces a satisfying outcome.

[@moeszyslak7304]

It really is excellent. Ed does a fantastic job

[@raycroal]

the lights went down indeed

[@GunsOotNunsOot]

Bloody fascinating yet somewhat upsetting to see the modern, bland and uninspiring replacement buildings. Cheers Ed, great video as always 👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks James.

[@lynnthomason6589]

Very well done Eddy. This series is particularly interesting for me. My Grandfather was an avid amateur photographer. We recently found many of his cameras dating back to the early 1900s He lived to be 88 years, passing in the late 1970’s. The photos he took fill many boxes. I’m an old romantic about times past, with all their memories and treasures. Thanks for all the work on these videos. You’re the best. Lynn in Naples FL

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Lynn. We really have to appreciate the work of these early photographers, like your grandfather; often their photos were well composed and pin-sharp. Take care.

[@neverwise]

I'd love to see those photographs. Would you ever consider having them scanned and the images uploaded somewhere? Fascinating.

[@euanmarley7421]

i was born in the Gorbals, Matthieson Street, strictly speaking Hutcheson, though the whole area had originally been the Gorbals. We were moved to Castlemilk when I was two. My mother insisted that the best house she ever lived in was the one I was born in. It didn't have an internal toilet but there were plans to install one. One thing you might notice is how many photographs of the Southside were taken from the back of the houses. Few buildings look their best from the back, but the agenda was to stress the worse aspects of the areas, to justify the mass demolition. There was a lot needed to be be done in the area, but the missing factor was the complete disinterest in talking to the people about what they would like. My mother said that she was shocked when a delegation from the government came to her house. The decision to demolish had already been taken but this was the first time any of the delegation had visited the area. Thanks for the video.

[@EdExploresScotland]

You make some good points there. Thank you.

[@sarahdurham7830]

The Heart of the City has been ripped out of Glasgow, not just the Old Glasgow,, but Glasgow itself has been destroyed.

[@bernardinglis4232]

I was born in Abercrombie St Calton Glasgow 1969 ,we shared a toilet with 5 other family's, it needed destroyed

[@kyletopfer7818]

Let's not pretend that cities haven't always changed and been channeled in new ways.

[@johnmcdonald9295]

The Glaswegians have been replaced,the most common ,baby name now is Mohammad,and the Glasgow accent is also disappearing

[@wboyle9721]

Nothing lasts forever if mistakes were made in the past the city fathers must learn how to keep improving the city for the future

[@violetanndoherty6872]

Is this a video about Glasgow or Edinburgh ?

[@ElzevereBlock]

There were a group of people called Town Planners. Nobody knew who they were and still don't? They existed in every major city in Britain but never gave their names to any publicity. They tore down old but solid buildings and replaced them with slums that started falling to bits within ten years. I'm glad I'm old now as my city here in the south is indistinguishable from the city I was born in 70 years ago. Whole areas are modern slums filled with immigrants from far off countries who neither understand us and to be honest don't want to. The only thing we have here that the planners can't knock down are council estates that cannot be replaced. In fact, we have one giant estate that was built in 1948 onwards as a temporary area and those very same houses are still there today and are not made of one single brick. The city, my city, the same as Glasgow, has been desecrated by these unknown middle class liberals who have neither lived in the buildings they planned or will ever have visited them in their entire lives. No, they had no vision, no understanding of what a family needed and to this day they still don't? Highrise blocks are scattered throughout Glasgow and my city and are an eyesore to look at, a nightmare to live in and when the water runs down the walls at night, the Planners are nowhere to be seen. Don't ever, anyone, tell me that what this video showed and what was done to my city as well could ever in the farthest reaches of your mind.....................be called "Progress".

[@roddy2body]

Gon yersel! Beautifully wrote such conviction! Love your passion, I'm in partick/the Haugh.. it's just all student accommodation everywhere! Or new private flats.. the things I've heard from my mum about all the boats down the Clyde at new year blowin the horns - but that part of the Clyde was always busy am told.. All the best

[@saturn1returns]

Those people severed us from our history and heritage. It was part of the plan to weaken us.

[@paulineivison9973]

What a heart felt comment which resonated with me, an English woman born in 1946 who grew up in Manchester. There is no need for me to mention the utter devastation caused by town planners combined with immigration, you have said all that is necessary. Thank you.

[@neverwise]

Immigration has nothing to do with it and your comment about immigrants is bordering on xenophobia. Direct your anger towards who it belongs; the planners, developers, the council and greedy private landlords profiteering by partitioning buildings and buying up new builds to rent out.

