Provanmill 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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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 ...

. It lies to the north east of the city centre. In the mid-19th century it was a small hamlet with a grain mill, blacksmith's, cartwright's and

hostelry A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. As Glasgow expanded, it became part of the city. Since the 1950s, the area became a major area of deprivation, with chronic housing and

drug-related crime A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug produc ...

problems, although in the early 21st century the image of Provanmill and its surrounding areas is improving. Blackhill, one of the most notorious housing estates in the area, was demolished in 1990 to make way for the M80 Stepps bypass. Provanmill and Blackhill were known for being majority

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

and still to this day the demographics show that the areas, as well as nearby Royston (previously known as the Garngad), remain predominantly Catholic and still feature Irish republican marches annually. The area was also the home of infamous Glasgow gangster Arthur Thompson ( "The Glasgow Godfather"). Provanmill's most famous landmark is the iconic twin

gasometers A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

of the now largely disused

Provan Gas Works Provan Gas Works is an industrial gas holding plant in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The plant lies between the Blackhill, Glasgow, Blackhill, Blochairn, Germiston, Glasgow, Germiston and Provanmill areas of the city, and was built by Glasgow Cor ...

, which have become a portal into the city for motorists arriving on the adjacent M8 and M80 motorways.

References

Areas of Glasgow Irish diaspora in Scotland {{Glasgow-geo-stub