Kinning Park

Kinning Park
Lanarkshire
Location
Grid reference:	NS571640
Location:	55°50’53"N, 4°17’2"W
Data
Post town:	Glasgow
Postcode:	G41
Dialling code:	0141
Local Government
Council:	Glasgow
Parliamentary constituency:	Glasgow Central

Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, within Lanarkshire.

Originally Kinning Park was a separate burgh, founded in 1871 in the heat of industrial Clydeside, a burgh merged into the City of Glasgow in 1905. Kinning Park is now a district in Glasgow situated on the south bank of the Clyde about a mile west of the city centre between Tradeston and Ibrox/Govan. It is served by Kinning Park subway station which is the closest to the surface of all the stations on the 15 station circle.

These days, Kinning Park has many small industrial units. The headquarters of BBC Scotland were relocated to Pacific Quay over a period between 2004 and 2008, just to the west of the boundary of the old burgh.

Name

A map by Robert Ogilvy in 1741 of the estate of Sir John Maxwell of Pollok shows a field called "The Park" just to the west of the building "Kinnen House" (later Kinning House) and immediately south of what today is Paisley Road Toll, but up to the 19th century was called Parkhouse Toll. Hence, this proximity of "The Park" and "Kinning House" is likely to be the origin of the name Kinning Park as the area developed.

The name "Kinning" is a bit mysterious, but the leading theory is that it is from the Scots word "kinnen"; a coney (or rabbit). In nearby Pollokshields there was also once a half-mile long grassy valley called "The Cunyan", which existed immediately south of Fleurs Avenue (before the railway was driven through it, and the M77 motorway).

History

From 1850 Kinning Park grew from a rural village to a busy centre mainly inhabited by artisans and labourers. Its principal industries were engineering, bread and biscuit baking, soap-making and paint-making.

Andrew Boa was also involved in the formation of Kinning Park Co-Operative Society in 1871 which flourished up until 1952 opening retail and manufacturing premises in Kinning Park and many other neighbouring districts south of the Clyde.

Sport

This little town has some of the most football-obsessed public houses in Glasgow, almost all of them favouring the nearby Rangers. Rangers once played at a ground in West Scotland Street within Kinning Park Burgh from 1876-87 after which they moved to Ibrox. The ground was first used by Clydesdale Cricket Club in 1849 who moved to their current Titwood premises in 1876. The cricketers played cricket in summer and the new sport of football in winter. Clydesdale FC of Kinning Park contested the very first Scottish Cup Final in 1874 against Queens Park but lost 2-0 at the first Hampden Park. The 1881 Scottish Cup Final and replay, in which Queen's Park beat Dumbarton, were played at the Kinning Park football ground. The site of the ground is now covered by the eastbound carriageway of the M8 motorway just to the south of the present Lambhill Quadrant.

M8 motorway

The route of the M8 motorway through Kinning Park was first proposed in Glasgow Corporation's "Bruce Plan" in 1945. The eventual building of the motorway during 1970-76 demolished a large part of the old district and displaced many residents to other areas of Glasgow or to new towns further afield.