Part Five

ELIZA JANE AIKMAN
Eliza Jane Aikman was born in Edinburgh on 24th May 1852. When she was four years of age her family moved to Anderston where her father, the Rev. John Logan Aikman, was appointed colleague and eventual successor to Dr. Gavin Struthers of Anderston U.P. Church (Heddle Place). Eliza Jane was the eldest of a family of four, two boys and two girls. Her mother was plagued by ill health, which meant Eliza had to bear the load of the everyday household chores.

Her father the Rev. J.L Aikman was one of the leading ministers of his day and a highly respected citizen, who devoted much time and effort in philanthropic causes. With such a background it was inevitable that Eliza would also become immersed in church work. As well as helping out in the Sunday school and other church organisations, Eliza ventured into social work within the neighbourhood, where she was already a familiar figure. Her first-hand knowledge of poverty and social conditions prevalent in Anderston gave her valuable insight into many of the problems facing working class and under-privileged families.

During her time as Probationary Officer for Cranstonhill she laid foundations in care work that were to make their influence felt throughout the city. In 1895 she became a member of the ‘Children’s Committee of the Glasgow Parish Council’ whose duties included the care of orphans and deserted children. The welfare of children was central to Eliza’s heart and she will be remembered as the inspiration behind the ‘Glasgow Infant Health Visitor Association’, or the ‘Green Ladies’ as they became known.

Miss Ailkman’s health began failing from 1925 until her death four years later. Throughout her last difficult years although her strength was deserting her she continued to carry out impeccably the numerous duties associated with the post of secretary of the ‘Infant Health Visitor Association’. In 1927 she was presented with a Burgess Ticket which stated “Miss Aikman having paid her freedom has been admitted a Burgess and Guild Sister of the Burgh qua Weaver, and accordingly entitled to all the civil rights and privileges by law belonging to a free citizen’.

Eliza Jane Aikman was held in very high regard throughout Anderston, and at her funeral, many who had never set foot inside a church door, came to pay their last respects to this remarkable lady. Those who knew and worked with Miss Aikman commented, "It was not so much what she did, but what she was that made her so special".
 

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Eliza Jane Aikman 1852-1929

CRANSTONHILL WATERWORKS
Two reservoirs were constructed on the crest of Cranstonhill in 1808 for the purpose of supplying fresh drinking water to the residents of Anderston. In those days water was not fed directly into homes, instead, wells were located at various points throughout the district where water could be drawn off as required. An extract from the contract to build the waterworks reads in part:

Once construction work was underway The Glasgow Herald of 1st July 1808 carried the following announcement;

Huge steam-powered engines pumped water direct from the Clyde into the reservoirs at Cranstonhill. Of course, in those days the Clyde was much cleaner than it is today. Professor Thomson of the University was engaged to carryout an analysis of the water to ascertain if it was fit for human consumption. In drawing his report to a close, Prof. Thomson declared that the water samples he examined consisted of the water of the Clyde in its greatest purity. Whilst the report from the University must have been encouraging, the timing of the newly opened Cranstonhill Waterworks Company was poor. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1809 granting permission to deepen the Clyde by up to at least 9 feet at neap tides in every part between Glasgow Bridge and Dumbarton Castle. Before long, dredging work on the Clyde caused the water to become muddy and unfit for human consumption.

The Cranstonhill Waterworks Company ceased to operate in 1819, with the right to supply water being passed to a rival company at Dalmarnock. The Cranstonhill reservoirs continued to receive water from the new supplier until the requirement for a better quality of water was realised. Finally, after several years of planning, on 14th October 1859, the Loch Katrine Water Supply was inaugurated. The new water supply, pumped thirty-five miles from the Loch to Glasgow, had an immediate and positive impact on public health. With the inauguration of the new water system the Cranstonhill reservoirs became obsolete and the land was sold in 1857 to developers.

In gratitude to John Stewart, the inspiration behind the Loch Katrine water supply, the people of Glasgow erected a fountain to his memory in Kelvingrove Park. Unfortunately, the Stewart Memorial Fountain has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. In closing, it is interesting to note that even with all the technology available today we have question marks over water purity and supply. Latest reports from the Water Authority suggest that over one hundred million pounds will have to be spent to upgrade the infrastructure.

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TRANSPORT
During the early 1800’s, other than commercial carriers conveying goods between Anderston and the city, the occasional carriage or someone on horseback would have been the only traffic on the road. In 1849 Andrew Menzies started the first successful public transport system serving the city. He began business with ten omnibuses and within twenty years (1870) he had amassed a fleet of over fifty buses and five hundred horses. Menzies’ stables were located in a three-storey building that stood on the corner of North Street near Main Street. The horses ascended and descended the building by way of an outside ramp.

Menzies’ buses were painted in brilliant Menzies tartan with his name emblazoned on either side of the coach. The vehicles were pulled by three horses and driven by a man dressed in a long red coat complete with a tall white hat. By the mid-1850’s Menzies had coaches operating as far away as Glen Coe and Glen Orchy, quite a distance when it is considered there were no proper roads at that time.

Whilst Menzies managed to capture the lion’s share of the public transport business in Glasgow, among his greatest competitors were Wylie & Lochead, and a fellow Highlander, Duncan MacGregor, whose coaches sported the MacGregor tartan. No doubt the coaches would have added a much-needed touch of colour to the drab grey streets of the city.

Andrew Menzies, who died in 1873, became the first manager of the Glasgow Tramway and Omnibus Co. It was this company who laid the first tramlines on the city’s main streets. The first of the new horse-drawn tram services were inaugurated on 19th August 1872 and ran from St. George’s Cross to Eglington Toll. Anderston was part of a sixth route to be opened serving Whiteinch and Bridgeton. The new horse-drawn trams, pulled along on rails, were quieter, smoother and more comfortable than the previous transport, which transmitted every bump as the wagon wheels clattered over the uneven cobbled streets. The city authorities acquired all privately owned tramways in 1894, thus securing what at one time had been the finest transport system in the world.

A tramcar terminus was situated on Stobcross Street, just along from Anderston Cross. The first tramway route to be scrapped was the Finnieston Cross to Harbour Tunnel service, in 1927. This was a one-man operated single-deck tram that ran up and down Finnieston Street. Tramcars continued to serve the city until 4th September 1962, when they were withdrawn from service. The last tram route to operate was the No 9, Dalmuir West to Auchenshuggle, a route that passed along Argyle Street, through Anderston.
 

Horse-drawn tram on Argyle St. at Finnieston c1895
The buildings featured in this most interesting photograph still exist and are located
on the north side of Argyle Street, between Kent Road and Claremont Street.

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