Local historian, Bruce Downie, author of ‘Loved And Lost: Govanhill's Built Heritage’ will be leading a tour of the area as part of the Govanhill International Festival on Sunday 23 and Sunday 30 August. Full details on our noticeboard. In this article, he explores how Govanhill came to be.

By Bruce Downie

Long before Govanhill became the vibrant and densely populated neighbourhood it is today, Govan Hill was once a tiny rural village, surrounded by other villages including Butterbiggins, Coplawhill, Polmadie and Crosshill. All of these eventually became part of the bustling metropolis of Glasgow. While some retain a distinct local and administrative identity today, others are now little more than street names.

Where was the hill that gave Govanhill its name?

All maps reproduced by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland

The village no doubt took its name from a prominent hill; Govan Hill. While no longer prominent, the Roy Military Survey of 1745 indicates this hill was just east of Cathcart Road, the northern edge ran along what would become Aitkenhead Road, the southern edge was close to Calder Street and in the east, the hill sloped towards Polmadie. The highest point of the hill was probably around the north end of Batson Street.

It’s difficult to identify the contours of the hill today because it has been reduced and levelled and built on so much over the years. Batson and Hollybrook Street sit higher than surrounding streets and viewed from Polmadie, the land clearly rises towards present-day Govanhill.

John Wood’s map, made in 1822 shows a tiny settlement called Govan Hill, just a cottage or two, on or below the southern slope of the hill, close to where Holy Cross Primary school is now. However, the story of Govanhill really begins just a short distance to the east of the village, at the Govan Colliery and in Fireworks Village.

Industrial Expansion: Sparks and Blazes at Fireworks Village

The Govan Colliery was situated just east of Cathcart Road, between what is now Calder Street and Allison Street. There is evidence of mining at the colliery from the early 18th century, at this point owned by the Rae family. The family were landlords of the village of Little Govan and also owned most of the land around Polmadie and Crosshill. However it was William Dixon, the manager of the colliery from 1771 and later the owner, who saw the potential in the area and developed a small coal mine into an industrial enterprise that would, in time, completely transform the area.

Fireworks Village was the name given to the cottages that housed miners working in Dixon’s colliery. The village was situated just south of the colliery and north of the sleepy village of Crosshill, around present-day Bankhall Street. It took its name from the effect produced by the steam engine at the colliery that drew coal up to the surface.

The great demand for coal during the Industrial Revolution meant that Fireworks developed more quickly than any of the surrounding villages. When William Dixon’s son expanded his father’s business and built the Govan Iron Works in 1839, just north of the colliery, many more houses were needed to accommodate the hundreds of workers required. The new iron works soon became known as Dixon’s Blazes because of the glare produced at the furnaces, which illuminated the night sky for miles around.

The first wave of the expansion of Fireworks saw houses built near the iron works. Some of these, the ‘English Buildings’ housed specialist workers brought in from south of the border, who had particular skills required at the iron foundry.

Then, new houses and a school were erected on Cathcart Road, between what we now know as Govanhill Street and Butterbiggins Road, becoming known as School Square. In 1861, ‘Fireworks Kirk’, a Methodist Church was built by the foundry workers on the corner of Butterbiggins and Cathcart Road. In time, almost every house built along Cathcart Road and as far north the Iron Works, was referred to as part of Fireworks Village.

Dixon Halls, 1896 | Photo courtesy of Heritage Environment Scotland

The village takes shape

In such an unregulated space, beyond the city limits and the reach of city planners, place names were often fluid; by 1861 the original part of Fireworks Village was referred to as the Govanhill Colliery Houses. The area was still largely rural with small pockets of industry, above the surface at least, but the village of Govanhill was growing.

The 1862 General and Police Improvement Act allowed any town, village or locality with a population of over 1,200 to receive money directly from Westminster, to aid with local services such as paving, lighting, cleansing and water.

Both Fireworks and Govanhill were no longer the small rural villages they had been just a few decades earlier, together they were becoming a town, a town that would soon need services. A few more years passed before the population was large enough to qualify for government support, but when that threshold was finally reached, a new name had to be chosen. Fireworks may still have been a name used by many but the glare from the furnaces at Dixon’s Blazes was far brighter.

From No Man’s Land to a Thriving Community

For some, the area came to be known as ‘No Man’s Land’, because there was little regulation or accountability. But that name was never going to stand the test of time - or be approved by inhabitants striving for recognition and respectability.

Govanhill coat of arms | Glasgow Museums

Several names were considered, including Dixon Town, Broadlands and Victoria. However, the local name, the name visibly and emotionally connected with the land where many so many people had come to live and work was chosen. In 1877 the new burgh town of Govanhill was christened.

The first Provost of Govanhill, Thomas Smith, who had moved into the area in 1866 recalled ‘three self-contained houses, a few miner’s houses and green fields.’ This recollection may be slightly tinged by nostalgia but what is certain is that in 1869, a building boom began in order to accommodate workers required to open up new seams of coal and to work at the foundry.

By 1879, Fireworks was now fading into history and Govanhill had a population of over 10,000 far outnumbering any of the surrounding settlements; the beginnings of the neighbourhood we know today.