[@noeonoohno4219]

You can sod off with the rubbish about immigrants. They didn't tear down the old buildings, our countrymen did.

[@stephenmckelvie2032]

When I left school at 15 in 1969, my first job was in York st. Just off the Broomielaw. Both sides of the clyde were ships as far as the eye could see. I remember the Victoria hotel in St. Enoch Sqr, right next to the subway. The building was black with the traffic exhaust soot, but the architecture was magnificent. They demolished it and replaced it with a glasshouse.

[@EdExploresScotland]

A glasshouse indeed.

[@GraemeCampbellMusic]

My Great Grandad's family (and a few generations before) lived in the Calton, around where the Barras is now, but during the 19th & early 20th Century. He moved to Possil, then on to Slamannan for work. I'm fascinated by how Glasgow used to be and love the old map overlays. Now when I walk around Glasgow myself, I've got a better idea of how it looked to them.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Graeme.

[@eileanvm]

Thankyou Eddy for this brilliantly put together video presentation. It breaks my heart really, the way this city has been treated by the city fathers. One branch of my family lived in the Calton area at the turn of the century, who worked as weavers, and worked in Templeton's Factory I believe. I am always checking the faces in those pictures of Calton's population to see if I recognise a face. I spent much of my childhood living in Townhead, near the Glasgow Cathedral, and have so many memories of old Glasgow, ( although not OLD Glasgow ). I only found out recently that the tenements we lived in at Townhead had been built a whole century before we moved in! Probably built for the workers in that highly industrialised part of the city at that time. My parents bought the room and kitchen flat, believe it or not, for the massive sum of £50 in around 1960. When we left there, thanks to the bulldozers, we came to the leafy west end of the city, and although Townhead was physically no more, I left a part of my heart there. I hope you are planning on making more films about Glasgow.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks for that. A lot of the Townhead area is now dominated by motorways and junctions. One of the videos I made was about Templetons carpet factory. It's on here somewhere. Take care.

[@user-uc4vy8fh1o]

Thank You, Ed, for all your insight and help. I indeed was able to arrive in Glasgow on Sept. 29 to spend all day the 30th touring my ancestral Anderson land of Stobcross House. I enjoyed every minute of my stay at the hotel at the corner of the central train station before leaving for the Scotland tour the morning of Oct. 1 from the train station north of the Glasgow government plaza. Your help was instrumental in making this decades-long goal of mine to come true, to visit the documented immigrant ancestor's land. Yes, it has dramatically changed, with the house removed in 1875, yet your guidance to the history by map and articles were excellent. I deeply appreciate the time you devoted for my cause. I returned home after my 29-day tour of Europe on Tuesday, Oct. 24. I am thrilled that I was able to add the Glasgow time to visit Stobcross Road and to stand in the general area of the old house north of the HYDRO event center according to your split-image map you sent comparing the old map with today's Google Maps. That was superb! Thank you again. I will share my findings with my Anderson cousins who will appreciate your help as well. Thanks also for preserving history through your KZbin efforts. Well Done, Sir!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Roy.

[@user-uc4vy8fh1o]

I enjoyed visiting Glasgow Cathedral. As I walked by near the entrance, a guide was explaining that the old Lord Provosts of Glasgow were buried within a few feet across the sidewalk and I just had to raise my hand and say, "I am descended from two of them, John Anderson Sr. and his son John Jr., in the 1500s and 1600s." He said, "Well, sir, you are the first to ever say that all the years I've been a guide, I've check with someone." He walked over to a cathedral official standing by the door but to no avail for information. I did walk to see the flat markers that were old there in the courtyard, but did no see an Anderson. Thanks again for all your presentations on Scottish history! Bravo!

[@EdExploresScotland]

There are shot-holes by a door in the cathedral as a result of an assault by Protestants during the Reformation.

[@tammailer6054]

Wallowing in nostalgia with a tinge of sadness. Thoroughly enjoyed the video. Thanks.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Tam.

[@zambotv8150]

Absolutely brilliant upload

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks for that.

[@zambotv8150]

@@EdExploresScotland I am a Glasgow nut, I eat sleep and breathe the city, thanks so much for making the video

[@BAMZ1ER]

Great video. Somebody on FB or twitter mentioned the ground level floors were not destroyed/removed due to some law or requirements and that they needed to be left. The example given was the Clutha bar, which before the helicoptor crash was ground level and used to have tenement floors above it.

