Cranhill

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Cranhill
Cranhill Location within Glasgow
Population	4,600 (2019)[1]
OS grid reference	NS643656
Council area	Glasgow City Council
Lieutenancy area	Glasgow
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GLASGOW
Postcode district	G33 3
Dialling code	0141
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Glasgow East
Scottish Parliament	Glasgow Provan
List of places UK Scotland Glasgow 55°51′52″N 4°10′12″W / 55.864416°N 4.169917°W / 55.864416; -4.169917

Cranhill is an

.

Infamous for its illegal drug trade and anti-social youth culture, Cranhill was often dubbed "Smack City" in the media. The community was redeveloped from the late 1990s, although unemployment stood at 50% as of 2009.^[2][3]

History

Cranhill was built in the early 1950s on the eastern outskirts of the city to alleviate the post-war housing shortage,^[4] like other similar publicly funded housing estates. Unlike the much larger housing schemes of Castlemilk, Drumchapel, Easterhouse and Pollok, Cranhill was relatively compact, yet still dense, due to the large number of tenements, maisonettes and tower blocks; the maisonettes were demolished in the late 1990s.

Location and surrounding areas

Cranhill is located in the north-east of the city with High Carntyne to the west (separated by Ruchazie Road),

Street.

Housing

The housing stock consisted mostly of four-storey

.

Most of the flats were typical family accommodation of the time, containing a kitchen, bathroom/toilet, two or three bedrooms and a living room. Many of them had balconies or

.

Amenities

As the city became established and the community grew, amenities were put in place. Bus routes were extended through the scheme to make it easier for people to travel for work or pleasure, to the City Centre or the nearby shopping areas of Shettleston and Dennistoun. Other basic needs were served with the establishment of three local shopping parades.

As well as the shops, local people were served by mobile street traders with vans and lorries selling foodstuffs, coal and

) could be obtained while rag-merchants would shout 'any old rags' or 'Delft (crockery) for rags' from horsedrawn or hand carts. Today, the only surviving mobile service is the 'ice cream van'.

The first primary schools to be erected were small metal constructions but, at its peak, Cranhill had five primary schools: Lamlash, St Giles RC (the tin part of which was originally used as an annexe of Cranhill Sec), St Elizabeth Seton RC (originally St Modans RC Annex), the larger brick-built Milncroft (including the Toward Rd annex) and St Modans RC. Milncroft was demolished in 2006 and St Modans RC in March 2007. All five original primary schools are now closed and demolished. The two original nursery schools, Bellrock Nursery and Lamlash Nursery, are now also closed. Two new primary schools, Cranhill Primary and St Maria Goretti's RC Primary, were built in 2005/2006, the former on the site of the demolished Milncroft. Lamlash nursery school is now located within St Maria Goretti's Primary school and Bellrock nursery school is located within Cranhill Primary School.

As the children grew older, local secondary schools were needed, the first being Lightburn Secondary across the Edinburgh Rd in Torphin Crescent, Greenfield. With the construction of Cranhill Secondary in Startpoint St, the Torphin Crescent building became St Gregory's RC Secondary to meet the needs of the Roman Catholic population. Some time later, a new St Gregory's was built on waste land at Crowlin Cres in Cranhill and the Torphin Crescent was renamed again, as St Andrews RC Secondary. At its peak, Cranhill Secondary had a roll of some 1300, but both secondaries in Cranhill were razed in the early 1990s and replaced by private housing estates.

Two churches were built: Cranhill (

troop, the 150th, and a Girls' Brigade company, the 63rd. The Tenants' Association hall provided an early focus for social events and a Community Centre was opened around 1980.

Cranhill Park was built in the centre of the scheme and became the heart (and lungs) of the community. It featured an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course (famous for its sloping terrain), tennis courts and a bowling green. An annual carnival was held, with a visiting fairground and food outlets. A favourite amongst local children was free miniature loaves of bread distributed by a local bakery. The carnival, however, was stopped in the mid-1980s due to ignored safety regulations which led to some serious accidents, including a near fatal head injury of a 3-year-old child.

The Cranhill

was set up by John Kerr, Ellen Kerr, Helen Kane MBE and other committed members of the community in the late 1970s. This was modelled on Scotland's first credit union, the Western Credit Union (now Drumchapel Credit Union) established by Bert Mullen in 1970.

The Cranhill Arts Project, possibly better known to more non-residents than to locals, goes from strength to strength, but the most famous local landmark is the Cranhill

have been placed around the base of the tower.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents include actor

was also a Cranhill resident.

Archy Kirkwood

(Sir Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope) long-standing Liberal Democrat MP, then knighted, then elevated to the House of Lords lived and was educated in Cranhill. He played in a pop group (The Aztecs) in the same locations and at the same time as The Gaylords (early Marmalade) at two nearby Springboig venues; both groups could hear each other playing next door, alternating Saturdays at the YMCA and the "Shack". Kirkwood lived in Crowlin Crescent.

Cranhill today

Most of the original housing stock has been demolished to make way for 'back-and-front-door' houses and a private housing scheme and supermarket now occupy the site of the former Cranhill Secondary School. However, the original flats are retained in some of the streets around the Park, as are the shops at Lamlash Cres. Two new schools and two new nurseries have been built on Newhaven Road. The local Park is now a protected habit for water voles, and is the only known location for these voles in mainland Scotland. The Community Centre has been replaced by a children's centre called 'The Beacon' which is within Cranhill Park.

The 'backfields' is now a construction site for semi-detached homes.

There is also an active Community Council consisting of several committed residents who aim to deal with issues affecting the Cranhill neighbourhood, and it holds regular monthly meetings open to all interested residents with these normally taking place every fourth Wednesday of the month at 7pm in the Community Centre.

In 2016, Glasgow City Council outlined masterplans for the development of the Greater Easterhouse area (including Cranhill) over the next 20 years.[6]^[7]

See also

• Glasgow tower blocks

References

External links

• 'Glasgow Water Towers' from hiddenglasgow.com
• Wikimapia view of cranhill
• New recruit for Community Council (from Evening Times)