Slum housing in Garngad, photographed in 1925. A heavy cloud of polluted air hangs over the area, produced by the many heavy industrial works in the area, such as the St Rollox Chemical Works and the Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Works.
Garngad became heavily industrialised in the 19th century, with the establishment of flax and cotton mills, iron and chemical works and railway works. The tenements that were hurriedly built to house incoming workers were of poor quality, with only outside toilets, leading to overcrowding and insanitary conditions. Diseases such as tuberculosis were rife, and the Garngad slums were regarded as some of the worst in Europe.
Garngad was the scene of one of Glasgow Corporation's earliest major slum clearance programmes, beginning in 1933. Many of the residents moved to the new scheme in nearby Blackhill. New housing was built, and the makeover was taken a further stage in 1942 when the area was officially renamed Royston.
Reference: D-AP9/7/9/25
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
atmospheric pollution, diseases, housing estates, mills, public health, slum clearance, slums, smog, St Rollox Chemical Works, tenements, Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Works, tuberculosis, urban regeneration
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