Moorepark, Glasgow
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Moorepark is a small area in 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 ...
. Situated south of the River Clyde and part of the former Burgh of
Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
, it was colloquially referred to as 'Wine Alley' during the mid-to-late 20th century when a housing scheme with a rough reputation was sited there. It is now an
industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
.


History

The area was originally a country estate which contained a mansion house, Moore Park, which was built in the early 19th century for the Hagart family, to plans prepared by the architect David Hamilton. The estate was acquired in the 1870s by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company and the mansion house was demolished. By the early 20th century Moorepark was bounded by the commercial properties, tenements and villas of the Broomloan estate to the east and railway lines to the west. An isolated island of cheap building land,
Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one o ...
bought the Moorepark land and in 1934 built the Moorepark Housing Estate, a typical Glasgow rehousing scheme of three-storey grey concrete-block tenements.Sean Damer, ''From Moorepark to 'Wine Alley': The Rise and Fall of a Glasgow Housing Scheme'', Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1989OS National Grid Maps, 1944-1967
Explore georeferenced maps ( National Library of Scotland)
A majority of the new residents were from 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 ...
, instead of the Govan area, which had pressing issues with overcrowding and poor quality tenements. These incomers earned the contempt and resentment of some disgruntled local inhabitants, who focused on problems of anti-social behaviour in the estate, which acquired the nickname "Wine Alley". Along with being physically hemmed in by factories and a railway branch line, and issues which were shared by other 'rehousing' developments of the time - namely low-quality building materials, few amenities and socio-economic difficulties associated with the demise of local industries (particularly shipbuilding in the case of Govan) - this label gave Moorepark a stigma as one of the city's most notorious 'schemes'.Ian Jack: Problem Families (review of 'From Moorepark to Wine Alley: The Rise and Fall of a Glasgow Housing Scheme' by Sean Damer)
London Review of Books, 26 October 1989
Following decades of decline, with existing residents experiencing prejudice and only those with little other choice willing to move to the area, Moorepark was named by ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' newspaper in April 1994 as one of the worst areas in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, with drug abuse being a widespread problem and unemployment standing at nearly 30% (up to three times the national average at the time). It had also been parodied by the BBC Scotland
television comedy Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first United States television ...
series ''
Rab C. Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character ...
'', with Wine Alley and the wider Govan area the stated setting for the show, though episodes were seldom filmed there. Moorepark was demolished and converted into an
industrial estate An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
in the 1990s, along with a nearby contemporary development at Teucharhill which had a similar tough reputation. The area was associated with
Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...
football team St Anthony's who had two grounds in the area. The first, Moorepark Grounds, was situated to the north of the mansion from the early 1900s and made way for the housing development;Photo of Benburb F.C. Finalists in the Intermediate Cup 1929-30
Acumfaegovan, 14 July 2018, via Facebook
the second (New Moore Park, opened in 1929) was to the south-west of the neighbourhood off Edmiston Drive and had fallen into some disrepair before being replaced by a business park at the turn of the 21st century, with the club moving to new facilities at
Shieldhall Shieldhall is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and is part of the wider Govan area. Location and history Taking its name from the country estate which occupied the territory until the ...
after some years of uncertainty. The Moorepark area is served by
Ibrox subway station Ibrox subway station is a station serving the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The station was known as Copland Road until 1977. The station's surface buildings were replaced during the Subway's modernisation programme, with the main entrance s ...
on the Glasgow Subway system, which is located on the corner of Copland Road and Woodville Street.


See also

*
Housing in Glasgow Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, has several distinct styles of residential buildings, and since its population began to grow rapidly the 18th century has been at the forefront of some large-scale projects to deal with its housing issues, ...


References

{{Areas of Glasgow Areas of Glasgow Govan Housing estates in Scotland History of Glasgow Industrial parks in the United Kingdom Former populated places in Scotland