After nearly a half century in the hands of a sister and brother ownership, No 7 Earlspark Avenue changed hands to an interesting clothing manufacturer whose business was in Queen Street, in Glasgow city centre, in an area know for such work. Although now, Queen Street is a street of art and clothing stores. He and his small family stayed here, in Earlspark Avenue, for only six years before then selling it to a school master.
Agnes Scott was the first incumbent of our house, and she lived here with her aging mother and her younger brother. The house was in the name of Agnes, and she left it in her will to her brother George who eventually sold up and retired to the Isle of Bute.
Agnes had bought the house from the builder, George Anderson, for £600, in 1910. Her brother sold it for £1,550 to James Hepburn, the clothing manufacturer, in 1955.
After his six years of ownership, Mr Hepburn sold it for £2,750 to George Wallace, in 1961. He stayed here for only three years. He had mortgaged the house through Glasgow City Council, so the Council owned our house for the duration of George Wallace’s stay here.
The signed front page of the Disposition between James Hepburn and George Wallace 1961. In fact the disposition is between the Leeds Permanent Building Society and Glasgow Corporation, one mortgage lender to another. The history of the original purchaser is carried on through subsequent purchasers until the Land Registry took over and these title documents were not necessary. An entire legal industry that included all the writers of these documents was reduced at that point.
Now, George Wallace was and is still, a popular name in Scotland. The only footprint that I have of George as owner of No.7 is his name on three legal documents. He was previously living in Fintry Drive, in Kings Park. This is a quiet road not far from the national Hampden Stadium. I have so little information about him to do any meaningful searches in the usual family finding search sites. The one site that I had hoped of coming up with something is Scotland’s People. However, they charge a small fee for each page that is to be searched, and it can prove quite an expensive chase to find somebody accurately unless you have other information to include. I have no idea how old George was, or where he was born. I don’t know if he married anyone or if he lived with somebody. Until I have something else about him to narrow down the search, it will have to wait.
James Hepburn had mortgaged the house with the Leeds Permanent Building Society, hence their moniker on the Disposition. The new lender was the City of Glasgow.
After that half century of the Scott family, No 7 did not have a permanent feel for James and George. It was home for only five years for James and only three years for George. What, I wonder were their circumstances and needs that they were not to settle here for longer?
Buying a house in the 1950’s and 1960’s was, I would have thought, a fairly expensive and therefore more likely permanent or at least long-term prospect. What, I wonder, were the circumstances for such short stays. I know that The Hepburn’s were a small family. Were they so upwardly mobile that they could afford to buy a bigger or better property? Or did their fortunes change, and they had to downsize again?
Mr. Wallace, the schoolmaster is a mystery. I have no idea about his circumstances and cannot surmise why he only stayed here for three years.
After our current thirty-seven years at No.7, I have nothing but happy memories of our house. We have changed nothing, and we are one of few in our street who have not built an extension or changed the interior layout in any modern way. I walk down the stairs and wonder what it would have been like to meet James or George to ask the questions that currently remain unanswered. There is one question that I would really have liked to ask them, ‘Did you enjoy living here and was it a happy house for you?’