Dalmarnock

Dalmarnock
Scottish Gaelic: Dail Mheàrnaig
Dalmarnock
 Dalmarnock shown within Glasgow
OS grid referenceNS611630
Council areaGlasgow City Council
Lieutenancy areaGlasgow
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town GLASGOW
Postcode district G40
Dialling code 0141
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentGlasgow Central
Scottish ParliamentGlasgow Shettleston
List of places
UK
Scotland
Glasgow

Coordinates: 55°50′25″N 4°13′11″W / 55.840161°N 4.219675°W

Dalmarnock (Scottish Gaelic: Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. It is bounded by the Clyde to the south and east, Parkhead to the north, and Bridgeton at Dunn Street to the north west. The area covers part of a loop in the River Clyde called the Cuningar Loop (known locally as 'The Vallies').

Bridges

Dalmarnock Bridge

There is a bridge over the River Clyde on Dalmarnock Road called Dalmarnock Bridge. The first bridge in the area was a wooden one erected in 1821 to connect Rutherglen and Dalmarnock. It was replaced by a new timber bridge in 1841 and in 1891 by the current Dalmarnock Bridge, designed by Glasgow consulting engineers, Crouch & Hogg.

Dalmarnock Railway Bridges

There has also been two railway bridges in Dalmarnock crossing the River Clyde. The first bridge was built in 1861, but was soon replaced in 1897 by a wider bridge to accommodate the Dalmarnock branch line. Both bridges were designed by George Graham.[1]

History

The area was once heavily industrialised. Sir William Arrol & Co. had its extensive engineering works at Dunn Street and Baltic Street from 1873. From its beginnings in boiler making, the firm later became renowned for its achievements in the field of Structural engineering. Amongst the many bridges constructed throughout Britain were the Forth Railway Bridge and Forth Road Bridge, the Humber Bridge and London's Tower Bridge. The company was eventually taken over by Clarke Chapman in 1969 and the Dalmarnock Works closed in 1986. There was also a large coal-fired power station located near Dalmarnock Bridge. It was built by Glasgow Corporation in two stages, with phase one opening in 1920 and phase two in 1926. It was closed in 1977 by the South of Scotland Electricity Board.

Victorian sandstone tenements in Ardenlea Street, Dalmarnock that were originally renovated as part of the GEAR (Glasgow East Area Renewal) scheme in the late 1970s, have seen their residents systematically rehoused in recent years, thus being allowed to fall into a dilapidated state once more. They are now planned to be totally demolished as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games athletes village masterplan by RMJM.

The east side of allan Street was bombed during the Second World War. Most of the Victorian red-sandstone tenements on Dalmarnock Road and Springfield Road were demolished in the '60s and early '70s, although some were renovated. Springfield Road remains the centre of the community, with several retailers and small businesses. In the 1960s, a new housing scheme was built, consisting of four twenty-two storey tower blocks and 'H-block' maisionettes. Two of the towers, 40 & 50 Millerfield Road, were demolished on 3 February 2002. One other tower was demolished on 1 July 2007, and the final one on 9 September 2007.

Dalmarnock now, August 2011, has no housing on Ardenlea St / Sunnybank St side of the area, due to the construction in the area pertaining to the Commonwealth Games and City Legacy.

After the departure of all local retailers from the area all that remains is a small shop which was set up by the workers in the Community Centre. This has been a welcome boon for the area residents as the nearest shops are not within walking distance. There is a petrol station on Dalmarnock Road and a car wash. There are also a lot of small business units in the Nuneaton Street area and Calder Millerfield which supplies meat based products to the fast food market.

Rail

Dalmarnock railway station, on the Argyle Line, serves the local area.

Dalmarnock Train Station is scheduled to be upgraded in time for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[2]

Education

The area used to have four schools: Springfield Road Primary, Springfield Primary, Riverside Secondary and Our Lady of Fatima RC Primary School on Springfield Road have now closed. There is a Dalmarnock Primary School situated in the nearby Bridgeton area of the East End of Glasgow and should not be counted in the schools list for the area.

Commonwealth Games

Dalmarnock is the location for the athletes' village when Glasgow hosts the 2014 Commonwealth Games[3] and proposed skyscraper East One.

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome is also in the area, at the section of Springfield Road where it intersects London Road.

From 19 May 2014 to 2 June 2014 BBC One Scotland aired a documentary entitled "Commonwealth City" which showed how the people and community in Dalmarnock have been affected since the games were announced in November 2007. It was narrated by actor Martin Compston.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Dalmarnock Railway Bridges". Clyde Waterfront Heritage. Retrieved 11/8/13. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ↑ Dalmarnock Station Overhaul
  3. ↑ The Athletes' Village - Glasgow's Bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games