Kinning Park
Encyclopedia
Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow
, Scotland
. In 1897 it had a population of 14326.
founded in 1871, it became part of Glasgow in 1905. It was the smallest such burgh in Scotland at just 108 acre (0.43706088 km²). During its 34-year existence, the burgh had its own council, elections, coat of arms, provosts, town hall, council chambers, fire brigade, police force, and police court. Govan
Burgh to the west survived even longer, from 1864-1912, before it too was annexed by the City of Glasgow.
The inaugural council in 1871 was one of the first examples of working class representation in Scotland with 5 "working men" candidates being elected to the 12 member council under the guidance of Andrew Boa, an activist who also served on the Glasgow Trades Council. This was well before the formation of the Scottish Labour Party
in 1888 by Keir Hardie
and Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham.
During the area's time as an independent burgh, there were nine Provost
s of Kinning Park:
In 1970, the neighbouring Kingston ward of Glasgow Corporation was the first in Scotland to elect a Muslim councillor, Bashir Mann
.
More recently, political activity in the district has received national publicity in relation to the Glasgow headquarters of the Scottish Socialist Party
(SSP) in Stanley Street which occupies a site adjacent to the former Kinning Park Burgh Chambers. This SSP building was the scene of the Executive Committee Emergency Meeting on 9 November 2004, which led to later disagreement between prominent Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan
and many of his committee colleagues. The minutes of the meeting are disputed and they became a key point of discussion in the libel case which Sheridan brought against the News of the World
newspaper in 2006.
Andrew Boa was also involved in the formation of Kinning Park Co-Operative Society in 1871 which flourished up until 1952 opening retail and manufacturing premises in Kinning Park and many other neighbouring districts south of the Clyde.
Kinning Park is now a district in Glasgow situated on the south bank of the Clyde
about 1 miles (1.6 km) west of the city centre between Tradeston and Ibrox/Govan
. It is served by Kinning Park subway station
which is the closest to the surface of all the stations on the 15 station circle. Nowadays the district is home to many small industrial units, as well as the Scottish versions of News International
's UK newspaper titles. The headquarters of BBC Scotland
and Scottish Television were relocated to Pacific Quay over a period between 2004 and 2008, just to the west of the boundary of the old burgh.
is a former primary school located at Stanley Street. The school, designed by the architects Bruce & Hay, was established in 1910. It was closed in 1996-97. This is a Category C(s) listed building as a good example of a school building on a palazzo
scale. In addition to the school, there was a presbytery
in the building that was opened in 1882. There was a playground for the school children in a walled area on the roof of the building. This meant that tennis balls used in games were sometimes lost over the side wall into the street. The school was converted into offices during 2006-2010 in three phases of building and letting by Loft Office Limited under the development name Stanley Street Schoolhouse.
Donald Bruce and Edward Hay were partners in an architectural firm based in West George Street. Bruce was born in Caithness and from 1881-1905 he was the surveyor to Kinning Park Burgh Council. Bruce and Hay designed a number of other distinctive buildings in the Kinning Park area including: Kinning Park Library (demolished 1978); the Ogg Brothers' store at Paisley Road Toll (now often called the "Angel Building" due to the prominent angel figure on the top); Rutland House at 45 Govan Road topped with a large eastern-style onion-dome (demolished 1971); United and Co-Operative Bakery, 12 McNeil Street (demolished late 1970s); Kinning Park Co-Operative Society stables at the corner of Stanley Street and Vermont Street featuring a distinctive red and white brick facade (demolished 1970s); and the Co-Operative Building at Kingston.
. Rangers once played at a ground in West Scotland Street within Kinning Park Burgh from 1876-87 after which they moved to Ibrox. The ground was first used by Clydesdale Cricket Club in 1849 who moved to their current Titwood premises in 1876. The cricketers played cricket in summer and the new sport of football in winter. Clydesdale
of Kinning Park contested the very first Scottish Cup Final in 1874 against Queens Park
but lost 2-0 at the first Hampden Park. The 1881 Scottish Cup Final and replay, in which Queen's Park beat Dumbarton, were played at the Kinning Park football ground. The site of the ground is now covered by the eastbound carriageway of the M8 motorway just to the south of the present Lambhill Quadrant.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In 1897 it had a population of 14326.
Political history
Originally a separate police burghPolice burgh
A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a “police system” for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975.-The 1833 act:The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police Act, 1833...
founded in 1871, it became part of Glasgow in 1905. It was the smallest such burgh in Scotland at just 108 acre (0.43706088 km²). During its 34-year existence, the burgh had its own council, elections, coat of arms, provosts, town hall, council chambers, fire brigade, police force, and police court. Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
Burgh to the west survived even longer, from 1864-1912, before it too was annexed by the City of Glasgow.
The inaugural council in 1871 was one of the first examples of working class representation in Scotland with 5 "working men" candidates being elected to the 12 member council under the guidance of Andrew Boa, an activist who also served on the Glasgow Trades Council. This was well before the formation of the Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
in 1888 by Keir Hardie
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
and Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham.
During the area's time as an independent burgh, there were nine Provost
Provost (civil)
A provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
s of Kinning Park:
- Alexander Abercrombie (1871–1874)
- Thomas Dick (1874–1877)
- William Muir (1877–1883)
- George Lindsay (1883–1890)
- James Whyte (1890–1893)
- John Campbell (1893–1896)
- Alexander Mitchell (1896–1899)
- William Gray (1899–1902)
- Thomas McMillan (1902–1905)
In 1970, the neighbouring Kingston ward of Glasgow Corporation was the first in Scotland to elect a Muslim councillor, Bashir Mann
Bashir Mann
Bashir Maan CBE is an Asian-Scottish politician, businessman, judge, social worker and writer. He was born in Maan village, near Qila Didar Singh, Gujranwala District, British India . His father had a small landholding there and his paternal uncle had already moved to Chicha Watni, District Sahiwal...
