On the streets of Glasgow often I meet people who ask me what and why I’m photographing. Some assume I’m from TV. Others accuse me of terrorist activity. Mostly I listen while they tell me their life stories. Here are some of those people.
On the way to Duncolm
Ricky’s bling and smoking hand
Frank Mahon – fount of local knowledge at Carmyle Fords
Father and daughter
Brian McQuade
At Eglinton Toll
Ricky, Buchanan Street
Young visitors to Crookston Castle
Man working in a skip
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
Feeding the pigeons
Guy waiting outside Buchanan Street Subway Station
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
Young guy dishing out flyers on Govan Road
A young guy looking for directions in Kinning Park
Jim busking, Buchanan Street
Man collecting bottles to pay council tax
Tommy, Sunny Govan Radio
Jim, Buchanan Street
Seven guys I met on the path to Duncolm
Outside Sunny Govan Radio
Young guy at Buchanan Street
Andy, George Square
Man waving from car, Saltmarket
Mark smoking outside bar, Paisley Road
Kerry and Mark kiss and make up
Two guys posing for a picture in St Enoch’s Square
Tony McGee, Steeplejack
In the subway
my places
Glasgow is where I was born and raised. Sadly all of the places I lived, studied and worked in have been demolished or altered beyond recogition. Never has a city shapeshifted more. (back to top)
South Rotunda, Govan Road at Paisley Road Toll
Donald Dewar statue, Buchanan Street – now on a raised plinth after being vandalised
Admiral Street, Kinning Park
Lyceum cinema, Govan. Surreal reproduction of itself on banner
Security sign, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
Scotland Street School. Where my mother attended in the 1940s
Burrell Museum, Pollok Estate
Building, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
Council-sponsored fly-posting sabotage at the Trongate
Grand Ole Opry, Paisley Road Toll. Used to be the Birds and Bees disco in the 1960s
Ex-Turner and Newall factory, Admiral Street, Kinning Park where my father worked
Caged CCTV on Shaw Street, Govan
Ex Howdens Engineering Works, Scotland Street where my grandmother and mother worked
Cambridge Street Car Park
Govan Cross. Due for redevelopment
St Margaret Mary’s School, Stanley Street. The playground was on the roof
Old light on the Renfrew Street side of the Glasgow Film Theatre
Site of M74 completion in June 2008
Glasgow SPT Subway train
Stanley Bar, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
Old sign off Paisley Road West
Off Ardencraig Road, Castlemilk. I believe I met Fred West here
The original gatepost at Paisley Road Toll
Govan Bus Station, Govan Cross
Ex Gray, Dunn factory, Stanley Street. I used to beg for broken biscuits outside
Janitor’s house, Lambhill Street Primary School which I attended in the early 1960s
Pollok Community Centre I once – only once – attended Scottish Country Dancing
Water Treatment Plant, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
Wine Alley, Govan – the Potheid Building
Scottish Poetry Garden, Queen’s Park
View from Crookston Castle. Taken shortly before demolition
The Angel Building, Paisley Road Toll
Ornate gate posts at the Govan Road entrance to Elder Park
Old insignia above ex-TSB bank, now a bookies
View from Crookston Castle
Entrance to Govan Town Hall, now Film City Glasgow
Harmony Row, Govan
Demolition near Crookston Castle, Brockburn Road, Pollok
Pillar, Lambhill Street Primary School, Kinning Park
87A Linthaugh Road, where I lived from November 1966 to October 1977
Orkney Street Police Station cells at Wine Alley aka Broomloan Road
Entrance, St Enoch’s Square
Dougrie Road, Castlemilk
On the way to the Barras
harry’s places
A writer and lay archaeologist, Harry Bell was my inspiration. I followed in his footsteps in search of the many sites mentioned in his book, Glasgow’s Secret Geometry: The City’s Oldest Mystery. (back to top)
Tombstone, Renfrew Old Parish Church
Water Tower near Cochno
Bonnyton Mound aka The Devil’s Plantation
Carved tree at the Ringwork, Pollok Estate
Headless angel, Necropolis
Castlehill at sunset
Humbie Road
Provan Hall from the gardens
Sundial on entrance arch to Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Site of Nether Pollok Castle, Pollok Estate
Paisley Abbey
Rutherglen bell tower
Tower, Cathkin Braes at sunset
Railway Bridge at Carmyle Fords
Cast iron gravestone, Renfrew
Site of Castlemilk House
View from the Tak Ma Doon Road Car Park
Tombstone, Necropolis
Carron Bridge near the Fords
Ringwork in the North Wood, Pollok Estate
The Craw Stane near Eaglesham
Dunwan Hill Fort
Crookston Castle
Boulders at Camphill Earthwork
Duncolm Hill
Seraph, Allen Mausoleum, Necropolis
Ornate chimney stack, Ross Hall
Woodend Loch looking north – now a SSSI
Indents on Bonnyton Mound
Argyll Stone and St Conval’s Chariot, off the car park at the Normandy Hotel
The top of Tinto Hill – aka – Tintock Top
Interior, Crookston Castle
Carron Fords
Broken monument, Necropolis
Necropolis
View from Crookston Castle
Tinto Hill in alignment with Duncolm
Ross Hall
Monument, Necropolis
Gallowflats Mound
Broken statue at the Necropolis
View from Cathkin Braes
Stanely Castle
Monument with Egyptian carvings, Necropolis
Bell Tower, Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Detail of entrance to Provan Hall
Site of Old Cathcart Castle
Dumbarton Rock from the path to Duncolm and Loch Humphrey
John Knox Monument, Necropolis
Carron Fords from the Bridge
View from Necropolis looking south-west
Greenside reservoir near Duncolm
Renfrew Old Parish Church
Bonnyton Moor
Plastic wrapped boulders at the Ringwork, North Wood, Pollok Estate
Remains of Roman Fort at Antonine Wall
Dumgoyne
Carmyle Fords
Govan Old Parish Church
Victorian relief of Christ – ‘It is finished!’
