Laurieston is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

area of the Scottish city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. It is situated south of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

. It derives its name from James Laurie who, along with his brother, developed a large part of the district in the early 19th century.

History

Laurieston is a core part of the Gorbals. Compared to other neighbourhoods in the vicinity, many of its 19th century buildings escaped the

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

s of the 1960s and 70s, particularly in the north of the district close to the river. However the

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

s further south were swept away to be replaced by four black 'slab'

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...

s (which actually consisted of four pairs of towers with separate entrances, joined together externally). Whilst the blocks (''Norfolk Court'' and ''Stirlingfauld Place'') solved a short term housing need and were popular with some residents due to their proximity to central Glasgow, they were expensive to maintain and became increasingly undesirable in terms of their build quality and aesthetic appeal. Over a period of several years in the early 21st century the residents were relocated and the towers demolished. A further redevelopment of modern low rise apartments is now underway.ClydeWaterfront.com - Laurieston
/ref> Some local landmarks, such as

Glasgow Sheriff Court Glasgow Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in the Gorbals ( Laurieston) area of Glasgow, within the sheriffdom of Glasgow and Strathkelvin. It is reputedly the busiest court in Europe. History The new court was commissioned to replace the Old Sh ...

and the

O2 Academy Glasgow The O2 Academy Glasgow (formerly the Carling Academy Glasgow) is a music venue on Eglinton Street in the Gorbals ( Laurieston) area of Glasgow. It holds 2,500 people. It was one of two Academy Music Group venues in Glasgow, until the O2 ABC Gla ...

(the former New Bedford Cinema) are most accurately located in Laurieston. Laurieston is served by

Bridge Street subway station , style = Glasgow Subway , image = Bridge street subway station.JPG , image_caption = , address = Laurieston, Glasgow , country = Scotland , coordinates = , elevation ...

on the

Glasgow Subway The Glasgow Subway is an underground light metro system in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the fourth-oldest underground rail transit system in Europe after the London Underground, Liverpool's Mersey Railway and the Budapes ...

. Many local bus routes also converge there (on Eglinton Street and Gorbals Street) before entering Glasgow city centre. The

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

railway tracks form the western boundary of the district and there are other tracks nearby (linking to the City Union Bridge), but it has been several decades since Laurieston or the Gorbals had its own train station.

References

External links

Laurieston Gorbals - Architecture and HistoryLaurieston Living - new housing development in the areaGreater Gorbals
socio-economic profile at ''Understanding Glasgow'' (2012) Areas of Glasgow Gorbals {{Glasgow-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links