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Foreword
When I first contemplated writing the history of Anderston, during the
mid 1960’s, I was prompted to complete the task when I heard comments
such as "What is there in Anderston to write about? Not much happened
there!” So, it was partly in response to such statements that I
wrote my first historical account of Anderston entitled, 'Simply
Anderston'. As I began gathering and collating material for 'Simply
Anderston' I was aware that this would be the first complete history of
Anderston ever written and was therefore imbued with a real sense of
mission. Thankfully, a number of other authors have since recorded their
version of Anderston's history. Now that the area has been the subject
of a number of books, you may wonder why I have bothered to add to the
list. The simple truth is, when I wrote ‘Simply Anderston’ I was still
in my formative years, and the original manuscript was heavily edited to
make publication costs viable. One of my longstanding ambitions was to
complete the job I originally set out to do, hence the new title, ‘Anderston
Then & Now’.
To the casual observer or passer-by, a community is largely about the
visual impact of buildings and the general ambience of an area. However,
to the resident, the community is about the reality of daily life and of
the hopes and dreams of the people. An exile returning to Anderston
today would be hard pressed to find many recognisable landmarks. Gone
are the familiar tenements and the factories that pre-date the early
1960's, in their place stand prestigious hotels, commercial properties
and areas of new housing. Amid the generally unimpressive blocks of
housing stock erected during the 1960-70’s some architecture of 'Old
Anderston' still survives; the Saving's Bank, at Shaftesbury Street; The
Buttery, on Argyle Street; St Patrick's R.C. Church in North Street, and
Washington Street School.
It is approaching three hundred years since the village of Anderston was
first proposed and feuing-off land for cottages was begun in 1725. By
the mid-nineteenth century the village had emerged from a small weaving
and farming community into a highly industrialised part of Glasgow. In
many respects Anderston was the cradle of industrial enterprise and
innovation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, the
real story of Anderston is about its people, both past and present; many
notable people down through the years had strong affiliations with the
area including such personalities as James Watt, David and Robert
Napier, William Quarrier, Thomas Lipton, Duncan Macrae, Roddy McMillan
and Tony Roper to name but a few.
I have primarily confined the story within the bounds of the area most
commonly referred to as Anderston, a district of less than one mile
square. Forming the western boundary is the SECC, then north to St.
Vincent Crescent, Corunna Street, east along Argyle Street and Saint
Vincent Street, Bothwell Street, down Pitt Street, along Holm Street to
the eastern boundary marked by the Central Station, the River Clyde to
the south is the natural barrier enclosing the entire geographical area
I am delighted to say, that thanks to advice from one of my colleagues,
Mark Temple, ‘Anderston Then & Now’, is also available as a
CD-ROM, making it the first history of Anderston available in disc
format. I again gratefully acknowledge the assistance and encouragement
of the many people who helped with the original publication 'Simply
Anderston' their assistance is still greatly appreciated and it is to
them and everyone with an interest in Anderston that I dedicate ‘Anderston
Then & Now’ |
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