Hutchesontown Explained

Country:	Scotland
Official Name:	Hutchesontown
Gaelic Name:	Baile MacUisdein
Scots Name:	Hutchesontoun
Os Grid Reference:	NS594636
Coordinates:	55.8471°N -4.2439°W
Unitary Scotland:	Glasgow City Council
Lieutenancy Scotland:	Glasgow
Constituency Westminster:	Glasgow Central
Constituency Scottish Parliament:	Glasgow Shettleston
Post Town:	GLASGOW
Postcode District:	G5 0
Postcode Area:	G
Dial Code:	0141
Static Image Name:	East Glasgow from the air (geograph 5374196) (cropped).jpg
Static Image Caption:	Aerial photo of Hutchesontown on the south bank of the River Clyde (with Calton and Glasgow Green on the north bank)

Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central ward under Glasgow City Council.

The area is linked to Glasgow Green public park on the north side of the river by St. Andrew's Suspension Bridge and King's Bridge. At its north-western edge, Albert Bridge is the closest crossing point towards Glasgow city centre. In McNeill Street, Hutchesontown has one of Glasgow's original Carnegie libraries, deftly designed by the Inverness-born architect James Robert Rhind. James Stokes, recipient of the Victoria Cross, was from the area.

Comprehensive Development Area

Following the Second World War, Hutchesontown was declared a Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) in 1957, in the aftermath of the Bruce Report.^{[1] [2]} This called for the mass gentrification of the area which took the form of slum clearance and the replacement of overcrowded, insanitary tenement housing with new homes in high rise tower blocks.^[3] The area became almost unrecognisable from its previous appearance, with blocks of tenements swept away along with several Victorian and Edwardian-era churches and civic buildings which in later times would have been considered to be of architectural merit.^[4]

Hutchesontown was, in effect, used as a testing ground for similar schemes around the city. It was decided to divide the area into five "zones" which were given to different architects to implement a mixture of different schemes.

• Area A – on the northern side of the CDA was devoted to conventional maisonette style housing - today close to the Gorbals Health Centre and Gorbals Sports Centre.^[4]
• Area B – nowadays known as the Riverside estate, was assigned to architect Robert Matthew (RMJM). The four 18-storey blocks^{[5] [6]} – built in 1964 to the distinctive "scissor section" configuration – on the banks of the River Clyde still stand, and are widely regarded as the most successful of the Gorbals high-rises and have received numerous refurbishments in their lifetime.^{[4] [3]} The Strathclyde Grain distillery lies directly to the east. After the scheduled demolition of the two remaining Area D towers (see below), these will be the only remaining high rise blocks in the Gorbals.
• Area C – was the responsibility of Basil Spence, and became the most infamous of the five schemes.^{[7] [6]} The Queen Elizabeth Square blocks encountered numerous structural and social problems, and were demolished in 1993.^{[4] [8] [9]}
• Area D – in the south of the CDA was developed by the newly created Scottish Special Housing Association^[10] and consisted of four 24 storey blocks at Caledonia Road (the main bus route through the area between Glasgow and Rutherglen) and an estate of smaller maisonettes and 8-storey "mini-multis".^{[11] [6] [3]} Two of the towers were demolished in early 2006;^[12] the remaining two were refurbished, but in 2020 it was confirmed that they too would be demolished in the near future due to issues with the cladding that was applied in the previous work and the prohibitive cost of remedying these faults.^{[13] [14]} Stripping of the external fittings began in mid-2024, and it was announced that the remaining structures would be demolished around a year later.^[15] This sector is close to the Oatlands neighbourhood, the Southern Necropolis cemetery^[4] and the 'Dixon's Blazes' industrial estate.
• Area E – closest to Gorbals Cross and Laurieston, consisted of an estate of twelve seven-storey deck-access blocks and two 24-storey towers at Sandiefield Road, constructed in 1968.^{[16] [6] [3]} Within a few years, however, the low-rise buildings became badly affected by dampness and condensation problems^[17] and were presently declared unfit for habitation; they were finally demolished in 1987.^[18] The two towers were condemned in 2010 and were demolished at 14:00 on 21 July 2013.^{[4] [19]}

Gallery

See also

• Glasgow tower blocks
• List of tallest voluntarily demolished buildings

External links

• Greater Gorbals, socio-economic profile at Understanding Glasgow (2012)
• Hutchesontown - Illustrated Guide

Notes and References

1. https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA00803&t=1 Hutchesontown Housing (Glasgow City Archives, Department of Architectural and Civic Design, 1961)
2. https://www.glasgowheritage.org.uk/lecture-bruce-plan-history-impact-fergus-sutherland-david-martin/ Lecture: Unbuilt Glasgow – The History & Impact of the Bruce Report
3. https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/historyresearch/researchprojects/housingandwellbeing/hutchesontown/ Hutchesontown: Housing, Everyday Life & Wellbeing over the long term
4. http://www.scotcities.com/gorbals/hutchesontown.htm Hutchesontown Gorbals - Architecture and History
5. Web site: Tower Block UK: Hutchesontown-Gorbals CDA Area B. University of Edinburgh. 13 January 2019 .
6. Web site: Buildings in Glasgow: Hutchesontown-Gorbals. https://web.archive.org/web/20190228003942/https://www.emporis.com/complex/100982/hutchesontown-gorbals-glasgow-united-kingdom. usurped. 28 February 2019. Emporis. 27 February 2019 .
7. Web site: Tower Block UK: Hutchesontown-Gorbals CDA Area C. University of Edinburgh. 13 January 2019 .
8. Web site: Woman dies in demolition blast. The Herald. 13 September 1993. 17 February 2019 .
9. https://www.abandonedspaces.com/public/hutchesontown-c.html Hutchesontown C: it went down with a bang and took a human life with it
10. http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=402265 Hutchesontown / Gorbals Area D
11. Web site: Tower Block UK: Hutchesontown-Gorbals CDA Area D. University of Edinburgh. 13 January 2019 .
12. Web site: Two tower blocks are demolished . BBC News. 26 February 2006. 17 February 2019 .
13. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18898445.glasgow-flats-line-demolition-caledonia-road-shake-up/ 'I won't let them split us up': Friend's promise to Gorbals neighbour as demolition looms
14. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-high-rise-tenants-being-22242760 Glasgow high-rise tenants being moved from fire-risk flats set to get new homes
15. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-caledoniaroad-tower-blocks-demolished-30067397 Glasgow's Caledonia Road tower blocks to be demolished with explosives next summer
16. Web site: Tower Block UK: Hutchesontown-Gorbals CDA Area E. University of Edinburgh. 13 January 2019 .
17. News: McLean . David . The notoriously dire Gorbals flats that locals dubbed 'The Dampies' . 26 July 2023 . . 13 April 2022 . en.
18. Wright . Valerie . ‘Housing Problems … are Political Dynamite’: Housing Disputes in Glasgow c. 1971 to the Present Day . Sociological Research Online . December 2021 . 26 . 4 . 976–988 . 10.1177/1360780418780038. 1893/30642 . free .
19. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-23396907/double-demolition-for-glasgow-gorbals-tower-blocks Double demolition for Glasgow Gorbals tower blocks