Kingsway Community Connections is a community development centre set up and managed by local people for local people. The Centre provides a range of services and activities aimed at improving the quality of life of Kingsway and residents of the surrounding area. originally established as Kingsway Health &amp; Wellbeing Centre it was re-named to Kingsway Community Connections in January 2021

Kingsway Community Connections

This is one of three heritage trails within Scotstoun. They all start and end at Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre. This trail is centred in a busy area with main roads and a well used cycle path which has cyclists, pedestrians and dog walkers. Please make sure you exercise caution at all times and where  possible use pedestrian crossings

The community centre, car park and gardens are on land which was once occupied by The Albion Motor Car Company (1903).Heart of Scotstoun took part in their first ever Doors Open Day in Sept 2019 where months of hard work and research put together an exhibition about Albion. Over 200 people came along to see the pictures and information boards, renew old friendships and make new ones

Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre with The Cherry Tree Café opened in January 2011. Towards the end of the construction phase the original name of "Heart for Scotstoun" was dropped in favour of "Heart of Scotstoun"






Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre

From Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre cross Balmoral Street to the opposite side (before the bridge,) and take the pathway signposted to NCN 7

This cycle path is the former Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway (1896) which had three stations within the Scotstoun and Whiteinch area: Scotstoun (West), Scotstoun (East) and Whiteinch Riverside.

Please remember that NCN 7 is a shared path so watch out for cyclists/pedestrians/dogs

Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway / NCN 7 cycle path

Glasgow Eco Trust is a local environmental charity and social enterprise based in west Glasgow that coordinates and delivers a range of environmental activities and services that enable local people to get active, get involved and make a difference. Formerly Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust they were responsible for building the Heart of Scotstoun community centre. They occupy office space at the back of the centre where their windows look onto the peaceful gardens

Glasgow Eco Trust

Once a heap of rubble the space behind the community centre has been completely transformed into a haven of tranquillity where people can stroll, sit and chat or eat their lunch bought from the Cherry Tree cafe within the community centre

Heart of Scotstoun gardens

Arnold Clark have a large site immediately adjacent to Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre which focuses on car and van rental.  Going further west they also have a large site for the autoparts side of their business

Arnold Clark

The GTG premises are on land once occupied by The Albion Motor Car CompanyGTG became part of the Arnold Clark Group in 2003

The GTG training centre in Scotstoun offers automotive technical and transport training. Their vehicles are often seen driving round the neighbouring streets

The rear of the premises can be viewed from the NCN7 cycle path
The main entrance is 1330 South Street

Charles Connell &amp; Company (1861) once occupied this area of South Street before becoming Yarrow Shipbuilders. There followed a succession of name changes before the yards became BAE Systems. The remaining buildings of Yarrow's can still be seen adjoining BAE systems

BAE Systems

The original Scotstoun House was south of Dumbarton Road situated close to where Ardsloy Place is now. It was demolished in 1890s for the construction of the Lanarkshire-Dunbartonshire railway line.

Scotstoun House (original)

Scotstoun Station (1896) was renamed Scotstoun West in 1900 and was located just beyond the westerly boundary of the heritage trail.Underneath the bridge on Burnham Road are the remnants of the buildings and entrances

Scotstoun West Station

Ardsloy Place links Dumbarton Road to the NCN 7 cycle route via a small access path.
Several lanes making up part of Yarrow's Cottages are accessed from the north side of Ardsloy Place

According to some records Ardsloy Place was the site of a World War 2 bombing where three residents were killed.

Ardsloy Place

Walking east on the south side of Dumbarton Road you come to a number of flat roofed houses known as Yarrow’s Cottages (1905-6). These houses were built to house the workers at Yarrow’s, many of whom moved from London to work in shipbuilding on the River Clyde. Behind the cottages on Dumbarton Road are Riversdale Lane, Thornden Lane, Gosford Lane, all of which are in the same style.

Yarrow's Cotttages

The main avenue of Kingsway links Dumbarton Road to the south with Anniesland Road to the northern end. This broad roadway was a tram route from Dumbarton Road to Great Western Road (probably service no. 1/1A) along the western border of Scotstoun until trams were phased out between 1956 and 1962.

Kingsway

Across Kingsway are the offices of DRC Generations, a community health initiative based in Scotstoun and operating in the wider Knightswood area, which offers peer-led support and mentoring services.

