Dalmarnock

Dalmarnock
Lanarkshire
Tenements in Ardenlea Street, Dalmarnock
Location
Grid reference:	NS611630
Location:	55°50’32"N, 4°12’41"W
Data
Post town:	Glasgow
Postcode:	G40
Dialling code:	0141
Local Government
Council:	Glasgow
Parliamentary constituency:	Glasgow Central

Dalmarnock is a town in Lanarkshire which has become an eastern suburb of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Parkhead to the north-east and Bridgeton to the north-west.

History

The area was once heavily industrialised. Sir William Arrol & Co. had its extensive engineering works at Dunn Street and Baltic Street from 1873. From its beginnings in boiler making, the firm later became renowned for its achievements in the field of structural engineering. Amongst the many bridges constructed throughout Britain were the Forth Railway Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge, the Humber Bridge and London's Tower Bridge. The company was eventually taken over by Clarke Chapman in 1969 and the Dalmarnock Works closed in 1986. There was also a large coal-fired power station located near Dalmarnock Bridge. It was built by Glasgow Corporation in two stages, with phase one opening in 1920 and phase two in 1926. It was closed in 1977/.

Auckland Wynd

The east side of Allan Street was bombed during the Second World War. Most of the Victorian red sandstone tenements on Dalmarnock Road and Springfield Road were demolished in the 1960s and early-1970s, although some were renovated as part of the Glasgow Eastern Area Renewal (GEAR) scheme in the late 1970s. In the 1960s, a new housing scheme was built, consisting of four twenty-two storey tower blocks and "H-block" maisonettes. Two of the towers, 40 & 50 Millerfield Road, were demolished on 3 February 2002. One other tower was demolished on 1 July 2007, and the final one on 9 September 2007. This physical transformation featured in Chris Leslie's 'Disappearing Glasgow' book.

Dalmarnock was the location chosen for the athletes' village when Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and by August 2011, there was no remaining housing on Ardenlea Street/Sunnybank Street side of the area, due to the preparations and land need for the construction in the area pertaining to the Games and City Legacy.

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, constructed for the Games, is located at the intersection of Springfield Road, London Road and the Glasgow East End Regeneration Route, opposite Celtic Park football stadium which denotes the district's boundary with Parkhead. A triangular piece of land to the east of the arena was the proposed location of a modern skyscraper, East One; however as of 2020 this site was still undeveloped. To the south of this is the 'Legacy Hub' building, a multi-function community facility belatedly installed to replace the previous hall at Lily Street. It opened in 2015 but by January 2019 had closed suddenly amid financial problems at the People's Development Trust charity which ran its operations; the council purchased the building to secure its future, while an investigation found funds had been embezzled by charity leaders including former councillor Yvonne Kucuk.

Bridges

The Clyde in Dalmarnock is crossed by three bridges; the Dalmarnock Railway Bridge, a road bridge (Dalmarnock Bridge) and a footbridge known as the 'Shawfield Smartbridge'.

There have been two railway bridges over the Clyde in Dalmarnock; the first built in 1861, and was augmented in 1897 by a wider bridge to accommodate the Dalmarnock branch line. The stone pillars of the old bridge are still in place adjacent to the newer bridge, the track deck having been removed when it was no longer necessary to have so many lines.

The road bridge carries Dalmarnock Road (the A749). The first bridge at the location was wooden, erected in 1821 to connect Dalmarnock and the Farme Cross area of Rutherglen. It was replaced by a new timber bridge in 1848, and in 1891 by the current Dalmarnock Bridge.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dalmarnock)

• 'The Legacy', study of Dalmarnock at Disappearing Glasgow
• Parkhead and Dalmarnock, socio-economic profile at Understanding Glasgow (2012)
• Streets of Glesca [East End] at Glesga Pals