[@saturn1returns]

All our old architecture should’ve have been preserved. Look at Europe. The buildings here look like prison blocks. So depressingly sad.

[@Tommii38]

I’m from Birmingham and always wondered why this city, Coventry and places like Cumbernauld were experiments for such harsh brutalist architecture. A few years ago I did some reading on Coventry and was astonished to find out that its brutalist town centre designs had origins in the 1930s rather than the 50s. It seems the bombing of the town in WWII created the opportunity the town planners needed to put their plans into operation. There are rumours the planners have been ‘influenced’ by developers over the years. Is this the case in Glasgow?

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks for your comment. I'm afraid I don't know who influenced who, if indeed anyone influenced anyone. I think it's all part and parcel of the march of progress where at any given moment in time we see a way forward that at the time seems like a good idea but in the end turns out not to be so. We can only hope to learn from such mistakes.

[@lykel5011]

The Mitchell Library in Glasgow has information on the massive movement of people from the old communities to the new ‘schemes’. Sad, most folk hankered after their old communities which were more or less destroyed in the March towards progress

[@basicallywellfed3453]

We are damned to repeat the follies of the past if we have nothing to remember it by, my friend, a fascinating video.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks.

[@john6904]

Hi Eddie thanks for posting your video I couldn't agree more Glasgow has changed beyond all recognition. And not always for the better. I was born in Duke Street hospital in 1957 brought up in a single end and we shared a lavvy on the close landing . I went to the Parkhead wash-house (steamie) for a bath every Saturday morning whether I needed it or not. We moved to a new hoose in Auchenshuggle when I was ten ,it had a bathroom so some of the the changes were for the good. No other city with a sense of history would have allowed the planners to basically destroy communities the way Glasgow did. We used to get the 61 or 64 into town , the Gallowgate and London road have changed totally I barely recognise them now. Tenements factories shops/businesses cinemas pubs .....all the character... all gone ,sad indeed. Keep up the good work Eddie and thanks again!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks John. I also remember the lavvy in the close at our aunt and uncle's in Whiteinch. A pretty bogging sort of place with newspapers scattered around for wiping; no pun intended.

[@jamshedsethna3428]

And this at the height of Empire and wealth beyond imagination.

[@BoninBrighton]

Thank you, I’ve sent this to my Uncle who grew up and lived in Glasgow until the 1960s he has worked and lived in the Channel Islands ever since. He’ll not visit Glasgow again now so he’ll enjoy this.

[@neverwise]

Oh Eddie, I'm so glad your channel appeared on my KZbin recommended page today. I've subscribed immediately. What a wonderful presentation about Old Glasgow and those sweeping changes that wiped away buildings and entire communities. This affected my mother. My family lived at 52 Buccleuch Street in Cowcadens and my Mum, who was born in 1952, used to tell me how in her final year of primary school almost her entire class disappeared all at once as their homes were flattened to make way for the motorway. They all vanished to places like Easterhouse, Drumchapel and Castlemilk in the failed Glasgow 'slum clearences' of the 60s (the clearence of cowcadens was a social disaster from the beginning). My Mum's home on Buccleuch Street was not knocked down and is still there today. It was very odd for her starting high school and there were only 2 friends left who joined her at the old Woodside Secondary (of which one of the buildings is currently a pub/restaurant). Our family home on the top floor of that Buccleuch Street block has been empty since my Uncle died a few years ago and the rest of the block was gradually partitioned off in the 90s to house students in crowded rentals, Barnardo's young people and a Women's Aid shelter. That flat my family had was enormous, it had huge rooms and was never partitioned. It sits empty in it's original state.l with the building deteriorating. My grandfather was originally from Cowcadens but both my Grandfather's and Grandmother's people came from Limerick Ireland in the mid 19th century during the Hunger. It was lovely to see your excellent presentation and so many photographs of the East end I've never seen before. I thought I'd scouted out all the old Glasgow images but clearly I was wrong. Thank you so much for taking the time to make a video on this subject, it's very close to my heart. I really grieve for missing tenements, it makes me feel really sad.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks.

[@Saint_Dan132]

I could sense you put so much love in to this one, wonderful video my friend. Not getting emotional atall 😢

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@thejacobitehiker]

Brilliant photos Ed, makes you wonder how many ancestors might be in the photos. Such a shame it's changed so much. Love your videos, keep up the great work. Davey.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Davey.

[@williamwilliam5242]

Mr burns I can't get across to you how much me and my family love this video. ❤

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks William.

