Milton, Glasgow
Encyclopedia
Milton is a district
in the Scottish
city of Glasgow
. It is situated north of the River Clyde
.
Building on Milton in Glasgow started in the late 1940s as part of a general post-war construction programme by Glasgow Corporation to deal with the housing shortage and slum clearances.
The housing scheme is about 3 miles north of Glasgow City Centre and the district was built around the existing Ashgill Road which defines its southern and eastern borders, and Liddesdale Road which had previously connected Colston
to Balmore Road. The new streets were all named after Scottish islands (Berneray
, Birsay
, Castlebay
, Cathay
, Egilsay
, Longay
, Mingulay
, Ornsay
, Raasay
, Ronaldsay, Scalpay
, Scaraway, Shilay, Skerray
, Stornoway
, Torogay, Vallay
and Westray
) and housing styles varied between gray stone apartment houses with back and front door, pre-fabricated apartment housing with brown or white cladding, and 4 storey flats – some with open verandas that usually housed 8 dwellings. All housing was rented social housing and the area had only a few private homes in Liddesdale Road/Birsay Road and Loskin Drive, which had existed prior to being engulfed by the new development. The scheme was completed in 1952, but further housing was added in later years including high-rise flats in Castlebay Drive in the late 1960s.
There were four shopping areas at Skerray Street, Scaraway Street, Westray Circus and Liddesdale Square. The area was served by Glasgow Corporation bus numbers 8, 28 and 47 (later 48) (although the latter confusingly showed High Possil on the destination board). Buses 8, 29/129, 31/37 and 75 serve the area now.
The scheme boasted 4 primary schools. Saint Augustine’s Primary in Liddesdale Road, Saint Ambrose in Mingulay Street, Miltonbank in Skerray Street and Chirnsyde Primary in Ashgill Road. The main secondary school in the area was Saint Augustine’s, which opened in 1953 in Ashgill Road, and neighboured the primary in Liddesdale Road and the local Catholic church. There is a Methodist church in Liddesdale Square (which shares a Minister with the Methodist Church in Kilsyth) and Colston Milton Church in Egilsay Crescent (Church of Scotland). The Church of Scotland Manse is located on Birsay Road.
The scheme suffered from poor social planning. There were no pubs, cinemas or community amenities. A community centre was built in Liddesdale Road in the early 1970s, but other entertainments were a bus journey away and there were no factories or industry in the area. The scheme was part of the Maryhill
parliamentary constituency.
Famous people who lived in Milton include footballers Frank McAvennie
(Celtic
and West Ham
), Stephen Maguire
(Snooker Player), and Kenny Dalglish
(Celtic and Liverpool
) - whose first team played on the spare ground at Egilsay Street and was called “Milton Milan”.
The area suffered from social problems and by the late 1960s, urban decay began to set in with gangs of youths constantly having fights and later Milton became one of the worst areas in Europe for drug abuse.
In the late 1980s, demolition started on many of the flats and these have since been replaced by social housing more suited to urban living. Saint Augustine’s Secondary School was demolished and its football grounds lay unused. Although work is now nearing completion on a new floodlight, grass sead with drainage, 11-a-side state of the art pitch. The last of the original flats in Scaraway Street were demolished in 2006 and parts of the area stand desolate. However, the area witnessed an upsurge of community activity to oppose the city councils plans to build private housing on the site of the Saint Augustine’s playing fields. Local community activists led a successful campaign winning a public inquiry into the future use of this valued green space. The local campaign group have drawn up plans for a state of the art sports complex. They are at present awaiting a final decision as to when work will begin. Meanwhile, there is still very little social activities in the area and still no pubs or cinemas.
St. Ambrose and St. Augustines schools were merged together in St. Monicas (Milton) Primary School. This also holds Milton Community Campus.
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
in the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
city of 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...
. It is situated north of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
.
Building on Milton in Glasgow started in the late 1940s as part of a general post-war construction programme by Glasgow Corporation to deal with the housing shortage and slum clearances.
The housing scheme is about 3 miles north of Glasgow City Centre and the district was built around the existing Ashgill Road which defines its southern and eastern borders, and Liddesdale Road which had previously connected Colston
Colston
Colston is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. Colston is on the northern edge of Glasgow, surrounded by the areas of Springburn and Milton and the town of Bishopbriggs to the north...
to Balmore Road. The new streets were all named after Scottish islands (Berneray
Berneray
There are two islands named Berneray in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland:*Barra Head, the southernmost isle of the Outer Hebrides *Berneray, North Uist, near North Uist-See also:*Great Bernera on the north-west coast of Lewis...
, Birsay
Birsay
Birsay is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle...
, Castlebay
Castlebay
Castlebay is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castle, as well as nearby islands such as Vatersay.- Church :The...
, Cathay
Cathay
Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" and an alternative name for China in English. It originates from the word Khitan, the name of a nomadic people who founded the Liao Dynasty which ruled much of Northern China from 907 to 1125, and who had a state of their own centered around today's...
