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A Brief History Govan is situated opposite the confluence of the Rivers Clyde and Kelvin. h was once surrounded by fertile lands and woods. The place name of Govan has its roots in Cehic with similar words found in both Gaelic and Welsh (British). Gofan, Gowain, Gwvane, Govaine, Gohan and Goven translate to mean Smith or Land of the Smith. Govan may have been named for its reputation as an area where metal was worked. lndeed the presence of Doomster Hill and the round shaped graveyard of Govan Old Parish Church would suggest that there was a com- munity long before the Romans arrived. The ecclesiastical history of Govan dates back to the early monastery founded by St Constantine around 565 AD. Constantine was a contemporary of Columba and Kentigern. He wayeputed to be a Cornish Kinf, although recent historians prefer lrish or Scottish origins. The date of his Martyrdom was around 596AD. It was not until around 1147 lhal the name of Govan was historically recorded when King David I gave to the church ol Glasgu,'Guven'with its 'marches free and clear forever'. lt was during this period that the church in Govan was made a prebend (an associated church) of Glasgow Cathedral in or around 'l 153. Govan was primarily a fishing and farming community, although by the l6th Century there were extensive coal mine workings in the Craigton and Drumoyne areas. The village grew as new trades and crafts were established such as weaving, silk manufacture, pottery Many Govanites thought that it should have been the and the dyeing of cotton. The Govan Weavers Society other way around. was lormed in 1756 as a guild of master weavers. The Society held an annual parade on the first Friday of June, Heavy engineering industries and the Clydeside shipyards known as Govan Fair Day. continued to employ tens of thousands of men and women, but as fte orders for new ships declined and the After the Treaty of Union in 17O7 and the increase in the prosperity of the tobacco trade with America, Glasgow merchants realised traditional industries the need to bring the raw materials of commerce closer levelled-off, the growth to the city. of Govan slowed. ln 1759, the Clyde Navigation Act was passed and the After World War ll, the task of deepening the river began, allowing larger ships decline of shipbuilding to make their way up the Clyde ro the Ciry Cenrre. and the general demise lmprovements to the steam engine and the spread of the of the heavy engineering industries brought a fall in the lndustrial Revolution were to change Govan dramatically. population of Govan. The face of Govan began to ln 1841, Robert Napier laid out his shipyard and the first change as a consequence of the 1960's Comprehensive of the Cunarders was launched. ln the decades that Development Area regeneration programmes. Some ol followed, other yards were laid out and Govan came to the shipyards were redeveloped and new housing layouts the forefront of which replaced older slum housing, realigned street lay- the lndustrial outs. Some streets disappeared altogether. Govan's Revolution. first housing association, Central Govan Housing Association is now 30 years old. lt pioneered many new During the 68 initiatives in urban planning. years from 1 836 to I 904, Govan expanded dramatically from a village Shipbuilding on the Clyde of 2,122 people to a town of 90,908 people. ln 1864, in recognition of its importance as a centre of commerce and industry, Govan, a 'Iown' of some 9,058 people, was granted burgh status by the Sheriff of Lanarkshire. A Mackie & Thomson Shipyard c. l912 Lord Provost was elected and a Town Clerk and a Chief Medical Officer were appointed. The Govan Coat of Arms with the motto 'Nihil sine Labore'-'Nothing without Labour'was adopted. As the industries grew, waves of lrish immigrants and Gaelic speaking Highlanders moved to Govan to meet the ever increasing demand for a larger workforce. Govan became the fifth largest burgh in Scotland and stretched from Kelvinside to Cathcart. ln 1912, Govan was annexed to Glasgow. 1. UNDERGROUND STATION 2. AITKEN MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN 3. NEW GOVAN PARISH CHURCH 4. DOOMSTER HILL 5. WATER ROW 6. BANK OF SCOTLAND 7. PEARCE INSTITUTE .BLACK B. MAN' 9. BRECHIN'S PUB Govan Cross. c.l9'18 10. GOVAN OLD PARISH CHURCH ln December 1896, the Glasgow District Subway I t. ST ANTHONY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH Company, opened a 'subterranean railway'- or'subway' 12. LYCEUM THEATRE - with n,rro circular tunnels which ran for nearly seven 13. BAe SYSTEMS (FORMERLY miles to serve 15 stations. FATRFTELDS) Designed and engineered by D:ivitl Morton, it was 14. ELDER PARK unique in that it was the world's only underground 15. K-]3 MEMORIAL passenger transport system with a cable between each 16. THE PORTICO track to haul the trams. 