[@levenscott645]

Thanks for the travel in time. Sad to say that Glasgow has lost more than it has gained.

[@mariamackintosh6816]

I just wanted to say, that recently in Glasgow, where I was born and grew up, it seems that the council are snapping up every last piece of land for housing developments. Even the areas that were old railway properties, and very green, lush, and extremely welcoming in such a big industrial city. I don’t really find that the planners and developers have a long term interest in ensuring the wellbeing and quality of districts in Glasgow, and on the contrary, seem obsessed with making as much money as possible, fast. The majority of housing being built currently, where I live either for students, or are prohibitively expensive luxury apartments. It’s a shame that we have lost it would seem, so much of our heritage, and that Glasgow is not really any longer representative of its real people. Moreover it’s worrying how the current decisions are being taken without any consultation with residents whatsoever. But thanks for showing the way Glasgow used to be, as it’s lovely to have those memories.

[@johnbeaton1076]

There are also the two old tenement buildings on either side of Claythorn Street, just off Gallowgate in the Calton. Both dated around 1770 I believe. One of them is a pub called 'Hielan Jessie' if I'm not mistaken. This was a cracking good video though. Many thanks!

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks John. You're absolutely right. Probably a few more of the older buildings left than I originally suggested.

[@charlesmair26]

Another Informative vlog, Thanks, young man...

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Charles.

[@craigthomson562]

Very interesting. I love looking at old photos of Glasgow as it used to be. Love the old Victorian stone architecture. Such a shame that so much of it is gone. It had such character and atmosphere. Wish I had a time machine to go back and see these streets as the used to be😊. Many thanks Eddie.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Craig. An interesting thing about the photo of the London Road/Charlotte Street junction is if you look at the modern footage you can still see a vertical line of rectangular cut stones which is also present in the old photo. The only thing left.

[@martinsloan3972]

That was wonderful. I’d intended watching for just a minute or two, and save the rest for later, but I ended up watching the whole thing. There’s a ‘flat roofed’ pub on Bruce Street in Greenock, which I was surprised to find once had two or three floors of tenements above it several decades ago. Maybe it was just a thing that planners decided at some point to get rid of flats but keep the ground floor intact. Maybe it was just the fashion of the day.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Martin. Many thanks. Yes, it's a curious thing, this cutting the tenements down in size. Must have been a reason.

[@Alastair_]

Thing is, a lot of these buildings were removed and the cities built around the new type of industry, shopping. Now however that is also changing with malls and high street shops closing down in their thousands I honestly think we will see a reverse in cities back to more open planning, parks, less traffic, less roads, heck, they might become somewhere actually nice to be.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Fingers crossed.

[@jeanettekennedy7433]

great video very interesting thank you for showing

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@bryancollins61]

Thanks for putting that short video together Ed, I along with my ma and da and four brothers lived in the Briggit along with other members of our extended family in different closes there was my granda who was born in the briggit in 1895 also my granny and other family who lived in number 36 we stayed in 30, my granny worked in the fishmarket and also supplemented her income by being a hawker, I know all the areas in you video well I walked to school every day up Greendyke street to Charlotte street and used to play in Paddys market and Glasgow green as well as skipping on the undergground to go on wee boys adventures, any way i could go on and on suffice to say that the city fathers destroyed many many buildings that could have been saved and utilised again, as you can see from my account photo which is a photo looking along the briggit from steel street , our building is in that photo, [I loved living there } once again Thanks

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Bryan. Although much of what was once there has gone, it's still an interesting area and I love having a dander through it. Take care.

[@philgoldsney5951]

At 29:26 I noticed CANADA written on a building to the left of the Subway ticket office. Hello from Canada 🇨🇦 ❤️

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hello Canada. 👍

[@tony5267]

Old Glasgow is slowly and sadly still going.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely. Look at Carlton Place - falling to bits.

[@ZenoWatson]

Great research and presentation Ed

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Zeno.

[@CM-ki5ji]

I so enjoyed your video. I left Glasgow some 39 years ago and each time I go back I walk around and even in that short time it has changed so much. Again thank your for your great work

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@SuperKinevil]

Excellent work🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks 👍

[@paulabennett4788]

My Mother came from Glasgow and sadly I never saw or visited there. I would have loved to see all those amazing buildings which had so much character. She lived with her grandmother as her Mother had emigrated to America with her brother and sister. Her mother stayed on Ellis Island until she went to live in New York. It's a long story so I will stop now. Thank you for showing the original Glasgow. I will look up your other videos too. Very interesting and thanks again for showing.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Paula.

