Possilpark is a district 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 north 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 ...
and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around
Saracen Foundry
The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890
The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...
of
Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of the Saracen Foundry's closure in 1967, this part of Glasgow became one of the poorest in the United Kingdom, and decades later deprivation and crime rates remain high.
A variety of diverse community organisations operate in the area, providing arts, sports, health and gardening provision and community regeneration, including Young People's Futures, The Concrete Garden, Possobilities and Friends of Possilpark Greenspace. The district is served by both
Possilpark & Parkhouse and
Ashfield railway stations on the
Maryhill Line
The Maryhill Line is a suburban railway line linking central Glasgow and Anniesland via Maryhill in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network. The line between Glasgow and Maryhill forms a part of the West Highl ...
.
History
Upper and Lower Possil estate
In 1242,
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually unch ...
granted certain lands to the
Bishop of Glasgow
The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...
. These included the lands in the north referred to as Possele, divided in the sixteenth century into Over or Upper Possil, and Nether or Lower Possil.
The region known as Nether Possil was acquired in 1595 by Robert Crawford, who was the son of Hew Crawford of
Cloberhill. In 1644 James Gilhagie of
Kenniehill bought the estate, part of an old and rich Glasgow family with interests in coal, the Caribbean,
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
and the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
. However, by 1698 Gilhagie had fallen on hard times, and after burning his properties in 1677 in Saltmarket and adjoining streets, applied to the Scots Parliament for assistance. After passing through various creditors hands, the lands were acquired in 1697 by Edinburgh writer John Forbes, who built a house. After being owned by his son, the estate was sold to in 1744 to merchant William Crawfurd of Birkhead, who in 1749 acquired Easter Nether Possil, he thus reunited the lands which had been subdivided in 1588.
In 1808, the estate was acquired by Colonel
Alexander Campbell, son of Glasgow merchant John Campbell senior, founder of the
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
trading house of John Campbell sen. & Co. Colonel Campbell had served during the battles in South Africa, being present at the capture of the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
in 1806, and at the
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...
where he commanded the 20th Regiment. Having bought the adjoining estate of
Keppoch in 1838, the family seat had transferred there. Campbell rented Possil house and a park to
Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet
Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, (29 December 179223 May 1867) was an England-born Scottish advocate (attorney) and historian. He held several prominent legal appointments. He was the younger son of the Episcopalian cleric and author Archibal ...
, who as the lawyer son of Scottish writer
Archibald Alison, had in 1834 become Sheriff of
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
. The house and park lands as laid out then, were described then as:
Saracen Foundry
![HamiltonHill1923](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/HamiltonHill1923.jpg)
On the death of Colonel Campbell in 1849, the estate passed to his son. When Walter MacFarlane wished to vastly expand his
Saracen Foundry
The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890
The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...
company, Campbell agreed to sell MacFarlane of the estate including the house, on which to build a vast new works.
MacFarlane renamed the estate Possilpark, which grew from a population of 10 people in 1872 to 10,000 by 1891, at which time the area was incorporated into the city officially. MacFarlane oversaw the removal of all the woodlands and after creating railway access to his foundry, laid out the rest of the park land as a grid plan of streets and tenements, including naming the main street running through the new suburb "Saracen Street". After Alison's death in 1867, the main house was also demolished as the foundry works expanded.
The grid layout of Possilpark was described by the then Glasgow Town Council as: ''"...
e of the finest and best conducted in Glasgow, and the new suburb of Possil Park, laid out by them with skill and intelligence, is rapidly becoming an important addition to the great city."''
The Saracen foundry made a series of decorative iron works, from railings and water fountains to park bandstands. These were exported all over the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, and can still be found in many parts of Britain, including a reproduction placed at Saracen Cross in Possilpark itself in 2001.
After World War II, the combination of the collapse of the British Empire, the move away from steam power and the adaptation of new designs and materials meant a vast decline in orders for Saracen's standard cast iron designs. The MacFarlane company moved into standard foundry work, including being one of five foundries casting Sir
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and d ...
's classic
K6 telephone box
The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar.
Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, ...
for
Post Office Telephones
Post Office Telecommunications was set up as a separate department of the UK Post Office, in October 1969. The Post Office Act 1969 was passed to provide for greater efficiency in post and telephone services; rather than run a range of services, ...
