Ruchazie
| Ruchazie | |
  Ruchazie Ruchazie shown within Glasgow | |
| OS grid reference | NS644663 |
|---|---|
| Council area | Glasgow City Council |
| Lieutenancy area | Glasgow |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLASGOW |
| Postcode district | G33 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Glasgow North East |
| Scottish Parliament | Glasgow Provan |
Ruchazie (/rʌxˈheɪzɪ/ rukh-HAY-zi)[1] is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated to the North-East of the city close to Easterhouse. The area has experienced considerable re-generation and improvement in recent years thanks to Tower Homes LHO and Ruchazie Housing Association. Ruchazie is the only district in Glasgow that does not have a Public House, although many of the inhabitants are familiar with them in other areas. In August 2009, construction of a Soccerworld five-a-sides complex situated on ground between Croftcroighn Road and the M8 motorway was completed and opened to the public. The facility includes a soft play area, female-only gym and a licenced bar.
Although small, Ruchazie is split into three distinct areas. The High-End, The Coby (the "posh bit", named from the street Cobington Place) and the largest, The Low-End. It has gone from a bustling community of 10,000 in the 1970s to under 3,000 in 2008. The High-End has been expanded recently with new housing on Gilbertfield Street overlooking Hogganfield Loch.
Ruchazie is also where singer/songwriter Jim Diamond was brought up.[2] He attended St. Philip's Primary School which has recently been closed down due to the construction of St. Rose of Lima Primary School in neighbouring Craigend.
Both Ruchazie Primary and St Phillips Primary have been demolished with the land now set aside for housing. Only two red ash football pitches split the grounds of each school. Of the original Low-End. Only the "Fives", three "Closes" in Avondale Street and the "Pensioners" houses in Gartcraig Road have survived.
Closes in Gartcraig Rd, Upper Avondale St, Claypotts Rd, Balcomie St, Milncroft Rd and Place, Bankend St, Elibank St, Caprington St and Drumlochy Road are all gone, replaced with new housing.
Ruchazie is remembered for the 'Ice Cream Wars' in the 1980s which resulted in the murder of six members of the Doyle Family in the early hours of 16 April 1984. Only three people survived the terrible arson attack on their flat in Bankend Street that night.[3] In a mark of respect for the family the whole community of Ruchazie turned out for the funerals two weeks after the brutal crime. Two men from the east end of Glasgow, Thomas 'TC' Campbell and Joe Steele were convicted of the murders only to be freed on appeal in 2004 with their convictions quashed. To this day the killings are the subject of rumour including conspiracy theories of police collusion to frame Campbell and Steele. The flats in Bankend Street have all since been demolished.
References
- ↑ G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (London: Oxford UP, 1971), p. 128.
- ↑ "where are they now?; Jim Diamond. Daily Record article on The Free Library". Daily Record. June 22, 2002.
- ↑ "'Ice-cream wars' verdicts quashed as justice system faulted Dan McDougall and John Robertson". The Scotsman, March 18, 2004.