The Gordon Park area of Whiteinch consists of Victoria Park Street, Elm Street, Lime Street and Bowling Green Road and is bordered by Dumbarton Road, Victoria Park Drive South and Westland Drive.The Oswald family owned the Scotstoun Estate until the last decade of the 19th century when James Gordon Oswald died in 1897. It was he who initiated the development of this area for housing for estate workers in 1885. The area became known later as Gordon Park.His idea was to provide good quality housing with a church and recreation hall for his estate workers. He also donated part of the estate to the Burgh of Partick for the creation of Victoria Park in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887.During the war, on March 13 1941, 10 properties at 19 to 27 Lime Street, 24 and 26 Westland Drive and 53 to 56 Victoria Park Drive South were badly damaged by a German bombing raid. The houses were in a direct line of the likely target, the Barclay Curle Shipyard

Gordon Park Estate

The Whiteinch Centre

Going along Dumbarton Road towards Partick, Whiteinch Cross is the intersection with Glendore Street (formerly Gordon Street) on your left and Smith Street on your right.Many parts of Glasgow including the city centre had "crosses", thus called for religious significance. Markets were often held here and they were a common place to meet friends. Partick Burgh installed clocks at prominent places and one of the original tenements had one at the topThe left hand of Dumbarton Road at Whiteinch Cross still has some tenement buildings with businesses below but these are not the originals. The right hand side was also totally cleared for the building of the Clyde Tunnel and is now landscaped. There are plans to regenerate Whiteinch Cross

Whiteinch Cross

Balshagray Estate is first mentioned in 1509 when it formed part of the Great See of GlasgowIn 1641 Balshagray House was built by John Stewart, the last member of that family to be associated with the estate. William Crawford of Jordanhill found the house in poor condition but repaired it and added offices and a garden

William Crawford created Balsahgray Avenue, the main thoroughfare from Dumbarton Road to the north. The start of this magnificent avenue was taken away to form the approach road to the Clyde Tunnel, Balsahgray Avenue now starts at the northerly corner of Victoria Park and runs up to Crow Road. From the hump backed bridge you can see the 4 lanes of traffic going up what was once a peaceful avenueBalshagray had many large houses including Oswald Villa (built for the minister of Whiteinch Free Church) and Northfield Villa (manse for Partick High Free Church)

Balshagray Avenue

Here you see the current school buildingBuilt in 19xx

Whiteinch Primary School

To help alleviate the overcrowding, Govan Parish School Board opened an additional building on the site in 1892 which had capacity of 680 children. This building to this day is home to Whiteinch Primary SchoolAs was typical of schools of this era, boys and girls entered the school via separate gates and had separate playgrounds. The boy's playground was located between the 2 buildings and this is where the janitor organised drill for the pupilsAn inspector's report on the new school commented that 'the tone, order and discipline [of the pupils] left little to be desired. Pupil attendance continued to increase and by 1899 the two buildings housed 1,336 pupils with some classrooms holding as many as 60 childrenIn 1915 an additional building on nearby Victoria Park Drive South was built to help ease the overcrowding, this building is now Ladywell School which is used as a temporary school for Glasgow schools undergoing modernisation or similar work

Soon after its establishment in 1877 Whiteinch Public School (now Whiteinch Nursery) had an average attendance of 340 pupils, but conditions were not ideal and in 1885 the School Inspector's report stated 'a chair should be provided for each teacher, their want (especially the female teachers) being serious'Following further rapid increases in population - mostly caused by the shipbuilding industry expansion - the school became seriously overcrowded with an average attendance of 696 in 1885, more than double that of when it opened only 8 years earlier

Whiteinch Public School 1877 (now Whiteinch Nursery)

Built in 1877 (average attendance 340 pupils), the original Whiteinch Public School rapidly expanded mostly due to the burgeoning shipbuilding industry in the area. By 1885 the school was bursting with 696 pupils, and so an additional building was opened on the same land (now the current Whiteinch primary school). The respite was short lived however and by 1899 the two buildings had 1,336 pupils necessitating the building of a separate annexeThe original Whiteinch Public School on Glendore Street is currently home to Whiteinch Nursery

In 1915 this building was opened as an extension to the original Whiteinch Public School. No longer in use as a regular school, this building is called Ladywell School and is used as a temporary location for Glasgow schools undergoing modernisation or similar work

Whiteinch Public School additional building (now Ladywell School)

Whiteinch Library

Whiteinch Lesser Burgh Hall

Whiteinch Police Station was attached to Whiteinch Lesser Burgh Hall on Oswald Street (now Inchlee Street). Starting out with only two policemen, it quickly became necessary to increase the number to cope with the growing population of Whiteinch.In 1906 the Chief Inspector for Partick increased the number to include one inspector but by 1908 he had added a third constable and a second inspector. Additional cells were added in 1906The burgh used an old ambulance wagon for picking up inebriates and for conveying prisoners from Whiteinch to Partick. The cost of whipping juveniles in 1906 was £1, 4s, 6d per quarter (this equates to about £410/annum at today's rate of inflation)

Whiteinch Police Station

Sited on the corner of Oswald/George Street (now Inchlee/Medwyn Street)  the fire station sat beside the Whiteinch Police Station and Whiteinch Lesser Burgh Hall.No mention of a fire station at that location is found on maps from 1915 onwardsA contemporary account suggests there were three firemen available for duty .....Whiteinch had " a small fire brigade which consisted of James Hardie, the plumber, Sandy MacArthur the carpenter and Mic Cochrane, the joiner, with a handbarrow containing the hose and ladder etc."

