Remembering Thomson

The Scottish Architect, Alexander “Greek” Thomson was born on 9th April 1817 inEndrick Cottage in the village of Balfron, around 15 miles north of Glasgow. He wasthe son of bookkeeper John Thomson and his second wife Elizabeth Cooper. Sadly,John died in 1824 and by the following year, Elizabeth moved to the outskirts ofGlasgow with her

The Dennistoun Saracen Fountain

The Saracen Fountain, so named because it was cast by Walter Macfarlane & Co at the Saracen Works in Possilpark, has stood in its current site in Dennistoun, in the east end of Glasgow for the last 110 years. According to the Macfarlane Castings Catalogue, this cast iron spray fountain is model no. 130 and

Witchcraft in Neilston

There are rumours about the practice of Witchcraft in Neilston during the 16th and 17th century, but there seems to be scant documentary evidence to confirm any exact details. The Presbytery records from 1650 mention that a “witch or witches” were apprehended in Neilston, but these individuals were not named and their stories never told.

The end of the road for the O2 ABC

On 15th June 2018, the former music venue known as the O2 ABC was fatally damaged following an outbreak of fire, which started at the Mackintosh Building of The Glasgow School of Art. The school had already suffered a devastating fire on 23rd May 2014, and the second fire occurred during building work being carried

Walton: The other ‘Glasgow boy’

Scottish Architect and Designer George Henry Walton, the youngest of twelve children, was born on 3rd June 1867 to Jackson Walton and his wife, Eliza Ann Nicholson. The Walton family settled near Glasgow by 1860 at Glanderston House on the south periphery of Barrhead, where several of their children were born. It was an old

The Port “Skelpies”

A new sculpture called ‘The Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow” designed and built by Artist John McKenna is almost complete in Coronation Park in Port Glasgow. It sits in-between the lighthouses at what was known as Devil’s Point off Fore Street (not far from Malcolm Robertson’s “Endeavour” Sculpture of 2012) and Ferguson’s Marine, the last remaining

An Architectural Scandal

Madeleine Hamilton Smith was the eldest child of Architect James Smith and his wife Janet, daughter of the well-known Architect David Hamilton. She was born in Glasgow on 29th March 1835 and was alleged to have killed her lover Pierre Emile L’Angelier by arsenic poisoning, but her guilt was famously found to be “not proven”

Archives: towards a shared language

As an Archivist, it can be easy to forget that although other people (especially other heritage professionals, Historians or Researchers) may share your enthusiasm and understanding of collections, they don’t necessarily share your language and terminology. And as many Archivists often either work alone or alongside other professionals from different backgrounds with different skills and

The Titan Crane, Greenock

Situated at the James Watt Dock at the foot of Ratho Street in Greenock, this 150 foot cantilever crane is a Category A listed structure (listed by Historic Environment Scotland in 1989) – one of only four remaining on the River Clyde. 40 were originally built by Arrol & Co and sent all around the