Where did it all begin?
To find out I have arrive at the Glasgow City Archives based in the Mitchell Library. In the pre Covid Lockdown days it was possible to be able to walk in, have a discussion with an Archivist and have documents and other material fetched from the basement and delivered to you at a desk. Since the Covid Lockdowns, the Archives have changed their methodology. Pre-booking an appointment is now compulsory. You have to have a good idea of what it is you want to look at. There are online catalogues at Glasgow Life but the best way to know what you need to see is to go to the Archives in person and search their computer catalogue in the Archive room and also have a look at a really concise card index of information by title that the Archives have got on the premises. Then discuss with an Archivist if you can make an appointment to see what you have found for your research.
It does work well. I booked an appointment online and I did know what it was that I was looking for. When I arrived the material that I had requested was ready and waiting for me. I was greeted by the Head of Archives who was working at the main desk because of staff shortages. I received permission to take photographs of the material that I was searching but there are strict regulations for what I can use them for. I was told that it could only be for personal use and to post any on my blog I would have to send an email in to make that specific request. The post this week might either be very descriptive of the material or if I hear from the Archives today then readers might see what it was that I was looking at. I am used to posting photos and images from various sources and always give appropriate citations of their source.
So, to prepare the story of the origins of the land that my house was built upon I am posting a section of a map from 1795. It is marked in the centre, by the Old Paper Mill, with an orange blob. This is an approximate area of my house in what is now Earlspark Avenue. All of the surrounding area in 1795 was arable land. The nearest villages were Langside, Cathcart and Shawlands. There is a bridge over the River Cart with a large Mill on the banks. There is still evidence of the Mill with a stone marking the entrance of what we now call the Walkway along the Cart. Across the bridge and a little way up the hill towards what was Langside Village is an old house named after the Mill. This is the last evidence of what was probably a major industry on this spot at that time. The Paper Mill that I know of existed along this stretch of the Cart, hence the name of the farm that appears a short way along what is now Earlspark Avenue, but the Mill at the Langside Bridge was a conventional flour Mill.
Map of the town of Glasgow and Country Seven Miles Round 1795 by Thomas Richardson (with permission from the National Library of Scotland).
The following map shows that very little has changed other than the introduction of the trains. Although this map has no sign of the Cathcart Circle that is parallel with Earlspark Avenue. I have put a red line where Earlspark avenue leads from Langside Avenue. We now have a name for the Mansion house at the top of the hill above the River Cart. It is Langside House and was the home of Thomas Brown. It was reputedly designed by Robert Adam and was not demolished until 1984. The house was surrounded with woodland and gardens. There is a photo and a little more information on this page. This map also shows Paper Mill Farm for the first time. This was on the banks and bend of the River Cart in an area of Earlspark Avenue (before it was built) that residents refer to as the New Houses.
Next, I am showing a sample of the O.S. Map of 1899, six inches to the mile. This shows the arrival of the Cathcart Circle line with the previously named Langside and Newlands Railway Station which is now Langside Station. I have marked the lane leading to Paper Mill Farm which was, 5 years later, developed as Earlspark Avenue. Note the development of Millbrae Crescent, designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, on the North side of the River Cart close to where the old Mill was by the bridge over the Cart.
Lastly, the following map from 1903 illustrates the rapid development of Newlands and surrounding area of Langside. From arable farmland to urbanisation in just a few years. Some things to note are the semi completion of Riverside Road, the development of Newlands as we know it as far as Monreith Road, and still Earlspark Avenue has not even commenced. In fact it is just a lane leading to Paper Mill Farm.
The feeling that I get from this last map is that Langside and Newlands as we know it is only midway to completion. Three years after this map Earlspark Avenue was being developed in earnest and by 1908 my house was near completion.
So, I completed this post without hearing from City Archives. The material I researched there yesterday will have to wait for another time.
This is the first part of the story. Once I have the permissions from Glasgow City Archives I shall post pictures of an intriguing mid 19th Century map of the details of land ownership around the Langside area and also entries of the Nether Pollok Estate Feu Duty registers.