Whiteinch Fire Station

The Salvation Army (Glasgow West) hosts regular Sunday services and weekday prayer services in addition to being a Food Bank and a base for sales of War Cry, the Salvation Army's magazine

The Salvation Army's original halls were in Parker Street (now Haylynn Street), permission to build them had been applied for in 1914. When the halls were demolished the Citadel moved to new premises in Medwyn Street; this is the Salvation Army's Glasgow West premises

Salvation Army

The Whiteinch Public Baths and Wash-house were built next to the public halls and the building contained <ul><li>a large pool 75 feet by 35 feet 6 inches</li><li>a small pool of 40 feet by 20 feet</li><li>sixteen slipper baths for ladies and thirty-one for men</li><li>forty-three wash stalls</li><li>sixteen washing machines</li><li>a Turkish bath with room for twenty people (from 1926)</li><li>sun lamps were installed in the 1930s.</li></ul>

Whiteinch Baths was built in 1889 situated on Medwyn Street (formerly George Street until Whiteinch became part of Glasgow)Whiteinch Public Baths and Wash-house was constructed between 1923 and 1926 by the Office of Public Works and opened on 28 October 1926https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB32278Whiteinch Public Baths was constructed between 1923 and 1926 by the Office of Public Works and opened on 28 October 1926. It was once a much larger complex that had two swimming pools, including additional baths for women and men, and a Turkish bath. The retained central pavilion of the baths makes a good contribution to the streetscape, and is rare as a building type as not many early 20th century baths now survive. The unusual brick and Edwardian Baroque style represents a well-detailed example of civic architecture, and it continues to makes an important contribution to an area of the city which has been largely redeveloped. The baths closed in the 1990s and were vacant until redeveloped into housing in 2008.

Whiteinch Baths and Wash-house

Primrose Street was a tram terminus and from 1902 the place where track changes were made at the Scotstoun-Whiteinch districts boundary.






Primrose Street

Adjacent to the site of St George's Co-operative Society the corner building now occupied by Scotstoun Emporium has been a much valued hardware store within the community for over 100 years In 1931 a ‘Dalmuir West via Bridgton Cross’ tram left the rails and fell into the window of the shop at this corner. The incident was allegedly reported in an Italian newspaper of the time!

Scotstoun Emporium

Established in 1903 Victoria Park Bowling Club sits on the corner of Westland Drive and Dumbarton Road surrounded by hedging. Two entrance gates allow access, a secluded one at the approach to the Clydeside Expressway underpass and a more prominent one at the T junction, both have the name and year of opening on the the metal gates Follow the signposted pathway towards the Clydeside Expressway underpass to reach the southern end of Victoria Park Nature Walk.

Victoria Park Bowling Club

Primrose Court sheltered housing complex now occupies the entrance to this station On of two railway lines to serve Whiteinch and Scotstoun, the Whiteinch Railway Company opened Whiteinch Goods Mineral and Livestock station in 1874 as part of the line which ran from Dumbarton Road to Crow Road. The Whiteinch Tramway Company continued the line across Dumbarton Road and through fields (ultimately the site of Scotstoun Street) to the river.Cattle was brought from the wharves at the Clyde to the goods yard at Whiteinch Victoria Park station or driven from the yard to the wharves. In 1891 the North British Railway bought the Whiteinch Railway Company, introducing a passenger service in 1897.In 1934, 50 Canadian bullocks stampeded from Merkland's Wharf and caused chaos in the area for quite some time. A train at Jordanhill station had to be delayed while cattle were removed from the line, and visitors to Victoria Park were entertained by the sight of a number of beasts paddling in the pond. Allotments in Scotstoun were tramples on and a football match being played on a pitch beside Crow Road had to be delayed until the drovers could round up the animals

Whiteinch Goods Mineral and Livestock station

At the southern end of the Victoria Park Nature Walk path is the unmarked site of significant railway sidings and buildings associated with Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire Railway line, including the Goods Yard of Whiteinch Victoria Park Station (1896).

Used as a cycle path, a pedestrian walkway and a popular dog walking route, it is easily accessed from all parts of the community via lanes and underpasses. The nature trail runs from the end of the Expressway in East Scotstoun up to to Westbrae Drive in Jordanhill.