[@targets1000]

Out in Perth Western Australia Ed and love your great videos. Born and bred in Bridgeton watched your one on Old Glasgow this afternoon. So sad for such an aold city to have hardly any buildings of great age still there. What was the name of that sound track you played? Have a look at this old book written in 1905 which mentions several old buildings and even an Iron Age Fort up where the Necroplois is. Even back then the author was complaining about the destruction of the city. Cheers Bob Hay.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Bob. The music is just something I made up to go with the video.

[@targets1000]

@@EdExploresScotland Thanks Ed for prompt reply. I hope the message about the old book came over.

[@ColinHarperSummerson]

Very interesting video and very well presented ,I enjoyed it very much , thank you 🙏

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Colin.

[@goneby100]

Excellent vid Ed.

[@sylviagibson4639]

My Great Grandparents lived in Maryhill before immigrating to the US in 1888.

[@pingupenguin2474]

Maryhill ( and a lot of the west end) still has most of the tenaments' and other vistorian buildings. Massive stone cleaning project cleaned most of the external grime revealing beautiful stonework and honey coloured or red sandstone. Bathrooms were installed with a grant scheme and flats gradually upgraded. Though much has gone, much was also saved.

[@colindevine3233]

Its really sad Glasgow has lost so much of the old world buildings very sad !!! Good video and good to see !!! Thankyou !

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers.

[@williamwilliam5242]

🎉🎉🎉thankyou for the video🎉🎉🎉

[@EdExploresScotland]

My pleasure William.

[@giotto4321]

Another very interesting and informative video Eddy, thanks for preparing it. I note that 'Burrells Lane', mentioned at 24:57mins used to be called 'Barrles Lane' in the 1807 map of the area, and in fact 'Burrels Lane' in that of 1857. Interesting how the street names evolve over time.

[@EdExploresScotland]

That's interesting. Many thanks for that. One of the things I didn't say in the video is that the Annan photo of the Glasgow Green clothes market also shows Parry's Music Hall in Greendyke Street.

[@clonie9963]

I worked in an office in custom house when it had the original layout it's now been gutted as the entrance to the new hotel have to go in for a nosey. Good video 👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks. The trend for just retaining frontages or gutting must result in the loss of so many stunning interiors. A recent comment informed me that some internal fittings from Hamilton Palace are now in a museum in the USA.

[@clonie9963]

@@EdExploresScotland Yes the boss had the room above the vennel which was quite ornate wood panel lined walls

[@PeppieP]

I don’t think that Glasgow did itself any favours by making some of the changes they made. Modernisation is sometimes not the way to go. When you see what beautiful old architectural buildings we had, that were demolished to make way for better things, changes - it breaks my heart when I see the beautiful old St Enoch Hotel and station, what they could have done with that and transportation to hand too. Sad to see that we have no real architectural heritage going back and later than 1800s. Thanks for this wonder channel that I have just came across. x

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you.

[@daviefullarton]

Fab video Ed. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Progress has indeed gone on for too long. Great quote from Ogden Nash👍

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Davie. It is indeed a great quote. I think I've used it on a few occasions.

[@sharonwhite-gilbert5564]

Thank you so much for this video. Amazing

[@thaddiushelicon534]

I must be old. I remember St. Enoch's Square as it looked in the old photograph and seeing the steam trains in the station. Also, many many years ago I went looking for the site of Risk Street which was in The Calton area where my grandfather and subsequently my father lived until the early 1950s. Isn't it the case that many of the houses and other buildings built for the well-healed still exist in Polloksheilds on the south-side of Glasgow which date from the mid 1800s? In fact, even older is Pollock House which was built in 1752. Whilst it's true that much of the old city centre has gone there still remains many historic buildings to be seen if you know where to look.

[@EdExploresScotland]

I remember the old St Enoch Square too. That railway hotel really set the square off. You're right, in that there are indeed old buildings still to be found. It's just becoming more of an adventure to find them.

[@rossmclelland]

Absolutely fantastic video. Thanks for all the time & effort you put in. Some great photos I’ve not seen before and some great maps. I know that licensed premises were somehow spared the demolition when tenements were knocked down. I guess a license to sell alcohol once carried a lot more weight than it does now. No idea why though.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Ross. Yes, it's a curious thing how many pubs, mainly at a tenement corner, are all that remains of these structures.

[@bam-skater]

The reason for the ground floor corners stilll being around is they were invariably the brewery owned pubs, not the council owned flats. The breweries wanted silly money to pull down 'their' pub so the coucil just demolished and rebuilt around the now strange looking lonely buildings, The Clutha being one!