. After a take over of the company in 1965, the works closed and the infrastructure was demolished in 1967. The foundry site is now occupied by a number of commercial firms, including Allied Motors.
Present day
![Westercommon Road flats and new housing estate in Possil Park - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Westercommon_Road_flats_and_new_housing_estate_in_Possil_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1127877.jpg)
Within fifteen years of the closing of the Saracen foundry, Possil had become the hub of the Glasgow
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
trade, and was to remain so during the 1980s. Large portions of the Possil have been destroyed, many of the old tenements being flattened and the residents forced to move to other areas. Saracen Street remains the main shopping area, but the whole area has been undergoing mass redevelopment since the late 1990s, which has seen many new houses being built. More and more small local businesses are appearing in Saracen Street as well. A sports centre (Millennium Centre) was constructed to highlight the rebirth of Possil, but has since closed down and been demolished. However, the area is improving with better standards in the community, and a
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshir ...
crackdown on the overflowing drug wars and usage, though this has latterly been threatened by nationwide budget cuts.
Following the lead of his friend
Sir Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter (born 6 May 1961) is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Sports Division
Tom set up his first business after graduating from the University of Strathclyde as he was, in his own words, "unemployab ...
, in April 2008, English real estate tycoon
Nick Leslau
Nick Leslau, born , is an English commercial property investor, with an estimated fortune in the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List of £200 million. Leslau is Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings Limited, and Chairman of ...
spent 10 days in Possilpark filming
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''
The Secret Millionaire
''The Secret Millionaire'' is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds (or tens of thousands of dollars in the US and ...
'', eventually giving away £225,000 to projects including Possobilities, formerly known as The Disability Community.
In 2012, the 'Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation' analysis by the Scottish Government identified Possilpark and Keppochhill as the 2nd and 3rd most deprived areas in Scotland.
Notable residents
*
Peter Capaldi
Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
, actor
*
Kevin Harper
Kevin Patrick Harper (born 15 January 1976) is a football coach and former player. He played as a winger for Hibernian, Derby County, Walsall, Portsmouth, Norwich City, Leicester City, Stoke City, Carlisle United and Dunfermline Athletic. Born ...
, footballer
*
Eddie Kelly, footballer
*
Dickson Mabon
Jesse Dickson Mabon (1 November 1925 – 10 April 2008), sometimes known as Dick Mabon, was a Scottish politician, physician and business executive. He was the founder of The Manifesto Group of Labour MPs, an alliance of moderate MPs who fough ...
, politician
*
Willy Maley
William Timothy "Willy" Maley (born 2 December 1960, in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish literary critic, editor, teacher and writer.
Maley is Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Glasgow, Fellow of the English Association (FE ...
, literary critic
*
Lena Martell
Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with " One Day at a Time" in 1979.
Biography
Marte ...
, singer
*
Alex Massie, footballer
*
Gil Paterson
Gilbert Martin Paterson (born in Springburn, Glasgow, 1942) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, who served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Clydebank and Milngavie, from 2011 to 2021. Previously he had been an MSP ...
, politician
*
Willie Carr
William McInanny Carr (born 6 January 1950) is a Scottish former footballer, who played in the Football League for Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Millwall. During his time with Coventry, Carr played in six full international matches ...
, footballer
*
Gerry Gray, footballer
*
Jim Watt, world champion boxer
*
Kenny Dalglish
Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...
, international footballer attended Possil Senior Secondary and played for Possilpark YMCA
*
Alex McDade
Alex McDade (1905–1937) was a Glasgow poet and labourer who went to Spain to fight with XV International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.Jump, p 115 He was a political commissar with the British Battalion and wounded at the Battle of Jaram ...
, writer of the original version of the Jarama Valley song during the Spanish Civil War
*
Jake Black, singer of Alabama 3, song writer of the famous Sopranos theme tune 'Woke Up This Morning'
*
Edward McGuire, composer
See also
*
Glasgow tower blocks
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
External links
*
Possil House and historyat the
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
's digital library
{{Areas of Glasgow
Areas of Glasgow
Housing estates in Glasgow