Victoria Park Nature Trail (south area)

Across Danes Drive, beyond the double roundabouts junction, all that remains of Whiteinch Methodist Church (technically in Jordanhill) is a gate at the housing complex carrying the name ‘Anglegate’. The church opened in 1901 and closed in 1981. The original name of Angelgate was restored after the church was closed

Whiteinch Methodist Church

The building has been in Church of Scotland ownership since 1945 but was opened as Glasgow Institution for Orphan &amp; Destitute Girls (1891). The Home accommodated fifty-three resident girls in 1904, rising to sixty-one in 1905. They attended the local school and received at least one year's training in the Home in every branch of housework, before they were found employment, usually in domestic service.During a period from 1945 young apprentices at Albion Motor Car Company and Yarrow’s whose homes were in the north of Scotland or Western Isles were accommodated as lodgers in the Church of Scotland Homes.

Glasgow Institution for Orphan & Destitute Girls

Victoria Park (20 hectares/50 acres) was originally acquired by the Burgh of Partick. The park was named for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee in 1887 and is considered to be Glasgow's prettiest park. The park boasts an extensive range of formal floral displays and hollies. The park is very popular with the neighbouring communities of Whiteinch, Scotstoun, Jordanhill and Broomhill, with visitors also coming from further afield. With many different aspects to the park it has its own Heritage Trail

Victoria Park

The Whiteinch Homes (now a category B listed building) were built around 1890 by the James Allan Trust in the style of English 17th century almshouses. They were intended originally for elderly employees of the Allan Shipping Line. In the 1980s the building was acquired by the Thomas Chalmers Housing Association, and reopened after refurbishment in 1989 as a care home for the elderly. The buildings now form Westland Drive sheltered housing complex and are managed by Bield

Whiteinch Homes

At the end of the green open space of the nature trail and with Victoria Park Lane North on the left it is a short distance to the junction of Westland Drive and the busy Clydeside Expressway. The pavement to the left is your route up Westland Drive.  

Westland Drive starts in Whiteinch at Dumbarton road with Victoria Park Bowling Green on your left. It then crosses the Clydeside Expressway continuing past Victoria Park to the double roundabouts at the end of Danes Drive, and slowly climbs up past St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Jordanhill before levelling out again at the top of the nature trail

Westland Drive

The main gates to Victoria Park were originally at the end of Park Street (now Victoria Park Street). Construction of the Clydeside Expressway resulted in the main gates being moved to their current location on Victoria Park Drive North at the foot of Airthrey AvenueVictoria Park Street is part of the Gordon Park Estate, now a conservation area within Whiteinch

Victoria Park original entrance

Gordon Oswald of Scotstoun Estate donated the site at the corner of Victoria Park Street and Dumbarton Road for a permanent church, also giving £500 to the building fund. Such was the size of its congregation that in 1900 the church opened a Mission Hall in Fore Street (Scotstoun) to meet the needs of people moving into that district. In 1924 the 214th Glasgow Boys Brigade Company was formed in association with the church, and the company's pipe band was world champion on a number of occasionsAfter the union between the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland in 1929 a proposal was put forward to rename the building Whiteinch West Church of Scotland, but the congregation decided that Gordon Park Church was more fitting, as that name included a tribute to the man who had been such a generous benefactor to it.Gordon Park Church closed in 1980 when its congregation amalgamated with that of Jordanvale Parish Church; the building was subsequently taken over by a furniture shop followed by Nova Bathrooms and is now Victoria Park Kindergarten

Whiteinch United Free Church was completed in 1877, its halls were completed slightly earlier in 1874. Oswald Villa at the top of Balshagray Avenue was its first manseWhiteinch United Free Church originated in 1873 in Jenkin's Cooking Depot at the corner of Squire Street and South Street. Only 4 short years later they were able to move into this magnificent building

Gordon Park Church (formerly Whiteinch United Free Church)

The first house in Clydeview was built in 1838 at the corner of Dumbarton Road and Balshagray Avenue. While the roof was being put on it, the builders were allowed special leave to go to the Glasgow Green celebrations for the coronation of Queen VictoriaDuring the nineteenth century the prestigious Clydeview on the north side of Dumbarton Rd houses had uninterrupted views across the River Clyde and many of the houses were owned by the wealthy business owners of the time. Tenements were later built on the south side of the road to house the incoming workers; ironic that these tenements blocked the views of the earlier houses

The area of Clydeview stretched all the way from Haldane Street to Thornwood roundabout. Terraces of high class houses were demolished to make way for the Clyde Tunnel and its approach roads. Modern housing was later erected on the land unclaimed by the TunnelClydeview House occupied a prestigious spot at Thornwood roundabout but was replaced by Balshagray School in 1902. The building went on to become the Balshagray campus for Anniesland College. Around 2017-18 it was converted into luxury flats and penthouses; the swimming pool block and janitor's house were demolished and replaced by a newer building

Clydeview (demolished area)

St Paul's school was opened in 1905 with 180 pupils but by 1907 it had grown to over 400. The ground floor of the building was used as a primary school and the upper floor served as a church until the new church on Dumbarton Road was constructed between 1957 and 1960. In 1974 the school moved to new premises on Primrose StreetThe Whiteinch Neighbourhood Centre was later built on this site to be replaced by the Whiteinch Centre which provides services and activities to the community, it also houses Whiteinch &amp; Scotstoun Housing Association

Whiteinch Heritage Trail - northern loop

Gordon Park Estate

Introduction

Sources