[@rab9309]

Cracking video. Learned a lot from this video especially where the name ‘Barras’ came from. So obvious when you think about it really 😂 mind blown 🤯

[@user-jx2uc4ij7y]

Born in Glasgow 1948 thoughly enjoyed the history of old Glasgow Thank you

[@strawman80]

Beautifully poignant .. excellent presentation.. thank you

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks. For some reason I struggled a little to put it all together in a meaningful way. Your comment is really appreciated.

[@ArcAudios77]

Well put together Sir, was a good watch. Thanks Eddie.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks.

[@ArmandoLoni]

Great upload, E. I was having difficulty recognising St Enoch square, and I frequented the area regularly whilst at Uni in the 80s...... Everything really has changed ....

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thank you. 'Progress might have been alright once ... ... '

[@peterb3772]

New to your channel Ed. Really loved this video as I had family originally the from Glasgow area. Liked and subscribed👍. Greetings from Adelaide, Australia.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Peter. Hallo to Adelaide.

[@moeszyslak7304]

Great video Ed 👍🏼

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks 👍

[@-11114]

Very much appreciated looking forward to many more Thanks Again

[@roddymcniven8734]

Cheers Ed, very interesting

[@EdExploresScotland]

Certainly a very different city to Edinburgh.

[@roddymcniven8734]

@@EdExploresScotland indeed it is, chalk and cheese.

[@capricorn1936]

Some things should never change.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely.

[@Extrikit]

Fantastic video. I’ve never been to Glasgow but I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the history of the City. Time to check out your other videos. In Melbourne by the way, we have eight cast iron urinals remaining from the Victorian era when they were ‘sprinkled’ throughout the City in relatively large numbers.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Greetings to Melbourne. The thing about these cast iron urinals is I think they were just for men. How women managed in the old days I do not know.

[@JamieMacgregor-9390]

Hi Eddie I enjoyed that like the other videos you should do a seaside town like girvin for the next one 🙂

[@joanneframe7683]

Very interesting and informative ,i really enjoyed your video and commentary about Glasgow .Thanks .

[@EdExploresScotland]

Thanks Joanne.

[@saturn1returns]

Glasgow has fallen. It’s a crying shame.

[@chrisokane1887]

Eddie should be recommended to the BBC as the new Tom weir brilliant work for historic Scotland

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks Chris.

[@michaelmallal9101]

My great-grandparents came to South Australia as free settlers from Orkney. There is a lack of housing in Australia too now with 300,000 coming this year, including students. Many historic cities in Germany were bombed during WWII.

[@rabmcnamara5777]

Nice one buddy. I love old glasgow , collect as many photos and postcards as i can. Even in my short lifetime 😂😂😂 the city has changed. I'm sure it's been regenerated about 4 or 5 times since the 60s. Really enjoyed the presentation and pictures. Thanks for sharing

[@EdExploresScotland]

Cheers Rab.

[@treasurehuntingscotlandmud9340]

the heart of the cit has been ripped out

[@leonardgibney2997]

I visited the city in 2005 where l was raised after the War but hadn't lived in since 1960. I asked six passersby for directions in the town centre but all were recent arrivals unable to help.

[@carolinadaily6190]

Great video

[@shug831]

Born 1964 in Glasgow, lived there 28 years and I don't recognise the city I loved and worked in.

[@gainsbourg66]

The destruction of old Glasgow was mostly a fashion-driven exercise. From the 1960s onwards Victorian housing was seen as an old fashioned embarrassment. The planners and councils used every excuse under the sun to demolish and replace it with modern, minimalist, concrete blocks. Incredible that most people still believe the propaganda about slums, lack of bathrooms or weathering. You only have to look at a typical mews house in Central London to work out the truth. Such houses were tiny, originally had no bathrooms and were in a terrible state of repair by the 1950s and 60s. Now each is worth over £3,000,000.

[@tonyt7948]

Socialist knocked them down to build concrete monstrositys that everyone hates

[@edwright480]

Mews are where you originally housed your horses! Ridiculous that you would pay that for what is essentially a barn. No wonder they don't have bathrooms - more like horse troughs.

[@michaelmcclafferty3346]

Thanks very much for a very interesting video. I grew up in Kinning Park in the 1960’s not far from Scotland Street school. It’s tragic the number of beautiful buildings even there that were demolished which the council called progress. Public health however has improved dramatically which is good and a lot of slums demolished too.