Tinto Hill seen from Garf Water
Boulder marking at Camphill Earthwork
Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Humbie Road at the Devil’s Plantation
old places
Glasgow – the dear green place – has a habit of disappearing. Here are a few of the old places photographed on my travels – some of which have since been demolished. (back to top)
Val d’Oro chip shop
Detail, Brunswick Street
Govan Road
Laurieston Bar
Pierce Institute, Govan
City Chambers, George Square
Gartloch asylum
Detail of derelict building, Govan Road
Sign, Virginia Street
Mercury’s head, old Glasgow Herald newspaper offices, Buchanan Street
Elderpark Library. Opened by Andrew Carnegie
Angel/cherub on tombstone, Govan Old Parish Church
Insignia and motto, Clydebank
Detail, ex-British Linen Bank, Govan Road
The Castle Bar price list
Schipka Pass, off Gallowgate
Custom House Bowling
Govan Milestone by Helen Denerley
Disused church, Bowling
Plaque, Trongate
Christian Association, St Andrew’s Cross
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Statue of industrialist John Elder, Elderpark
Detail, Corinthian Bar, Ingram Street
Statue of Lady Elder, Elderpark
Statue of James Watt, George Square
Signs off Tontine Lane, Trongate
Detail, ex-Trustee Savings Bank, Govan Road
Cosmo Chicken Bar, Govan Road
Carlton Place
MacKinnon’s Bar, Gallowgate
ex-Govan Shipyard, Govan Road
Detail, Christian Association
Detail above entrance to shipyard offices
Close entrance, 59 Shaw Street, Govan
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Old road sign near Tinto Hill
Derelict shop, London Road
Detail, Brunswick Street
The Mercat Building, Trongate
new places
Glasgow is a work-in-progress, not all of it progressive. Gone is the red and blonde sandstone, replaced by brick, glass and steel. (back to top)
Another New Gorbals housing development
Utopia, off Pollokshaws Road. Now available for rent
New apartments on the Clyde – many now to let
New building in New Gorbals
Shields Rd Subway car park, Scotland Street
Sheriff Court
SMG Building, Pacific Quay, Govan Road
Looking north from the Arc Bridge
Tait’s Tower recreation – it never worked
Farmfoods, Silverburn. Earmarked for closure, along with the Gala Bingo and the Credit Union
Silverburn Shopping Centre, Pollok
New houses at Gartloch Village – alien brick arrives in Scotland
The SMG timeline runs out at 2007
A new development on Pollokshaws Road
Side elevation of the SMG/STV Building, Pacific Quay
The SMG logo as street furniture, off Pacific Quay
Rear of News International, Middlesex Street. Conspicuously heavy on security
Side street at Glasgow Fort
Glasgow Fort Junction 10 off the M8
M74 Completion Roadworks – driving its way through south-side Glasgow communities
Clyde Auditorium, aka the Armadillo. Generic silver-clad construction now seen in most cities
Detail of a New Gorbals housing development
A New Gorbals housing development
Site of the Plaza Ballroom on Victoria Road – the new flats are mostly unsold
Clock outside Buchanan Street Bus Station
Digital Media Centre, Pacific Quay. Subsidised offices for TV/Media companies
Glasgow Science Centre
The Arc aka The Squinty Bridge, Govan Road. Closed for 6 months due to bad construction
Internet Explorer is no longer supported (links are disabled). Choose a modern browser here.