, Egilsay
Egilsay
Egilsay is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes.-St. Magnus Church:...
, Longay
Longay
Longay In 1971, the MacBraynes mailboat Loch Seaforth ran aground on the island, sustaining only minimal damage.-References:...
, Mingulay
Mingulay
Mingulay is the second largest of the Bishop's Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Located south of Barra, it is known for its important seabird populations, including puffins, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and razorbills, which nest in the sea-cliffs, amongst the highest in the British...
, Ornsay
Ornsay
Ornsay is a small tidal island to the east of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.-Description:Widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful tidal islands in Western Scotland, the island provides good shelter to a natural harbour which is overlooked by the...
, Raasay
Raasay
Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is most famous for being the birthplace of the poet Sorley MacLean, an important figure in the Scottish literary renaissance...
, Ronaldsay, Scalpay
Scalpay
There is more than one island named Scalpay :*Scalpay, Inner Hebrides *Scalpay, Outer Hebrides...
, Scaraway, Shilay, Skerray
Skerray
Skerray is a remote hamlet on the north coast of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. There is an additional location called Skerray which is located 1 mile to the west.It is situated 6 miles northeast of Tongue....
, Stornoway
Stornoway
Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...
, Torogay, Vallay
Vallay
Vallay is an uninhabited tidal island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. It is linked to North Uist by a long beach at low tide.Once the island supported a population of nearly sixty people, its best-known inhabitant was the archaeologist Erskine Beveridge...
and Westray
Westray
Westray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a population of around 550 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the ruined Lady Kirk and ferries to Papa Westray.-Geography and geology:...
) and housing styles varied between gray stone apartment houses with back and front door, pre-fabricated apartment housing with brown or white cladding, and 4 storey flats – some with open verandas that usually housed 8 dwellings. All housing was rented social housing and the area had only a few private homes in Liddesdale Road/Birsay Road and Loskin Drive, which had existed prior to being engulfed by the new development. The scheme was completed in 1952, but further housing was added in later years including high-rise flats in Castlebay Drive in the late 1960s.
There were four shopping areas at Skerray Street, Scaraway Street, Westray Circus and Liddesdale Square. The area was served by Glasgow Corporation bus numbers 8, 28 and 47 (later 48) (although the latter confusingly showed High Possil on the destination board). Buses 8, 29/129, 31/37 and 75 serve the area now.
The scheme boasted 4 primary schools. Saint Augustine’s Primary in Liddesdale Road, Saint Ambrose in Mingulay Street, Miltonbank in Skerray Street and Chirnsyde Primary in Ashgill Road. The main secondary school in the area was Saint Augustine’s, which opened in 1953 in Ashgill Road, and neighboured the primary in Liddesdale Road and the local Catholic church. There is a Methodist church in Liddesdale Square (which shares a Minister with the Methodist Church in Kilsyth) and Colston Milton Church in Egilsay Crescent (Church of Scotland). The Church of Scotland Manse is located on Birsay Road.
The scheme suffered from poor social planning. There were no pubs, cinemas or community amenities. A community centre was built in Liddesdale Road in the early 1970s, but other entertainments were a bus journey away and there were no factories or industry in the area. The scheme was part of the Maryhill
Maryhill
Maryhill is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. The population of Maryhill is about 52,000. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road...
parliamentary constituency.
Famous people who lived in Milton include footballers Frank McAvennie
Frank McAvennie
Francis "Frank" McAvennie is a former Scottish football striker best known as a player with West Ham United and Celtic, having had two spells with both of these clubs.-Early life:...
(Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
and West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
), Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
(Snooker Player), and Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
(Celtic and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) - whose first team played on the spare ground at Egilsay Street and was called “Milton Milan”.
The area suffered from social problems and by the late 1960s, urban decay began to set in with gangs of youths constantly having fights and later Milton became one of the worst areas in Europe for drug abuse.
In the late 1980s, demolition started on many of the flats and these have since been replaced by social housing more suited to urban living. Saint Augustine’s Secondary School was demolished and its football grounds lay unused. Although work is now nearing completion on a new floodlight, grass sead with drainage, 11-a-side state of the art pitch. The last of the original flats in Scaraway Street were demolished in 2006 and parts of the area stand desolate. However, the area witnessed an upsurge of community activity to oppose the city councils plans to build private housing on the site of the Saint Augustine’s playing fields. Local community activists led a successful campaign winning a public inquiry into the future use of this valued green space. The local campaign group have drawn up plans for a state of the art sports complex. They are at present awaiting a final decision as to when work will begin. Meanwhile, there is still very little social activities in the area and still no pubs or cinemas.
St. Ambrose and St. Augustines schools were merged together in St. Monicas (Milton) Primary School. This also holds Milton Community Campus.
See also
- Districts of Glasgow
- Politics of Glasgow
External links
- http://libcom.org/news/article.php/commonwealth-games-glasgow-250306
- http://www.theglasgowstory.com/storyf.php