History

Edinburgh Road, Cranhill in 1966

Cranhill phone exchange is fuckin shit, it deserved to be erased from all existance and the people who were involved in the new "upgrade" deserve to have their balls cut off and have them rammed down their throats so they can choke to death on them. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 480 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,102 × 1,262 pixels, file size: 267 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 480 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,102 × 1,262 pixels, file size: 267 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

Cranhill is a housing estate in the east end of Glasgow. Like many similar publicly-funded 'schemes', it was built in the early 1950s on the outskirts of the city to alleviate the post-war housing shortage. However, unlike the 'big four' schemes, Easterhouse, Drumchapel, Castlemilk and Pollok, Cranhill was relatively compact, with High Carntyne to the west (separated by Ruchazie Rd), Springboig and Carntyne to the south (separated by the A8 Edinburgh Rd), Queenslie to the east (separated by Stepps Rd) and Ruchazie to the north (separated by the Monkland Canal, now the M8 motorway). Most of the streets were named after Scottish lighthouses and include Startpoint St, Lamlash Cres, Toward Rd, Skerryvore Rd, Gantock Cres, Strone Rd, Crowlin Cres, Monach Rd. Longstone Rd is an exception, Longstone being located in the Farne Islands (almost Scotland?). The main street, running east-west through the scheme, was Bellrock St. For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... , Easterhouse is a north-eastern district of the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... Drumchapel is part of the city of Glasgow, having been annexed from Dunbartonshire in 1938. ... Castlemilk (Caisteal Mheilc in Gaelic) is a huge district of Glasgow, Scotland. ... Pollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. ... Springboig is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... Carntyne is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... The A8 is a major road in Scotland, connecting Edinburgh to Greenock via Glasgow. ... Queenslie is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... Ruchazie is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... The Monkland Canal used to run for 12 miles from Port Dundas (at the end of the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal) to Woodhall (near Airdrie). ... Kingston Bridge M8 running alongside the Clyde This Stub in the Tradeston area, popularly known as the ski-ramp, is the abandoned interchange for the southern flank of the Glasgow Inner Ring Road For the highway connecting Moscow to Arkhangelsk, see M8 motorway (Russia). ... Motorway symbol in UK, France and Ireland. ... Lighthouses in Scotland is a link page for any lighthouse in Scotland and its island groups. ... Lamlash Lamlash is the secondary village (after Brodick) on the Isle of Arran, situated in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. ... Strone is a village on in Argyll in south-west Scotland at the point where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde. ... The Crowlin Islands (gaelic: crò linne) a group of uninhabited islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. ... The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Heisgeir), are an island group west of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. ... The Inner Farne seen from Seahouses harbour The Farne Islands (also referred to less formally as the Farnes) are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. ... View of the Bell Rock Signal Tower shore station in Arbroath, looking out to sea. ...

Housing

The housing stock consisted mostly of four-storey tenement blocks divided into common 'closes', each with eight flats with the end close in each street called a "T" close with 4 flats. Other types included three tower blocks, locally known as 'the multis' or the 'high flats', a number of terraced maisonettes and a variety of pseudo sandstone (concrete blocks) four-in-a-block cottage flats. Categories: Stub | House types ... A tower block, block of flats, or apartment block, is a multi-unit high-rise apartment building. ... A street of British Victorian/Edwardian terraced homes. ... Residential dwellings can be built in a large variety of configurations. ...

