|
To the close of the 20th Century, Scotstoun saw several of its historic buildings pulled down. Victoria Drive Higher Grade
Public School, opened on 31 August 1909 by Sir Charles Renshaw Bartholemew of Barrochan, chairman of Commission for
Secondary Education, was a three-storey building, costing £19,537 and with a capacity of 1,200 pupils. An incongruous annex
was constructed during the 1930s and a further annexation was completed in 1964, when this photo was taken.
The school was closed in 1998 and demolished later that year. The site has lain derelict since that time and all that
remains of the structure is the perimeter wall with entrances for boys and girls.
In 2007, developers purchased the land and have begun to construct "luxury housing" there.
Another building to fall into desuetude was Scotstoun West Parish Church, originally located on the corner of Queen
Victoria Drive and Dumbarton Road. This understated structure was constructed in 1902, with additional halls built in 1928
to designs by architect John Stewart. It is seen here to the right of Galbraith's Stores in this photo taken from Dumbarton Road looking west, registered by the
photographer in August 1957.
ch_aug_1957.jpg)
In Symbolism of the Sanctuary, a detailed guide to the architecture of Scotstoun West Parish Church, Rogerson notes that on the south
tower pillar in the east aisle there is a dedication engraved which reads: "Louisa Gibb - died 14 September 1930 aged 84 years.
For 55 years a devoted Sunday School teacher; she and her sister presented the bell to this Church, where they loved to
worship." (1958: p.19)
Mention of Louisa Gibb is made by Sandra Malcolm in her own publication:
"In 1900, the Presbytery of Dumbarton feued this site at the corner of [the then] Oswald Drive for the building of a church.
A temporary iron building was erected and opened for worship in 1901. Work began on a permanent stone church in May 1905
and the first service was held in October 1906. The cost of the new church was £7,300 and the congregation numbered 600.
Between 1915 and 1929 the parish, as part of the Presbytery of Dumbarton, extended from the Whiteinch Burn (roughly the
line of Westland Drive) to Burnham Road, and from the Clyde well into Knightswood. After 1929 the church was taken under the
wing of the Presbytery of Glasgow, at which stage the parish boundaries were changed, making the area it covered smaller.
The church's bell was donated by Miss Louisa Gibb and when this tolled on a Sunday, labourers were known to comment that
they'd better hurry up as Louisa was calling them! The congregation joined with Scotstoun East Parish Church in the late
1980s"
(Old Scotstoun and Whiteinch, 2003: p.40)
|
The Church was destroyed by fire on 5 November 1997 and demolished in 1998. It has now been replaced with three
storey modern flats, although (as with the school) the original wall survives.
 
|