[@MsJimbo1960]

That was brilliant..Thanks .

[@TheFiown]

I spent my first years of life in a Glasgow tenement, outside toilet, abandonned washhouse behind infested with rats, factory wall covered in loose corrugated iron backing onto it, getting washed in the kitchen sink that my father put in as it was basically a shell when they got it. I did look it up a few years ago on Google and it is still there, but gentrified.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Stephanie, memories many Glaswegians will have. I remember a crowd of folk in a tenement back court surrounding a rat and throwing rocks or something to kill it. The general mood of the assembled crowd was as if a lion had appeared in their midst. The good old days.

[@christinejackson3922]

@@EdExploresScotlandthat is a very similar story that my late dad told me except dad and his friends would build a bonfire and throw the rats in he grow up in the tenements from the mid 1930s and leaving in 1950 for sunny Australia

[@arlenephillips2846]

cruel and unnecessary@@christinejackson3922

[@arlenephillips2846]

cruel @@EdExploresScotland

[@janoginski5557]

Brilliant Ed, really. I’m in total agreement with the quote on “progress going on far too long”. “Progress” or alleged progressive thinking has removed virtually all evidence of a cultured Architecture. It’s a disgrace, put upon by moronic city councillors & equally ignorant town planners. They did a thorough job of destroying these charming, beautiful & sometimes esoteric structures. Post modern thinking is a bloody catastrophe, a mindless crusade against all that beautifully conceived & constructed heritage.

[@neverwise]

So true. It makes me so angry.

[@BigMacGProductions]

I used to do the talks on the Britannia Panoptican Music Hall and know quite a bit of the East End from the start of the 19th century.

[@johncopeland3826]

What the old buildings and superstructures need is a high powered make over . Those ancient structures would look absolutely fabulous if cleaned up properly . Especially the brown and red sandstone ones ! Think about it ? We would have 18 th and 19 th century buildings looking and feeling totally new as if built last year . Now that would be a massive improvement on the current , manky ,filthy , neglected Glasgow in th 21st century ... don't you think ?

[@EdExploresScotland]

Absolutely. Thanks John. You only have to look at any number of villages in the East Neuk of Fife to see that very old buildings can survive. Glasgow seems to have had a blinkered blanket attitude where demolition is the only answer. It really isn't.

[@johncopeland3826]

Look at multiple cities in Spain ,Germany , France ,Italy ,or any first world city from a first world country and their ancient buildings , streets and structures are cleaned , maintained , admired and regarded to the highest standard ! Everything is there ,in place in Glasgow ,but lacking the proper funding and organisation skills required to return Glasgow to it's original ,unique ,clean , modern glory Are you watching and listening head Glasgow councillors? Get it done ... Now !

[@BAMZ1ER]

I think the saddest thing is the trend continues to date - the building of the motor ways, and more recently removal of tenements for the common wealth games to turn the area into a wimpey estate. The new JP Morgan building on Sauchihall street also removed an older building, after they claimed it too 'dangerous' to renovate or incorporate into the new office.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many of these older buildings were very well constructed, and have probably only gone into decline because of a lack of regular routine maintenance.

[@BAMZ1ER]

@EdExploresScotland yes, agree

[@charliegordon216]

Hi Eddie Bunsr thanyou for Sharing these Videos with us All Far and wide who were Born in Glasgow and moved away I lived at Number 3 Inverkip Street Gorbals my little Sister Catherine was killed on Adephi Street when she was ran out from between two Buses that used to park there right opposite our street a Lorry hit her the Driver didnt have a Cha nce to stop as it was a sudden dash from between the the Parked Red Double Deckershat I am now 74 years old and the incident took place around about 1954 55 and I was wondering if you could help me please with finding out where my Little Sister Catherine was Buried as none of our Family know where she was put to rest it would be a great help for us All to find Our Little Sister Catherine she was three years old at the time I was 5 I moved to Castlemilk when I was 10 Years old I Am One of The Castlemilk Lads who are in Oscar Mazarolli,s Photo, s he took I am the One at the Front I am Also On The Deakon Blue Record Cover by Ricky Ross. Peter Ross found us and wrote a Story on us in Scotland on Sunday hope you dont mind me asking you for help to Find my Little Sister Catherine Gordon and Thankyou for any Assistance you can give me Eddy

[@EdExploresScotland]

Charlie, can you give me your email address. Thanks.