17. ISABELLA ELDER STATUE 18. THE DAPHNE MEMORIAL 1922 It was purchased $r the Glasgow Corporation in 19. JOHN ELDER STATUE and electrified in 1gga. lt is now part of the Strathclyde 20. ELDER PARK LIBRARY Transport system and is still a convenient and widely 21. HILIS TRUST SCHOOL used means of transport within the City. A replica of part 22. TSB BANK of the subway and carriages are on display at the Museum of Transport. 23. GOVAN'S FIRST TOWN HALL 24. NAPIER HOUSE fuss Go,tfi Roa{frrm ldtad rfrkto tlre qme. 25. COSSAR BUILDING 26. GOVAN DRY DOCKS 27. GOVAN TOWN HALL 28. PRINCES DOCK 29. GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE Doctor John Aitken was appointed as the first Medical Officer of Health in the newly formed Burgh of Govan in Cover Photo. This memorial of a domed cast-iron drinking Fairlields litting-out basin c.l 9I 2 1864. people as Fairy, Argonaut, Hermes, Carisbrook (as the Regele Carol), Atmah fountain was erected in 1884 by the of Govan testimony to Dr Aitken's worthy character and the caring contribution he made to the wellare of the community. point for the river. lt may have been used by the Romans Looking north towards the river and others to guard and tax any movement of people or from the Aitken Memorial goods crossing the river. lt may also hrye served as a Fountain wm the site of the 1aw hill', a moot or a place of resembly, where Doomster Hill and to your right judgements and punishment were administered. is New Gorran Church. Originally called St Mary's Free Church, New Govan Parish Church stands close to the site of the ancient Doomster Hill. Buih in 1873 by architect Robert Baldie Water Rorv c.1850 in a Gothic style, it has an imaginative interior with no Water Row was a lane leading down to a ford and seat further than ten rows from the front. New Govan stepping stones across the river to Partick. By the l6th Parish Church has absorbed the congregations of St Century, a ferryman was takinf p"msengers from one side Kiaran's Dean Pa*, St Columba's Summertown Road, to the other. Soon the'Ferrie Bote lnn'was established Copland Road and Fairfield Churches. as a staging post for horse drawn coaches to Renfrerv and beyond. By the 17th and 1 8th Centuries, there were stonebuilt, thatched fishermen's cottages lining the lane. Across the square from New Govan Parish Church stands the Bank of Scotland at the comer oI Govan Road and Water Row. This was originally built for the British Linen Bank from a design by Salmon, Son & Gillespie in 1897-1900, underlining the importance of the weaving industry in the community. Its architectural free style includes a tall narrow corner Its exact origin is lost in the mists of time, but is first use bay topped with an open crown on the roof. Above the was probably as a barrow, an artilicial pre-Christian burial entrance to the Bank, there is a carved ship complete mound of which there are many examples found with a tiny figurehead with its sail being filled by winged throughout Britain. wind gods. Doomster Hill was sited beside what was a very shallow Fnn tlp Mr ol W hfr10, Mlhn hv fui M b Pr.ra lrr part of the River Clyde. This area was a natural crossing zl yourf annna dp ba ffim, Born in 1833 in Kent, William Pearce trained in the Royal Dockyards in Chatham as a shipbuilder. ln 1863 he came to the Clyde and became the general manager at Robert Napier and Son. He joined the firm of John Elder and Co (later Fairfields) in 1869 and nine years later became the sole proprietor. He realised the need for fast passenger transport between Europe and North America and under his supervision at Fairfield was built some of the fastest and most Pearce lnstitute technologically advanced ships of the era. (See 13). ln 1885 he Statue ol Sir William Pearce The Pearce lnstitute was designed by Sir R. Rowand became Govan's first Member of Anderson and opened in 1906. Parliament. The building was gifted to the people of Govan for use as a community centre by Lady Pearce in memory of her husband, Sir William Pearce. lt is a combination of Dutch and Scottish Renaissance architecture. lts exterior features are crow stepped gables, a tower with a John Cardellwas an balconied cupola, oriel windows, a clock and fully rigged enthusiastic worker for the sailing ship finial. The Macleod Hall has a magnificent cause of tempeh/nce in the organ, stage and gallery. The original Reading Room 1880s, when it was said there was the Lithgow Theatre, used by many community was a pub at every street groups.