A thatched cottage on Govan Road at Shaw Street, late 19th century.
In Rambles Round Glasgow (written in the 1850s) Hugh MacDonald said of Govan: "It has a predominance of thatched houses, too, as if in its sturdy independence it was determined to retain its straw bonnet in defiance of the innovating slate. Altogether Govan has a genuine old world look, which is perfectly unique in these days of improvement and change, and which forms a not unpleasing contrast to the stiff though stately angularity of our own somewhat overgrown town." By the end of the 19th century, however, there were few thatched cottages left standing amidst the rows of new tenements in the burgh.
Reference: 660.82.91
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
horse-drawn trams, Rambles Round Glasgow, rambling, streetscenes, tenements, thatched cottages, walking