View source for Toryglen

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                          = Scotland
| type = Inner–city district of [[Glasgow]] 
| official_name                    = Toryglen
| gaelic_name                      =
| scots_name                       = 
| static_image_name                = Highrise flats in Prospecthill - geograph.org.uk - 1138149.jpg
| static_image_caption             = View of Prospecthill in Toryglen, 2009 
| static_image_alt                 = 
| area_total_km2                   = 
| area_footnotes                   = 
| population                       = 4,475
| population_ref                   = <ref>[http://www.understandingglasgow.com/profiles/neighbourhood_profiles/2_south_sector/48_toryglen Neighbourhood Profiles: Toryglen], Understanding Glasgow, 2012</ref>
| population_density_km2           = 
| os_grid_reference                = NS600616
| coordinates                      = {{coord|55.82812|-4.234629|display=inline,title}}
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Politics of Glasgow|Glasgow City Council]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = Glasgow
| constituency_westminster         = [[Glasgow Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Central]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Glasgow Southside (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Southside]]
| post_town                        = GLASGOW
| postcode_district                = G42 0
| postcode_area                    = G
| dial_code                        = 0141 
}}
'''Toryglen''' is a district in southern [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]], falling within the [[Langside (ward)|Langside ward]] under [[Glasgow City Council]]. It is approximately {{convert|2|mi|km|abbr=off|spell=on|0}} south of the city centre, bounded to the west by [[Mount Florida]], the north-west by [[Polmadie]], to the north-east by the [[West Coast Main Line]] railway and the [[A74(M) and M74 motorways|M74 motorway]] the south by [[King's Park, Glasgow|King's Park]], and immediately to the east by the town of [[Rutherglen]].

==Overview==
===Etymology===

The name 'Torryglen' first appeared on maps in the late 18th century and was a small farmhouse in the north of the present day territory.<ref name=rhsgolf>[https://rutherglenheritage.wixsite.com/website-46/toryglen-golf-club-2 A history of Toryglen Golf Club, Rutherglen], Rutherglen Heritage Society, October 2018</ref>

===Geography===

The area is broadly defined as between the major railway lines to the north, Curtis Avenue to the south and Aikenhead Road to the west. The eastern boundary where Glasgow meets [[South Lanarkshire]] (the Rutherglen neighbourhoods of [[Rutherglen#Burnhill and Newfield|Burnhill and Newfield]]) is difficult to observe from ground level as it involves houses backing onto one another right up to the border in most places. However, as this is a major administrative divide it is clearly marked on maps, with the street names also changing, e.g. Newfield Place becomes Ardnahoe Avenue.

Toryglen is residential in character,  built mainly south of Prospecthill Road between 1947 and 1962 by the [[Scottish Special Housing Association]]<ref>[http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=412346 Toryglen SSHA Housing Scheme, Eleventh Development], [[Dictionary of Scottish Architects]]</ref> on land which was previously a farm and a golf course.<ref name=rhsgolf/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forgottengreens.com/forgotten-greens/glasgow-alexandra-at-alexandra-park/toryglen/|title=Toryglen|publisher=Forgotten Golfing Greens of Scotland|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> As well as tenements, the area contains some of the city's early experiments in multi-storey housing, built around 1955 at Prospecthill Crescent<ref>[http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=412343 Toryglen SSHA Housing Scheme, Sixth Development], [[Dictionary of Scottish Architects]]</ref><ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/164946/glasgow-toryglen-north-developement-prospecthill-crescent Glasgow, Toryglen North Developement, Prospecthill Crescent], Canmore</ref> (very similar in design to a development at Dryburgh Gardens in [[Dundee]] which also still stands).<ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/299748/dundee-lansdowne-dryburgh-gardens Dundee, Lansdowne, Dryburgh Gardens], Canmore</ref>

===Demography and locale===

In the northern portion of the district, Prospecthill Circus was a colourful collection of two 23-storey tower blocks, a 20-storey slab block and numerous deck access maisonettes (all since demolished) constructed by the city authorities between 1963 and 1968.<ref name=paint/> When the neighbourhood was at its lowest ebb in the mid-2000s awaiting redevelopment, the local [[Gangs in the United Kingdom#Glasgow|street gang]] reacted with hostile racist graffiti directed towards asylum seekers being housed in empty properties in the area, with a perception that the incomers were being given priority treatment over locals living in deprivation.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6292747.stm |title=Asylum seekers targeted by gangs |work=BBC News |author=Stephen Stewart|date=5 March 2007|access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/scotlands-gangs-968945 |title=Scotland's Gangs |work=Daily Record |author=Paul O'Hare|date=15 February 2008|access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref>