Most of the flats were typical family accommodation of the time, containing a kitchen, bathroom/toilet, two or three bedrooms and a living room. Many of them had balconies or verandas overlooking the street and all were a vast improvement on living conditions in the old Glasgow slum tenements. For many of the families who moved in, this was their first access to green fields and nearby farms, and the playing areas were paradise compared to the rat-infested back-courts which the children had formerly suffered. Nevertheless, a favourite play area was the 'Sugarolly Mountains', substantial hills made from chemical tailings dumped by the side of the canal on the site now occupied by the high flats (and featured in the lyrics of Jim Diamond). No-one knew what they were made of, but the rainwater puddles were green! Even the canal itself was an attraction, given that the next-nearest 'recreational' water was either at Alexandra Park or Hogganfield Loch A verandah is a large balcony on the level of a ground floor. ... Slums in Delhi, India. ... Tailings (also known as slickens[1]) are the waste left over[2] after removing the gangue from ore. ... Jim Diamond (born September 28, 1951, in Glasgow) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. ... Alexandra Park is located in Dennistoun, 3 miles east of Glasgow city centre. ... Hogganfield is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ...

Amenities

As the scheme became established and the community grew, amenities were put in place. Bus routes were extended through the scheme to make it easier for people to travel for work or pleasure, to the City Centre or the nearby shopping areas of Shettleston and Dennistoun. Other basic needs were served with the establishment of three local shopping parades. For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... Shettleston is a suburb in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. ... Dennistoun is a large district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ...

As well as the shops, local people were served by mobile street traders with vans and lorries selling foodstuffs, coal and paraffin oil, sweets and soft drinks, ice cream and even fish and chips. In the evenings one could hear the cry of Dalzeil's Bakeries van man shouting "roells!" (bread rolls). Candy apples and 'whelks' (actually periwinkles) could be obtained while rag-merchants would shout 'any old rags' or 'Delft (crockery) for rags' from horsedrawn or hand carts. Today, the only surviving mobile service is the 'ice cream van', a service whose darker side erupted in what came to be known as the "Ice Cream Wars". Kerosene or paraffin is a colorless flammable hydrocarbon liquid. ... Candy apples (United Kingdom/Ireland/Australia: Toffee apples) are a common treat at Halloween because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest. ... A mollusk ... The Glasgow Ice Cream Wars were conflicts in the East End of Glasgow in the 1980s between rival ice cream van operators, over lucrative territory and suggested use of ice cream vans as a cover for selling drugs. ...

The first primary schools to be erected were small metal constructions but, at its peak, Cranhill had four primary schools: Lamlash, St Elizabeth Seton RC (originally St Modans RC Annex), the larger brick-built Milncroft (including the Toward Rd annex) and St Modans RC. Milncroft was demolished in 2006 and St Modans RC in March 2007. All four original primary schools are now closed and demolished. The two original nursery schools, Bellrock Nursery and Lamlash Nursery, are now also closed. Two new primary schools, Cranhill Primary and St Maria Goretti's RC Primary, were built in 2005/2006, the former on the site of the demolished Milncroft. Lamlash nursery school is now located within St Maria Goretti's Primary school and Bellrock nursery school is located within Cranhill Primary School.

As the children grew older, local secondary schools were needed, the first being Lightburn Secondary across the Edinburgh Rd in Torphin St, Carntyne. With the construction of Cranhill Secondary in Startpoint St, the Torphin St building became St Gregory's RC Secondary to meet the needs of the Roman Catholic population. Some time later, a new St Gregory's was built on waste land at Crowlin Cres in Cranhill and the Torphin St was renamed again, as St Andrews RC Secondary. At its peak, Cranhill Secondary had a roll of some 1300, but both secondaries in Cranhill were razed in the 1980s and replaced by private housing estates.

Two churches were built: Cranhill (Church of Scotland) Parish Church and St Maria Goretti's RC Chapel. There were two Boy Scout troops, the 68th Glasgow and the 158th Glasgow, a Boys' Brigade150th troop, and the girls troop was the 63rd company of the Girls Brigade. The Tenants' Association provided an early focus for social events and a Community Centre was opened around 1980. Polish Boy Scouts fighting in the Warsaw Uprising Boy Scouts originally denoted the organization that developed and rapidly grew up during 1908 in the wake of the publication by Lord Robert Baden-Powell of his book Scouting for Boys. ... The Boys Brigade is a non-denominational Christian youth organization in the New Zealand, Australia and several other countries. ...

