The present day Glasgow suburb of Hillhead takes its name from Hillhead House, shown in the 1795 map (below). The house sat upon on a hilltop facing a steep decline to the south-east, towards the River Kelvin.
Map from 1795 showing Hillhead House on a hilltop above the River Kelvin
The parcel of land acquired by Andrew Gibson in 1702 had the legal title of "The Twenty Shilling Land of Old Extent of Byres of Partick and Hillhead".
His descendants would go on to sub-divide the estate into plots for development of villas, terraces and tenements.
Extract from legal document selling part of lands held by the Gibsons of Hillhead
There is a popular misconception that Byres Road has always been the hub of Hillhead. The initial development was however centred on Hillhead Street, which connected Great Western Road to Hillhead House on the brow of the hill. Map from 1858 showing Hillhead House and hillside leading down to Victoria Street
Sales notice from the Glasgow Herald 9th April 1858, for ground near Granby Terrace with a frontage to Great Western Road
Looking up Great George Street towards the site of Hillhead House at the hilltop
Tenement block built in 1878 on the site of Hillhead House at the corner of Hillhead Street and Great George Street
View of Granby Terrace, one of the earliest terraces in Hillhead
Hillhead House was a long single storey house, which was vacated by the last of the Gibson dynasty in 1861. James Gibson died shortly afterwards, at Dunoon in 1862.
Before its demolition, Hillhead House had been occupied as a school from 1872 to 1875.
Close-up view of Hillhead House, which was a long single-storey manor-house
The earliest development of the suburb, when building land was plentiful, was for villas with gardens, rather than terraces and tenements. Notice from the Glasgow Herald, 31st August 1827 for plots of land for sale in Hillhead
Villa in Hillhead, built in the fashionable style of the 1820's & 1830's
Early two storey villa in Hillhead
To provide access to his proposed suburb, James Gibson built a bridge across the River Kelvin in 1822.
Details of suspension bridge erected by James Gibson across the Kelvin in 1822
End bay of Alexander "Greek" Thomson's Eton Terrace, on the slope from Hillhead down to the Kelvin
Typical Thomson detailing seen in the stonework of Eton Terrace, which was completed in 1864
The Western Baths were built in Cranworth Street as a private swimming club in the late 1870’s. The architects were Clarke and Bell of Glasgow.
Central entrance of Western Baths, Hillhead
The map below was created after Hillhead had become part of the City of Glasgow and Victoria Street had been renamed Byres Road.
Map from 1895 showing former Hillhead Burgh Hall and Western Baths
There were 4 different Victoria Streets in the Glasgow area in the late Victorian era. All these streets were subsequently renamed, with Victoria Street, Hillhead, becoming Byres Road.
Extract from Post Office Directory, 1892
The burgh of Hillhead was created on 14th May 1869. Robert Bruce, the senior magistrate on the council, became Hillhead's first provost in 1873 when the Burgh Chambers were established in Victoria Street.
Hillhead Council in 1873, when it first met in the Burgh Chambers in Victoria Street
The burgh of Hillhead came to an end on 1st November 1891, when it was annexed to the City of Glasgow. The final provost of the burgh was Alexander Baird.
Hillhead Council in 1890, the year before it was abolished
Hillhead Baptist Church in Cresswell Street was built in 1883, although it looks much earlier in style. It was designed by Thomas. L. Watson, a Glasgow architect who favoured the Greek form of church building.
Hillhead Baptist Church, Cresswell Street
The Belmont Church in Great George Street dates from 1894. It was designed by the prolific Glasgow architect, James Miller, in an uncomplicated Gothic style.
Former Belmont Church, Hillhead, with crane for nearby development of Lilybank Terrace
The houses in the much older Lilybank Terrace, facing Belmont Church, were also acquired by the developers in 2006. This block was damaged by fire in 2008 and is currently being redeveloped behind its retained stone façade.
Façade retention project at Lilybank Terrace, Hillhead
The Botanic Gardens Garage in Vinicombe Street was very modernistic for 1912 when it opened.
The garage did not follow any of the patterns of conventional Edwardian architecture with its green and white tiled front marking it out as a commercial building quite unlike anything else in the area. The architect was David Valentine Wylie, who specialised in industrial buildings.
Botanic Gardens Garage, Hillhead
The hill was one of the many drumlins, which were formed by ancient glaciation which shaped the landscape in and around Glasgow.
The exposed rear of the house was protected from the prevailing westerly winds by a ring of Beech trees.
The map also shows the Byres of Partick, situated on the southern slopes of the hill, near the line of the present day Byres Road.
The lands of Hillhead and the Byres of Partick had come into the ownership of Andrew Gibson on 17th June 1702 and subsequently passed down to his descendants.
By the late 1850’s, after development had started in the area, Hillhead House stood at the corner of Hillhead Street and what would later become Great George Street.
Granby Terrace, situated further along Hillhead Street towards Great Western Road, is still standing.
There was no direct road access from Hillhead House down the hillside to Victoria Street, (which would later be renamed Byres Road). That part of the new suburb was completely undeveloped at the time.
The notice below, from August 1827, shows that Mr James Gibson carried on the business of developing the estate from Hillhead House.
The Western Baths and Hillhead Burgh Hall were both built by local firm, Clarke and Bell, in the 1870's.
In 1972, on the site of Hillhead Burgh Hall, the City Council built the horrendous Hillhead Library, which was one of the ugliest buildings in Glasgow's concrete reconstruction of the time.
Latterly the church was used by Laurel Bank School as an assembly and dining hall.
The abandoned church was sold to developers in 2006, who then gained planning permission for the development of 15 self-contained apartments.
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All original artwork, photography and text © Gerald Blaikie 2002-2011 Contact: admin@scotcities.com
Unauthorised reproduction of any image on this website is not permitted.