DRC Generations

This large plot of land was once part of the Scotstoun Estate and now houses the Kingsway Court blocks (1962) and a more modern development of flats and houses



Kingsway Court

The De'ils on Wheels community bike workshop is a project of Glasgow Eco Trust As a quality accredited re-use organisation they offer a range of services at affordable prices including bike sales, bike servicing and repairs, and a wide range of new and re-used parts, spares and accessories. Unwanted bikes are donated by the community and further afield to help keep costs to a minimum. Much of the labour is provided by a volunteer programme

De'ils on Wheels

The Community Garden provides opportunities for local residents to participate in a variety of horticultural and environmental activities. The space also provides opportunities for socialising, learning and encouraging integration and co-operation. Gardening activity presents local, low cost opportunities for physical activity, access to green space and locally grown produce.

Community gardener Eric supports the development of groups and activities to encourage ongoing use of the space by individuals, families and schools. Workshops include basic allotment skills such as growing vegetables and herbs, composting and gardening for wildlife.

There is a mix of individual plots for residents personal use and communal plots for groups and schools to use. Individual plot holders have their own keys for access.



Kingsway Community Garden

Within Kingsway Court estate is the unmarked site of the second Scotstoun House (1919-1962), a Glasgow Corporation home for ‘delicate children’. The ‘Children’s Home’ on the little hill close to where 50 Kingsway Court now stands was known locally as ‘the homie’. The house was on the only flat bit of land within the estate at the time and there is now a childrens playpark on it The Scotstoun House on this site was built as a replacement for the original Scotstoun Estate house (located south of Dumbarton Road) which was demolished in the 1890s for the construction of the Lanarkshire-Dunbartonshire railway line.

Scotstoun House 2

A pathway leads from the rear of 50 Kingsway Court  through greenspace to Birchfield Drive
This area is known locally as The Homie dating back to when a children's home was part of the estate

The Homie

In the immediate area of this part of Scotstoun there are street names which remind us of the rural nature of this part of Glasgow in centuries past – Birchfield, Larchfield, Harefield. 

Birchfield Drive and the homes in the surrounding streets are part of the 1930s development of residential property in the Scotstoun and Knightswood areas of Glasgow.  

Scotstoun Hill

Victoria Drive Higher Grade Public School was opened on 31 August 1909. The three story building cost £19,537 and provided accommodation for 1,200 pupils in 23 classrooms. The ground floor was for infants, the first floor for juniors and the second floor for higher grade pupils. An annexe to the school was built in the mid-1930s at the corner of Danes Drive and Queen Victoria Drive, and additional accommodation was added to the rear of the building in Queen Victoria Drive in the 1960s. During the Second World War a barrage balloon was situated in Raploch Avenue where part of the school playground was located at the time.

All that remains of Victoria Drive School is the stone posts at either corner of Birchfield Drive and Larchfield Avenue which serve as a reminder that schools were built with separate entrances and playgrounds for girls and boys

Victoria Drive School (site of)

A temporary iron building was erected on this site and opened for worship in 1901. Work began on a permanent stone church in May 1905 and the first service was held in October 1906. The church's bell was donated by Miss Louisa Gibb and when this tolled on a Sunday latecomers were known to comment that they'd better hurry up as Louisa as calling them!

The congregation joined with Scotstoun East Parish Church (originally Scotstoun United Free Church) in the late 1980s and the old church fell into disrepair. It was destroyed by fire on bonfire night in 1997 and subsequently demolished. Flats now stand on its site

The original posts and fencing are all that remain of this category B listed building

Scotstoun West Church

"Lucy boxes" got their names from the majority of them being made by the Lucy Foundry in Oxford These boxes are sometimes green and sometimes silver. They were originally used for the tram network and later the trolley bus network, also for electrical and telephone purposesThree Lucy Boxes are situated within Scotstoun Sports Campus on the pathway between the large football pitch and the 2 5-a-side pitches. A further 3 are adjacent to the fence between the large football pitch and the nature walkAnd there is one on Norse Road and one at the corner of Dumbarton Road and Balmoral StreetMaybe you can spot some more while exploring the Heritage Trails

Lucy Box (Dumbarton Rd/Balmoral St)

Standing on Balmoral Street railway bridge look south towards the river. Most of the land you see would have been occupied by Albion Motors Looking north towards Dumbarton Road you see the Earl Street tenementsWorkers were brought to Balmoral Street and South Street by trams operated from 1894 by Glasgow Corporation

Scotstoun Heritage Trail - western loop

Kingsway Community Connections

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context