Visit Townhead Places

Welcome to Visit Townhead Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Townhead

  

Townhead Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Townhead

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Townhead history

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It is widely accepted that near the eastern edge of modern day Townhead, is where St Kentigern, also known as St Mungo, built his church by the banks of the Molendinar Burn and thus established Glasgow. Glasgow Cathedral, dedicated to St Mungo, is roughly situated where Mungo’s original church once stood. The present building dates back to the 12th century. Today, the Cathedral sits immediately outside of Townhead’s boundaries and falls into the Ladywell area. Provand’s Lordship, Glasgow’s oldest remaining house, was constructed from the late 15th century by Bishop Andrew, later given the surname Muirhead as part of St Nicholas Hospital, a lodging for the poor. The hospital, or more accurately a hospitium, provided accommodation for twelve poor men as well their care who contributed through work in the hospital, Bible study and a products from the gardens. The gardens were restored in 1997 and like the original St Nicolas garden, the herb grown are those known for healing properties and medicinal use. The martyrdom of the Covenanters took place in the modern area called Townhead. The northern part of Castle Street was the town limits beyond which was called the “Howgait”. Howgait was the scene of public hangings and used until 1781, when they moved to Glasgow Green. The area is now mainly taken up by Junction 15 of the M8. The former Martyrs’ Church building (moved to its current location in 1975 and then closed by members vote in 2011) contained until September 2013 the Martyrs stone, which details the executions in 1684 of James Nisbet (a farmer from Louden Parish in Ayrshire), James Lawson and Alex Wood. The stone, which originally stood in front of Townhead library, along with a large part of the once densely packed Townhead, was demolished to make way for the M8 motorway. The stone can now be found in the church wall of “The Evangelical Church” which is at the South East side of Cathedral square. Martyrs church also contained the “Martyrs church bell”, which was preserved from the old Martyrs West church building until 2013 at which point, finding no new home, the bell was melted. The church of Scotland is currently seeking a buyer for the land which has planning permission for an extensive housing development and community building. The Church of Scotland still supporting Townhead through the parish ministry of Glasgow Cathedral and by giving temporary accommodation to SIMY Community Development charity which was formally an active part of the previous church’s parish care. Since closure, SIMY has become an independent, local volunteer lead charity providing youth work support, arts provision, sports coaching, life skills, outdoor education, drop in diversionary clubs and is a DofE centre. SiMY owes its survival to the support it receives from the Church, Iona Community, Townhead community council, AplusM training, Glasgow Housing Association, Glasgow Community Safety Services, Glasgow Life and a dedicated group of volunteers many of whom have grown up in the local area or work nearby. St Mungo’s Church, Parson Street (George Goldie, 1869) is Italiante-Gothic in style. 70 Parson Street is the birthplace of architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh, who also aided in the design of Martyr’s School, at 17 Parson Street. In line with post-war gentrification going on in Glasgow at the time, and in line with recommendations from the Bruce Report, the 1960s saw great change in Townhead. Like Anderston and the Gorbals, Townhead was designated a Comprehensive Development Area (CDA), which meant that much of the existing buildings would be cleared and its population rehomed. New multi-storey housing in tower blocks replaced the slum tenements, whilst others were moved to new estates on the outer fringes of the city. As a result, very few of the original tenements in Townhead have survived. The Glasgow Inner Ring Road would also cut a tranche through the area, although the controversial eastern flank (which would have literally wiped out a whole tranche of the present day Merchant City) was abandoned in the late 1970s. The plans also entailed the complete demolition and rebuilding of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, however the scheme was eventually scaled back and the original Victorian hospital was given an indefinite stay of execution. The artist Joan Eardley captured much of this redevelopment from her studio in Townhead. The southern reaches of the area were cleared to make way for the burgeoning campus of the newly established University of Strathclyde, where can be found the famous and oldest of Townhead’s streets – Rottenrow. It was from this high vantage point that St. Mungo could see, south, down to the River Clyde and be forewarned of the approach of any hostile people. Rottenrow was also home to the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital. This hospital is now demolished and replaced by a garden.

You can visit Townhead places with Walkfo Townhead to hear history at Townhead’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Townhead has 409 places to visit in our interactive Townhead map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Townhead, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Townhead places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Townhead & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 409 audio facts unique to Townhead places in an interactive Townhead map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Townhead Places Map
409 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Townhead historic spots	Townhead tourist destinations	Townhead plaques	Townhead geographic features
Walkfo Townhead tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Townhead

  

Best Townhead places to visit

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Townhead has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Townhead’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Townhead’s information audio spots:

Strathbungo Strathbungo grew up as a small village built along the Pollokshaws Road, one of the main arteries leading southwards from the centre of Glasgow, adjoined by the Camphill Estate, now part of Queens Park. The feudal superiors, the Maxwells of Pollok, preferred the name Marchtown, and this name is seen on some old maps.

St Andrew’s Cross, Glasgow St Andrew’s Cross, also known as Eglinton Toll, is a road junction in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. The junction is known as the St Andrew Cross.

Tradeston Tradeston (Scots: Tredstoun) is a small district in the Scottish city of Glasgow adjacent to the city centre on the south bank of the River Clyde.

Sandyford, Glasgow Sandyford is north of the River Clyde and forms part of the western periphery of Glasgow. Formerly the name of a ward under Glasgow Town Council in the early 20th century. It is within a continuous area of dense urban development bordering several other neighbourhoods.

Athletes’ Village (Glasgow 2014) The Athletes Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games was situated on a 35-hectare (86-acre) site, in the east end of Glasgow. The site was used as accommodation for up to 8,000 athletes and officials from all over the Commonwealth nations. After the games, the site was further developed and has up to 1,400 homes, a portion of which are available for social rental.

Milton, Glasgow Milton is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde. The housing scheme is about 2+1/2 miles (4 kilometres) north of Glasgow City Centre.

Carntyne Carntyne (Scottish Gaelic: Càrn an Teine) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. It has formed the core of the East Centre ward under Glasgow City Council since 2007.

1990 Auckland Jewish daycare stabbing A mentally ill woman attacked the playground of the Jewish Kadimah School’s daycare in Central Auckland, stabbing four children with a knife. The attack continued as other young students looked on “in horror”, while members of staff ran to help the children. The woman, 52-year-old Pauline Janet Williamson, was eventually disarmed by a male teacher. The children, aged 6 to 8, were hospitalised immediately afterwards.

Tradeston Flour Mills explosion The Tradeston Flour Mills exploded on 9 July 1872. Eighteen people died and at least 16 were injured. The mill was owned by Matthew Muir & Sons and had been in operation for 30 years.

Equestrian statue of William III, Glasgow The equestrian statue of William III in Cathedral Square, Glasgow, is a 1735 work by an unknown sculptor. It is the work of a sculptor unknown.

Visit Townhead plaques