Glesga Pals

ANDERSTON THEN & NOW by John N Cooper

Photograph - Anderston Cross cc1910
This photograph represents the view most commonly associated with ‘Old Anderston’.
The instantly recognisable property stood on the junction of Argyle/Stobcross Street .
All the buildings in the photograph were removed during the 1960’s to make way
for construction work on the Kingston Bridge

Foreword by the author :
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’.
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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.

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’. John N. Cooper, Jan 2004

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John N Cooper 2004 All rights reserved.
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