.
More recently, political activity in the district has received national publicity in relation to the Glasgow headquarters of the Scottish Socialist Party
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
(SSP) in Stanley Street which occupies a site adjacent to the former Kinning Park Burgh Chambers. This SSP building was the scene of the Executive Committee Emergency Meeting on 9 November 2004, which led to later disagreement between prominent Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan
Tommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician. He has had various prominent roles within the socialist movement in Scotland and is currently one of two co-convenors of the left-wing Scottish political party Solidarity....
and many of his committee colleagues. The minutes of the meeting are disputed and they became a key point of discussion in the libel case which Sheridan brought against the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper in 2006.
Etymology
A map by Robert Ogilvy in 1741 of the estate of Sir John Maxwell of Pollok shows a field called "The Park" just to the west of the building "Kinnen House" (later Kinning House) and immediately south of what today is Paisley Road Toll, but up to the 19th century was called Parkhouse Toll. Hence, this proximity of "The Park" and "Kinning House" is likely to be the origin of the name Kinning Park as the area developed. "Kinning" could be linked to the old Scots words "cunig", "cuning", "cunyg" or "coney" meaning a rabbit. This would be consistent the naming of the neighbouring area of Ibrox after the old Scots term "Y brocks" meaning "the badgers". In nearby Pollokshields there was also once a half-mile long grassy valley called "The Cunyan", which existed immediately south of Fleurs Avenue and the railway line, until it was built over as part of the route of the M77 motorway in the mid 1970s.Economic development
From 1850 Kinning Park grew from a rural village to a busy centre mainly inhabited by artisans and labourers. Its principal industries were engineering, bread and biscuit baking, soap-making and paint-making.Andrew Boa was also involved in the formation of Kinning Park Co-Operative Society in 1871 which flourished up until 1952 opening retail and manufacturing premises in Kinning Park and many other neighbouring districts south of the Clyde.
Kinning Park is now a district in Glasgow situated on the south bank of the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
about 1 miles (1.6 km) west of the city centre between Tradeston and Ibrox/Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
. It is served by Kinning Park subway station
Kinning Park subway station
Kinning Park subway station serves the Kinning Park area of Glasgow, Scotland. However, to reach Kinning Park, a footbridge is provided across the M8.It was opened in 1896 and comprehensively modernised in 1977-1980...
which is the closest to the surface of all the stations on the 15 station circle. Nowadays the district is home to many small industrial units, as well as the Scottish versions of News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
's UK newspaper titles. The headquarters of BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
and Scottish Television were relocated to Pacific Quay over a period between 2004 and 2008, just to the west of the boundary of the old burgh.
Notable buildings
Our Lady and St Margaret's Primary SchoolOur Lady and St Margaret's Primary School
Our Lady and St Margaret's Primary School is a former Catholic primary school located at Stanley Street, Kinning Park, Glasgow, Scotland. In earlier years it was a junior secondary school. The annex of this school was located in the nearby Admiral Sreet Infants School. The school, designed by the...
is a former primary school located at Stanley Street. The school, designed by the architects Bruce & Hay, was established in 1910. It was closed in 1996-97. This is a Category C(s) listed building as a good example of a school building on a palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
scale. In addition to the school, there was a presbytery
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
in the building that was opened in 1882. There was a playground for the school children in a walled area on the roof of the building. This meant that tennis balls used in games were sometimes lost over the side wall into the street. The school was converted into offices during 2006-2010 in three phases of building and letting by Loft Office Limited under the development name Stanley Street Schoolhouse.
Donald Bruce and Edward Hay were partners in an architectural firm based in West George Street. Bruce was born in Caithness and from 1881-1905 he was the surveyor to Kinning Park Burgh Council. Bruce and Hay designed a number of other distinctive buildings in the Kinning Park area including: Kinning Park Library (demolished 1978); the Ogg Brothers' store at Paisley Road Toll (now often called the "Angel Building" due to the prominent angel figure on the top); Rutland House at 45 Govan Road topped with a large eastern-style onion-dome (demolished 1971); United and Co-Operative Bakery, 12 McNeil Street (demolished late 1970s); Kinning Park Co-Operative Society stables at the corner of Stanley Street and Vermont Street featuring a distinctive red and white brick facade (demolished 1970s); and the Co-Operative Building at Kingston.
Sport
It also incorporates some of the most football-obsessed public houses in Glasgow, almost all of them favouring the nearby RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
. Rangers once played at a ground in West Scotland Street within Kinning Park Burgh from 1876-87 after which they moved to Ibrox. The ground was first used by Clydesdale Cricket Club in 1849 who moved to their current Titwood premises in 1876. The cricketers played cricket in summer and the new sport of football in winter. Clydesdale
Clydesdale F.C.
Clydesdale F.C. were a nineteenth-century Glasgow-based soccer club, who were attached to Clydesdale Cricket Club during the 1870s. In 1873, Clydesdale was one of the teams to found the Scottish Football Association....
of Kinning Park contested the very first Scottish Cup Final in 1874 against Queens Park
Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. The club are currently the only amateur club in the Scottish League; their amateur status is reflected by their motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – to play for the sake of playing.Queen's Park are the oldest...
but lost 2-0 at the first Hampden Park. The 1881 Scottish Cup Final and replay, in which Queen's Park beat Dumbarton, were played at the Kinning Park football ground. The site of the ground is now covered by the eastbound carriageway of the M8 motorway just to the south of the present Lambhill Quadrant.