Old Photograph Hill Street Anderston Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of shops, buildings and people on Hill Street in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. Anderston is on the north bank of the River Clyde and forms the south western edge of the city centre. It was an independent burgh of barony from 1824 until it was incorporated into the City of Glasgow in 1846. The land on which the present day district of Anderston stands was once known as the Bishops Forest. These lands, situated to the west of medieval Glasgow, were granted to the Bishop of Glasgow by King James II of Scotland in 1450. By 1791, the population of the village of Anderston was around 4,000. By the late 18th century, Anderston was a thriving community, with its population employed mostly in weaving and related industries such as bleaching, dyeing and printing. Other industries were also thriving by this period, such as the Delftfield Pottery (established in 1751, the Anderston Brewery in 1762, and the Verreville Glassworks in 1776. The areas first church, the Anderston Relief Church in Heddle Place, was erected in 1770. In the early 19th century, Henry Houldsworth, a cotton mill owner, bought the lands of Cranstonhill and a villa which stood there. The estate would later give way to reservoirs, bleachworks and then tenement housing. In 1824, when Anderston's population stood at around 10,000, the town was made a Burgh of Barony. During the rest of the 19th century, the area continued to grow, and new industries developed, such as shipbuilding, iron founding, tool manufacturing, and engineering. The close proximity to the docks on the River Clyde meant that Anderston also became an ideal place for the establishment of whisky bonds, grain stores and timber yards. This period also saw the establishment of the famous Cranstonhill and Bilsland Bakeries.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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