[@eng9040]

Great content, I think many buildings had to be demolished because of the stone being weathered, I see many red sandstone buildings in my town now dissolving, would be interesting if Aberdeen experianced the same as many structures were built from different stone.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Many thanks. That's an interesting point. The red sandstone in particular seems very soft and crumbly - you only have to look at the effect of road salt on ground level frontages.

[@janethollman7894]

So sad the heart has been removed from Good old Glasgow Toown

[@nicholasyoung9758]

Although you may say that Toronto did not have any architectural history to preserve, even the city that I grew up in (1970's) was mostly Victorian, and had that kind of "red brick" charm. In 2023 the town is dominated by steel-and-glass towers, and blocks of condominiums. "Progress" has indeed gone on too long!

[@MrMaharg65]

Wow - 19K views. Brilliant. Great video too 🫡

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Graham. It's now over 21K; I don't know what's happening. Next time I'm in the streets of Partick I fully expect passers-by to bow and curtsy as I walk among them.

[@MrMaharg65]

At least a free Pie from every bakers in town 🫡

[@harryblack5041]

Interesting video Sir. Where as Edinburgh managed to preserve part of its Old Town and regenerate around it, Glasgow seemed intent to demolish, destroy and decimate. At 14:05, looking up toward the Barras, the lamp standard has some pretty impressive castings and writing on it. Can't really make it out, but no doubt details of the foundry who cast it. Crackin piece of history no doubt melted down. Any idea what the image projecting out of the building at 20:21 is? Looks like grapes on the iron scroll? I'm a bit perplexed with the Stockwell/ Glassford st overlays. I drink in the Stepps bar regularly- it most certainly is on the flat. I guess you're recreating the previous image that no doubt was taken from a higher vantage point- its almost like looking down high street Cin cin. Hari

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Harry. Such decorated lamp standards can still be seen in places, although mostly cut down in size so it's only the decorated base that is left. This link, for example, is Google street view of one such base at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens. I'm sure there are others throughout the city. www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8779659,-4.2896458,3a,25.6y,5.02h,86.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHiWweu7h0p9OnjM2Q9Ip3w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu At 21.21 a bundle of grapes was often the sign of a pub. At Stockwell and Glassford Streets I was simply comparing the old photo with a similar modern view to show how much that view had changed. Hope there nothing else you're too perplexed about. Take care mate.

[@outdoorlass2018]

All the wee buildings along shettleston and tollcross road are early 1700's not forgetting the heilan jessie bar

[@jimpomac]

Todays Glasgow is still a vibrant thriving city. The filthy old buildings of the 19th and early 29th century have been cleaned to show their true architectural beauty. The disgusting old tenements have either been torn down or re-purposed into sanitary living spaces. True there have been some disastrous experiments in Modern community housing, but by and large I prefer the city the way it is today.

[@84jonno]

This is heartbraking went past last weekend it appears that the back of the building has collapsed fire engines and emergency gas engineers there. Whole area closed off. Makes me so sad to see.

[@stephaniefritchley9022]

Hello, a bit of a long shot, I know, but I am trying to find the location, or former location if it has been demolished, of the home of a relative. My aunt, now 89, recalls visiting her aunt in about 1945 or 46. She can’t remember a great deal, other than that they were able to overlook the Clyde, from the windows of her aunts home and could see the crews sculling on the river. It was apparently a two floored apartment in a tall building, possibly sand stone. The other significant thing she recalls is that they reached the apartment via a lift, which I would have thought was quite unusual for the old buildings at that time and which might make it easier to pinpoint. The only place I can see, that still exists, and could possibly be the location, is Carlton Place. I have no idea if these buildings had lifts in them in the past. I have drawn a total blank on my searches and then found your channel so thought it was worth a try to see if you can help at all. Many thanks, Steph

[@EdExploresScotland]

Hi Stephanie. I'm struggling to know where to go with this one, and as such I really can't be of any help. Sorry. Have you tried Glasgow's Mitchell Library and the archives? My gut feeling is that there's so little to go on that it's an impossible task, but good luck with it.

[@stephaniefritchley9022]

Hi, thanks so much for replying. There is, as you say, so little to go on, a virtually impossible task I think. I haven’t tried the library yet but might give it a go next time I visit. Kind regards, steph

[@Always_Look_Up]

15 minute city is coming to us soon...progress guaranteed 🤔

[@enduranceadventurez]

Hopefully

[@craigmckinnon2793]

Fun Fact- New York City was actually designed from the city of Glasgow.

[@EdExploresScotland]

Perhaps New York looks more like Glasgow than Glasgow does!