Byres Road
Encyclopedia
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
located in Hillhead
Hillhead
Hillhead is a district of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming the western border of the area, the other boundaries being Dumbarton Road to the south and the...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and is the central artery of the city's West End.
Location and history
Byres Rd is a mixed commercial, shopping and upmarket residential area consisting largely of traditional sandstone tenements with retail premises on the ground floor and three floors of residential flats above. Its proximity to the University of GlasgowUniversity of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
has meant that the surrounding West End of Glasgow is very bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
, with a large student, academic and artistic population that includes Alasdair Gray
Alasdair Gray
Alasdair Gray is a Scottish writer and artist. His most acclaimed work is his first novel Lanark, published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years...
, whose mural and ceiling paintings adorn the Ubiquitous Chip
Ashton Lane
Ashton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the West End of Glasgow. It is connected to Byres Road by a short linking lane beside Hillhead subway station and is noted for its bars, restaurants and a licenced cinema....
and the Oran Mor bars.
Stretching from Great Western Road at the Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Botanic Gardens is an Arboretum and public park located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The gardens were created in 1817, and run by the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow , and were intended to supply...
in the north to Dumbarton Road at Partick Cross in the south, the road originally ran through a relatively rural area called the Byres of Partick
Partick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
(also known as Bishop's Byres). The oldest pub in the area is the 17th century Curler's
Curlers Tavern
Curlers Rest is the oldest drinking establishment on Byres Road, Glasgow, Scotland.A tavern is said to have been situated at this site since the 17th century, when this part of the city was still countryside. The rural connection is today only remembered in the name Byres Road, from the lands known...
, originally sited beside a pond used for curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
and, legend has it, given a seven-day licence by King Charles II. The legend, 'Victoria Cross', on premises at the junction of Byres Road and Dowanside Road recalls a later attempt to rename the street Victoria Road (In the 1891 Census it is marked as Victoria Street) in honour of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. The plans were cancelled following objections by the residents.
Nearby lanes and by-ways, notably Ashton Lane
Ashton Lane
Ashton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the West End of Glasgow. It is connected to Byres Road by a short linking lane beside Hillhead subway station and is noted for its bars, restaurants and a licenced cinema....
, have benefited from the business of Byres Rd and now contain a variety of small businesses from tapas bars to second-hand record stores.
The North end of Byres Road is served by Hillhead station
Hillhead subway station
Hillhead subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway, serving the Hillhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. The entrance is located on Byres Road.This station is the nearest to Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the University of Glasgow....
of the Glasgow Subway
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
, while the southern end is closer to Kelvinhall
Kelvinhall subway station
Kelvinhall is an underground station on the Glasgow Subway, renamed after the nearby Kelvin Hall. It is located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, near to many of the city's best known tourist destinations including:...
on Dumbarton Road.
External links
55°52′25"N 4°17′42"W