Cranhill Park was built in the centre of the scheme and became the heart (and lungs) of the community. It featured a nine-hole pitch-and-putt course (famous for the its sloping terrain), tennis courts and a bowling green. An annual carnival was held, with a visiting fairground and food outlets. A favourite amongst local children was free miniature loaves of bread distributed by a local bakery. Pitch and putt is a short form of golf played by people of all ages. ...

The Cranhill Credit Union was set up by John Kerr, Ellen Kerr, Helen Kane MBE and other committed members of the community in the late 1970s. This was modelled on Scotland's first credit union, the Western Credit Union (now Drumchapel Credit Union) established by Bert Mullen in 1970. A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. ...

The Cranhill Arts Project, possibly better known to more non-residents than to locals, goes from strength to strength, but the most famous local work of art is the Cranhill Water Tower, at the corner of Stepps Rd and Bellrock St. One of several huge elevated storage tanks built to provide high-volume, high-pressure storage, Cranhill Water Tower is unique in having a square concrete tank, in contrast to its cylindrical neighbours in Garthamlock and elsewhere. At night, the structure was illuminated a vibrant green with white spotlight lights shining from the base of the tank down to the ground.

Celebrities

Cranhill has produced its share of celebrities including actor Billy Boyd of The Lord of the Rings, footballers Jim and Joe Smith of Newcastle, Aberdeen and Scotland, Kenny Aird of St. Johnstone and comedy actor Gerard Kelly. Possibly the most famous former residents are Angus Young and brother Malcolm who found stardom after they moved to Australia and formed AC/DC. Pat Nevin, soccer pundit and former Scotland player, attended St. Gregory's Secondary School. Politician Adam Ingram lived in Skerryvore Road at the bottom of the lane and Glasgow Boy artist Adrian Wisnewski was also a Cranhill resident. Billy Boyd (born 28 August 1968 in Glasgow) is a Scottish actor most widely known for playing Peregrin Took (Pippin), in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and Barrett Bonden in Peter Weirs film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). ... This article is about the novel. ... Newcastle United Football Club (also known as The Magpies or The Toon) is an English professional football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, who currently play in the Premier League. ... Aberdeen Football Club are a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland, who compete in the Scottish Premier League. ... First international Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat  Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... St. ... Gerard Kelly (born 27 May 1959) is a Scottish actor, who has appeared in many Scottish comedies, most notably in City Lights, Rab C Nesbitt and Scotch and Wry. ... Angus McKinnon Young (born on 31 March 1955) is an Australian guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young is known for his hard-edge style lead (and signature vibrato), wild stage energy, and schoolboy-uniform stage outfits. ... Malcolm Mitchell Young (born January 6, 1953) is a British guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and co-songwriter for the Australian hard rock band, AC/DC. He has been with them since he co-founded the band in November 1973. ... This article is about the band. ... Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Pat Nevin (born 6 September 1963 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former footballer. ... First international Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat  Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... Adam Paterson Ingram (born in Glasgow on February 1, 1947) is a Scottish politician, and Member of Parliament for East Kilbride. ... The Glasgow School was a circle of influential modern artists and designers who began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to sometime around 1910. ...

Cranhill today

Most of the original housing stock has been demolished to make way for 'back-and-front-door' houses and a private housing scheme and supermarket now occupy the site of the former Cranhill Secondary School. However, the original flats are retained in some of the streets around the Park, as are the shops at Lamlash Cres. A new school is currently under construction on the old St Gregory's RC Secondary site. The Community Centre has been replaced by a children's centre called 'The Beacon'.

The 'backfields', with their helter-skelter and a hangout for kids 'dogging' lessons, is now a construction site for semi-detached homes. Unfortunately, the Park today is in a dilapidated state, highlighted by the partial collapse of the pitch-and-putt green over a decade ago.

Wikimapia satellite image

• Cranhill

External links

• 'Glasgow Water Towers' from hiddenglasgow.com