Our Neighborhood -- Hyndland Architecture

Our neighborhood in Glasgow is called the West End for obvious reasons (west side of the city).  It was built as a suburb, so then and now it has a high-end reputation, but since the University of Glasgow is in the center, it also has a vibrant, bohemian feel.  So imagine a combination of funky shops and restaurants with Victorian mansions and gardens -- that's what makes the West End a great place to live.

While my mom was here, she and I walked around Hyndland, which is the neighborhood right behind our flat.  Using a West End Heritage Trail map we explored the architecture in the area roughly bordered by Great Western Road, Hyndland Road, Dumbarton Road and the railway line.

First, some architectural terminology that I found to be unique to Glasgow:

terrace

terrace = row of identical houses (not a garden)

tenement = multi-unit building (not a slum

The first spot is one I walked through a bunch of times because it's between our flat and Old Station Playground (described here).  It's a triangle of terraces surrounding a residents' only park (lots of these in the West End).  On the west side of the triangle, I love the columns on either side of the doors with face sculptures flanking the side windows.  Some have broken or eroded down to blobs, but a few hold their detail.

 Most interesting is the northern section where the terrace (designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson) had been bombed during an air raid in 1941.  You can see how part of the terrace remains and the rest is an add-on from the 1960s.

Notice the Greek columns

On to Clarence Drive, where this row of shops (from 1911) is very typical of this area.  I love the idea of development that includes neighborhood stores, rather than easy access to highways just so you can reach super-stores more easily.  This row of shops includes the original site of Peckham's (described here), a bakery, a post office and news shop, pizza cafe, etc.

Partickhill Road is a curved road that once must have afforded wonderful views over the countryside, now in a gap between buildings you can see across the city.  This street has wonderful villas on one side and a mix of villas and small terraces on the other.  The oldest house in the West End is on this street, as is the house first constructed of red sandstone (which is an ubiquitous building material in this area).

Thornloe with Italianate detailing from 1860s

Oldest surviving building in West End (1794)

Woodbank, owned by only three families since 1840

Remnants of WW2 still can be seen, besides the blocks filled in after bombing damage, the most common are walls where the iron fencing was cut off for the war effort.  Some of it has been replaced, but not all.

Another aspect we love about our neighborhood is the big windows through which you can glimpse the grand front rooms and home decor.  Flowers, both real and fake, are the most common decorative element in front windows, but sometimes you see more interesting things.

made of straw and feathers

puppy enjoying the view

There are four maps of the West End, so I'm sure I'll be exploring the architecture of other parts of our wonderful neighborhood!