Parkhead
Encyclopedia
Parkhead is a district
in the East End of Glasgow
. Its name comes from a small weaving
hamlet
at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Duke Street
and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross. Glasgow's Eastern Necropolis was laid out in 1847 beside the Gallowgate.
in 1837 and grew into an industrial centre. In 1897 William Beardmore and Company
became famous with the production of high grade steel
and castings at the local Parkhead Forge, founded about 1837 and extended between 1884 and 1914. After years of decline, the massive plant was closed in 1976, and in 1986 the construction of the first phase of The Forge Shopping Centre began on the site. The shopping centre opened in the autumn of 1988, and in 1994 an indoor market was added adjacent to it. The final element, a retail park
, was completed in three stages between 1996 and 2002.
epidemic in 1870. A self-contained smallpox
hospital of five brick pavilions was built from 1874. After this nineteen pavilions of red and white striped brick were set up for the fever hospital. In recent times, with the general closure of infectious disease hospitals, care of elderly people became its main function before closing in 1999.
Parkhead Hospital, which opened in November 1988, was said to be the only new psychiatric hospital to be built in Scotland in the 20th century. (However, some 18th and 19th century institutions did move to new buildings during the 20th century.) It was built on part of the old forge land, next to the Parkhead Health Centre, and replaced the psychiatric and psycho-geriatric admission wards of both Duke Street Hospital (formerly known as the Eastern District Hospital) and Gartloch Hospital. Both units moved into the new hospital on the day of a Rangers-Celtic match at the nearby Celtic Park
.
.
. Celtic Park
, opened in 1892 after the club moved across the road from their old ground which they had been playing on for their first three years. A journalist covering the event reported that it was like "moving from the graveyard to paradise" hence the nickname "Paradise." Celtic Park is located at 95,Kerrydale Street, just off the London Road in Parkhead. The stadium
itself is commonly referred to as Parkhead because of its location.
Parkhead FC
before its dissolution was arguably the most successful Scottish junior side.
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
in the East End of Glasgow
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...
. Its name comes from a small weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Duke Street
Duke Street, Glasgow
Duke Street is a street running to the East End of Glasgow from the High Street in the City Centre, through the residential district of Dennistoun, running past The Forge Shopping Centre, before terminating at a junction with the Great Eastern Road , Westmuir Street and Springfield Road, to form a...
and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross. Glasgow's Eastern Necropolis was laid out in 1847 beside the Gallowgate.
History
The area flourished with the discovery of coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
in 1837 and grew into an industrial centre. In 1897 William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
became famous with the production of high grade steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and castings at the local Parkhead Forge, founded about 1837 and extended between 1884 and 1914. After years of decline, the massive plant was closed in 1976, and in 1986 the construction of the first phase of The Forge Shopping Centre began on the site. The shopping centre opened in the autumn of 1988, and in 1994 an indoor market was added adjacent to it. The final element, a retail park
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
, was completed in three stages between 1996 and 2002.
Hospitals
Belvidere Hospital, built on the Belvidere estate which extended from London Road to the Clyde, originally consisted of wooden huts thrown up rapidly when the city's older fever hospital at Parliamentary Road was overwhelmed by a typhusTyphus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
epidemic in 1870. A self-contained smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
hospital of five brick pavilions was built from 1874. After this nineteen pavilions of red and white striped brick were set up for the fever hospital. In recent times, with the general closure of infectious disease hospitals, care of elderly people became its main function before closing in 1999.
Parkhead Hospital, which opened in November 1988, was said to be the only new psychiatric hospital to be built in Scotland in the 20th century. (However, some 18th and 19th century institutions did move to new buildings during the 20th century.) It was built on part of the old forge land, next to the Parkhead Health Centre, and replaced the psychiatric and psycho-geriatric admission wards of both Duke Street Hospital (formerly known as the Eastern District Hospital) and Gartloch Hospital. Both units moved into the new hospital on the day of a Rangers-Celtic match at the nearby Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
.
Libraries
Parkhead also has one of Glasgow's original Carnegie libraries, deftly designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by James Robert RhindJames Robert Rhind
James Robert Rhind, architect, was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1854 and trained as an architect in his father's local practice.He was successful in the architectural competition for new libraries to be constructed in Glasgow following Andrew Carnegie’s gift of £100,000 to the city in 1901...
.
Celtic FC
Parkhead is however best known as the home of Celtic Football ClubCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. Celtic Park
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
, opened in 1892 after the club moved across the road from their old ground which they had been playing on for their first three years. A journalist covering the event reported that it was like "moving from the graveyard to paradise" hence the nickname "Paradise." Celtic Park is located at 95,Kerrydale Street, just off the London Road in Parkhead. The stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
itself is commonly referred to as Parkhead because of its location.
Parkhead FC
Parkhead F.C.
Parkhead Football Club was a founding member of the Scottish Junior Football League but the team no longer exists. It played at Helenslea Park in Parkhead, Glasgow. In the early years of the Scottish Junior Cup, Parkhead Juniors appeared in 9 finals and won the cup 5 times. Many of its players went...
before its dissolution was arguably the most successful Scottish junior side.