The ''Malls Mire'' burn, which has been almost entirely [[culvert]]ed, runs north-east under [[Hampden Park]], the Football Centre and the supermarket, to the west of the Prospecthill Circus area under the railway line and motorway, joins the West/Cityford Burn from Rutherglen<ref>[https://canmore.org.uk/site/44894/glasgow-Castlemilk-House Glasgow, Castlemilk House], Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, Sam Small, 2008 (quoted at [[Canmore (database)|Canmore]])</ref><ref name="RHSCityford">[https://rutherglenheritage.wixsite.com/website-46/cityford-burn The Cityford Burn], Rutherglen Heritage Society </ref> which becomes the Polmadie Burn (also known as Jenny's Burn)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydewaterfront.com/projects/glasgow-city-centre/public-amenity/e134---richmond-park|title=Richmond Park|publisher=Clyde Waterfront |access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jennyburnpub.co.uk/our-pub/|title=Our Pub|publisher=Jenny Burn ([[Marston's Brewery|Marston's]])|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> – once heavily polluted by waste from ''White's Chemicals'' at nearby [[Shawfield]] – and flows into the [[River Clyde]] at [[Oatlands, Glasgow|Richmond Park]].<ref name="RHSWhites">[https://rutherglenheritage.wixsite.com/website-46/whites-chemical-company Whites Chemical Company], Rutherglen Heritage Society</ref> While it was visible above ground, the Malls Mire formed part of the boundary between the ancient [[Shires of Scotland|counties]] of [[Renfrewshire (historic)|Renfrewshire]] and [[Lanarkshire]];<ref name=nlsmap>{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15&lat=55.8323&lon=-4.2361&layers=6&b=1|title=Ordnance Survey 6 inch, 1888-1913 |publisher=[[National Library of Scotland]]|website=Explore georeferenced maps|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> an informal search by a group of local historians in 2020 failed to uncover any of the old  boundary stones denoted on maps from the time.<ref>[https://rutherglenheritage.wixsite.com/website-46/single-post/search-for-boundary-stones-in-toryglen# Searching for Boundary Stones in Toryglen], Rutherglen Heritage Society, September 2020</ref>

The burn gives its name to an adjacent area of ground between Toryglen and Burnhill (meeting football pitches including the home ground of [[Rutherglen Glencairn F.C.]]), which lay overgrown for some years but was cleaned and landscaped in the early 21st century to be maintained as a 'community woodland',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.urbanroots.org.uk/community-woodland/|title=Malls Mire Community Woodland|publisher=Urban Roots|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/?woodId=23110&woodName=malls-mire-community-reserve|title=Malls Mire Community Reserve |publisher=[[Woodland Trust]]|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> and was granted [[Local nature reserve]] status in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/toryglens-urban-roots-celebrate-malls-5800557|title=Toryglen's Urban Roots celebrate as Malls Mire gains local nature reserve status|newspaper=Daily Record|author=Will Henshaw|date=1 June 2015|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref>

===''Sony'' filming===
[[File:BRAVIA Glasgow paint.jpg|thumb|right|190px|Prospecthill Circus following filming by [[Sony]] in 2006 for [[Bravia (brand)|Bravia]] televisions]]

A derelict multi-storey block awaiting demolition in Prospecthill Circus was used in 2006 by [[SONY]] to create an [[advertising|advertisement]] for their [[BRAVIA]] range of televisions. The commercial involved the blasting of paint onto disused buildings.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bravia-advert.com/ | title=Sony BRAVIA - The Advert | date=2006 | work=Sony.com | access-date=2007-05-01 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430190709/http://www.bravia-advert.com/ | archive-date=30 April 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/remembering-glasgow-tower-block-paint-19486870|title=Remembering when a Glasgow tower block got 'paint bombed' for a TV advert|website=Glasgow Live|date=18 December 2020 |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> The main tower block in the advert was demolished in a controlled [[Demolition#Building implosion|explosion]] on 21 January 2007;<ref name=paint>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6284791.stm|title=TV ad's 'paint flats' demolished|publisher=BBC|website=[[BBC News]]|date=21 January 2007|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> the remaining two towers survived for almost a  decade before being demolished in stages during late 2016, using a [[Long reach excavator]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/iconic-toryglen-flats-demolished-8931587|title=Iconic Toryglen flats to be demolished|newspaper=Daily Record / [[Rutherglen Reformer]]|author=Murray Spooner |date=3 October 2016|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dem-master.co.uk/portfolio/99-111-prospecthill-circus-glasgow/ 99 & 111 Prospecthill Circus, Glasgow], Dem-Master</ref>

===Housing===
[[File:Flats on Prospecthill Crescent - geograph.org.uk - 1138145.jpg|thumb|left|Flats on Prospecthill Crescent with St. Brigid's chapel in the background]]

'The Circus' underwent comprehensive redevelopment by the [[Glasgow Housing Association]] (GHA) in the early 21st century, culminating in a major development by Cruden Homes, with construction taking place between around 2015 and 2018,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crudenkingsview.co.uk/ | title= King's View Toryglen |publisher=Cruden Homes}}</ref> leaving the area virtually unrecognisable from the way it looked a few years prior.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNP8A9ChZn4 Video: North Toryglen], [[Glasgow City Council]], 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BMj3wJuqKs Video: The demolition and rebuild of Prospecthill Circus, Glasgow], BTJustice, July 2020</ref>

