Toryglen

Toryglen

Toryglen tower block, the day after filming by Sony
Toryglen
Toryglen shown within Glasgow
Population 4,475 [1]
OS grid reference NS600616
Council area
Lieutenancy area
  • Glasgow
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town GLASGOW
Postcode district G42
Dialling code 0141
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Toryglen is a district in southern Glasgow, Scotland. It is approximately 2 miles south of the city centre to the west of Rutherglen. It is bounded to the west by Mount Florida, the north-west by Polmadie, to the north-east by the West Coast Main Line railway and the M74 motorway, and the south by King's Park.

History and location

The name 'Torryglen' first appeared on maps in the late 18th century and was a small farmhouse in the north of the present day territory.

The area is broadly defined as between the major railway lines to the north, Curtis Avenue to the south and Aikenhead Road to the west. The eastern boundary where Glasgow meets South Lanarkshire (the Rutherglen districts of Newfield and Burnhill) is difficult to observe from ground level as it involves houses backing onto one another right up to the border in most places. However, as this is a major administrative divide it is clearly marked on maps.

Flats on Prospecthill Crescent with St. Brigid's chapel in the background

Toryglen is residential in character, built mainly south of Prospecthill Road between 1947 and 1959 by the Scottish Special Housing Association on land which was previously a farm and a golf course. As well as tenements, the area contains some of the city's early experiments in multi-storey housing, built around 1955 at Prospecthill Crescent.

Prospecthill Circus as it is appeared in 2009

In the northern portion of the district, Prospecthill Circus was a colourful collection of two 23-storey tower blocks, a 20-storey slab block and numerous deck access maisonettes (all since demolished) constructed by the city authorities between 1963 and 1968.[2] 'The Circus' underwent comprehensive redevelopment by the G.H.A. (Glasgow Housing Association) in the early 21st century, culminating in a major development by Cruden Homes, with construction taking place between around 2015 and 2018,[3] leaving the area virtually unrecognisable from how it was a few years prior.

The Toryglen football pitches (on the south side of Prospecthill Road) have been built into a sports centre, as part of Glasgow City Council's plans to boost the city's sporting facilities in the run up to hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. On the opposite site of the road there is a large supermarket.

A derelict multi-storey block awaiting demolition in Prospecthill Circus was used in 2006 by SONY to create an advertisement for their BRAVIA range of televisions. The commercial involved the blasting of paint onto disused buildings.[4] The main tower block in the advert was demolished in a controlled explosion on 21 January 2007.[2]

Famous residents

Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds grew up in this area.[2] The Scottish justice secretary Michael Matheson also grew up in Toryglen,[5] as did Janis Hughes, the former MSP for the Glasgow Rutherglen constituency.[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.understandingglasgow.com/profiles/neighbourhood_profiles/2_south_sector/48_toryglen
  2. 1 2 3 4 "TV ad's 'paint flats' demolished". BBC News. BBC. 21 January 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "King's View Toryglen". Cruden Homes.
  4. ↑ "Sony BRAVIA - The Advert". Sony.com. 2006. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  5. ↑ "Michael Matheson MSP on Twitter".

Neighbourhood Profile and statistics at Understanding Glasgow (2012)

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