Pictorial History of Auld Blantyre

These are thumbnail pictures to help with page load time.
Click on the individual pictures for a larger view.

High Blantyre looking towards Auchinraith Road, 1903.

The first settlement in Blantyre would have been in the north of the parish, near to the Priory on the banks of the Clyde.

However, when the Priory was disbanded during the Reformation, the High Blantyre villages of Barnhill, Kirkton and Hunthill developed near the parish church. With the establishment of the Mills in the late 19th century there was a further population shift. The workers' village became home to the many incomers, and this new settlement led to the distinction between "High" and "Low" Blantyre. The thatched cottage in this picture has now been demolished, as has the tenement block beside it, the latter being replaced by a space-age toilet.

Glasgow Road c.1903

This picture shows a stretch of Glasgow Road changed over a thirty year period. In 1903 there was a patch of waste ground adjacent to Stonefield Church (pictured right) but by the 1930's

it had been built up with tenements and shops, obscuring the view of the church. Someone also eventually spruced up the brick tenement facades on the left so that they matched their neighbours' appearance. The transport situation also changed radically, with cars gliding down a newly surfaced road, replacing the trams that had previously rumbled along dirt streets.

I am not certain but believe that this is Glasgow Road looking East, the white cottage on the left later becoming the "Gazette" office. If you know different, let me know.

Glasgow Road in 1937 with a hugely increased traffic flow - although no evidence of any traffic lights. The Church Street tenements on the left have been wiped out, with Clydeview Shopping Centre (Asda) built on their site in 1980. The right side of the street has also been totally demolished and brick housing stands on it as far as the junction with John Street.

Pech Brae - c1915

Pech Brae led down to Milheugh House (the Cawther, the river Calder) and appears as Pathfoot on maps of 1899. This steep runway (it gets much steeper as you round the

bend) was renamed by locals on account of the vast amount of "pech" needed get up it. Taken in the mid-1910's, this picture shows two estate cottages which have long since been demolished although I remember playing in the derelict shells as a child. Part of the wall on the left is still standing and it is still possible to make out the cottage boundaries. It is said that this road was the original main road into Blantyre and that Mary Queen of Scots would have used it when she passed through Blantyre to visit the Earl of Bothwell.

Hasties Farm

The best night out in Blantyre at one time.

They came by the bus load. Their were more marriages joined and broken here that anywhere else. My Mum worked thir when it was a farm. It's now a Nursing Home.

Glasgow Road

Looking towards Springwell, we have the "Dookit" on the left, later to become the "Bowling Alley". Norris's grocer shop next door where I worked every Saturday delivering groceries on a big heavy bike.

Betty McGaulley from Toronto, who sent in the photo asks, " I wonder who's car that was?" If you know, share it with us.

Hi Bill,

I think the car may have belonged to my late grandmother’s doctor – his name was Cowan Wilson and she told me he was the first person in Blantyre to own a car.  There is a street named after him and a monument.     Just a thought.

Well done with the site.

Regards

Paul Email

Station Road

Remember when the streets were this quiet?

Can anyone identify the girls, maybe it's you!

If so, maybe you can date the picture. Circa 1950 - 52

Robertson's Ginger Cairt

Roberston's Ginger Factory was the Asda of it's time, employing loads of people. My Mum worked in the Canteen for many years. As a child I was never short of a glass of ginger!

Many thanks to Barbara Caviolo who sent me the photo from somewhere in Canada.

Pictorial History of Auld Blantyre 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

If you have any old pictures of Blantyre, why not share them with the rest of the World? Email me here and I'll come and collect them, copy them and give you back the originals.