The 851 tenement flats and 232 tower block apartments in the south of the district (managed by Thistle [[Housing Association]]) were also refurbished externally, including brighter rendering and [[Energy efficiency in British housing|energy efficiency]], in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawtechgroup.co.uk/project?title=toryglen-estate%2C-glasgow|title=Projects: Toryglen Estate, Glasgow|publisher=Lawtech Group|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> The association's management of the properties came under scrutiny during the course of the project which suffered various delays and serious concerns over quality and safety,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/its-like-beirut-bad-day-9417084|title="It's like Beirut on a bad day" say Toryglen tenants|author=Edel Keaney|newspaper=Daily Record / [[Rutherglen Reformer]]|date=8 December 2016|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/energy-supplier-causes-years-worth-10347704 Energy supplier causes year's worth of problems for Rutherglen neighbourhood], Daily Record, 8 July 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/toryglen-housing-scheme-residents-fear-14433247.amp Toryglen housing scheme residents fear for their safety after building blunders put lives at risk], Daily Record, 19 April 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17862242.amp/ The scandal of Thistle Housing Association in Toryglen], Evening Times, 27 August 2019</ref> resulting in some of the houses being transferred to [[Sanctuary Housing|Sanctuary Scotland]] in 2020 on instruction of the [[Scottish Housing Regulator]].<ref>[https://www.sanctuary-group.co.uk/news/2020/02/sanctuary-scotland-preferred-partner-thistle-housing-association-transfer Sanctuary Scotland preferred partner for Thistle Housing Association transfer], [[Sanctuary Housing|Sanctuary Group]], 12 February 2020</ref>

==Education==

Between 1967 and 1994, the buildings of [[Queen's Park Secondary School]] (originally based at Grange Road, [[Battlefield, Glasgow|Battlefield]]) were located in Toryglen.<ref name=herald>{{cite web|url= http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12697775.The_end_for_Stan_Laurel_apos_s_school/|title=The End for Stan Laurel's School|website= heraldscotland.com|date=10 May 1994|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref><ref name=etimes>{{cite web|url= http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15444958.amp/|title=Reunion planned for Glasgow school that closed 23 years ago|work=[[Evening Times]]|date=1 August 2017|access-date=23 August 2018}}</ref> After several years as a derelict plot, the 'Crown Gardens' housing development was built on the site.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703223323/https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/glasgow-city/H275301-Crown-Gardens/#prettyPhoto|archive-date=3 July 2012|url=https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/glasgow-city/H275301-Crown-Gardens/#prettyPhoto|title=Crown Gardens|publisher=[[Barratt Homes]]|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref>

The school's football pitches (on the south side of Prospecthill Road) were built into [[Toryglen Regional Football Centre]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://sportscotland.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/profile/archived-articles/kenny-dalglish-officially-opens-scotlands-first-regional-football-centre-in-toryglen-glasgow/ | title = Kenny Dalglish opens first regional football centre in Toryglen Glasgow|publisher=[[sportscotland]]|date=7 August 2009|access-date=22 October 2018}}</ref> as part of [[Glasgow City Council]]'s plans to boost the city's sporting facilities in the run up to hosting the [[2014 Commonwealth Games]]. On the opposite site of the road there is an [[Asda]] [[superstore]], built in 1997.<ref>[https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/toryglen-store-set-major-expansion-2625938.amp Toryglen store set for major expansion], Daily Record, 3 September 2008</ref><ref>[https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17528669.mcdonalds-reveal-plan-store-glasgows-toryglen-asda/ McDonald’s reveal plan for store at Glasgow's Toryglen Asda], Glasgow Times, 26 March 2019</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[Charlie Burchill]], guitarist and founder member of [[Simple Minds]]
* [[William Haughey, Baron Haughey]], businessman
* [[Benny Higgins]], banker<ref name=inspired>{{cite web |url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15287958.amp/ |title=Chairman of Scotland's national galleries inspired by his grandfather|work=Evening Times |date=16 May 2017|access-date=8 May 2019 }}</ref>
* [[Janis Hughes]], former MSP for the [[Glasgow Rutherglen (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Rutherglen]] constituency.
* [[Jim Kerr]], lead singer and founder member of [[Simple Minds]]
* [[Michael Matheson (politician)|Michael Matheson]], politician (Scottish Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity)
* [[Christine McKenna]], British actress active during the 1970s and 1980s, "Christina" in the television series ''[[Flambards (TV series)|Flambards]]''

==See also==
* [[Housing in Glasgow#Glasgow tower blocks|Glasgow tower blocks]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
*[https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst11600.html Toryglen] at [[Gazetteer for Scotland]] 
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRir5AyF6dQ Video: Sony Bravia Paint Commercial] filmed at Prospecthill Circus
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRir5AyF6dQ Black and White Town], music video by [[Doves (band)|Doves]] filmed partially at Prospecthill Circus (as well as [[Summerston]]) and featuring local children
*[https://www.britishpathe.com/video/skyscraper-flats-1 Skyscraper Flats (1956)], short video of Prospecthill Crescent construction at [[British Pathé]]

{{Areas of Glasgow}}
{{Areas of Rutherglen and Cambuslang}}

[[Category:Housing estates in Glasgow]]
[[Category:Areas of Glasgow]]