MEMOIRS OF A SHETTLESTON BOYHOOD
In
October 1930 Daniel McAleer who then resided at 1524 Shettleston Road wrote down
and had typed and privately circulated a ten page narrative containing
reminiscences of Shettleston during his boyhood years in the perios 1870 to
1885. Selected passages from his narrative have been used to amplify the
historical data forming part of the captions of some of the illustrations in
this book, and some additional extracts from his narrative are given below.
‘‘Sixty-two years ago the place was only a village at the Sheddings, now Old Edinburgh Road. There was only a single house and Sheddings Row is there yet. There was a coal pit about 100 yards east from the Cross Roads named Sheddings Pit. About that time and later nearly all the Collieries in the Shettleston District were confronted by the superfluity of surface water in the mines. The Caroline Pit owned by the Grays was located at the foot of Quarry Brae and was in a straight line from Sheddings, 300 yards south. It was a productive Pit, no railways then but much troubled with water, continuous pumping night and day. Although the pit was well equipped with a first class engine, large pipes and sufficient pumping rods, it was not adequate to cope with large amount of water coming in from other Collieries. The masters of Gray’s Colliery made necessary appeal to the other coal masters in the district, including the masters of Sandyhills Colliery, the masters of the Peesweep Colliery the masters of Glenduffhill Colliery, but they gave no support, with the result that in a short time afterwards the Grays stopped their pit and withdrew their pumping rods and pipes. Slowly and surely, these masters I have quoted felt the effects of the stoppage and were powerless to do anything for the increasing quantity of water. The only remedy lay in financial assistance to the Masters Grays by the other local masters but this they failed to give, with the result in years later all pits I have mentioned were flooded out. Gray’s Offices and workshops were situated where the old Argus Newspaper was printed. Now it is a Gospel Hall. At that time there were many prosperous pits in the district of Shettleston, including Middlequarter, Eastmuir, Sandyhills and Barrachnie, Wellshot Pit, Dog Pit. Old Engine Pit. Greenfield Pit. Eastbank Pit, in close proximity to where the Shettleston Church established stands at present, the Station Pit close to Shettleston Station, the Tile Work Pit, and No. 7 Gartocher Road, and a pit in the centre where now is Sandymount Cemetery called the Warrior.
Then we came to Eastmuir. At the foot of it lived ‘Beardy Jock” and David Blair prided himself when he got a dram, and that was often, that he was David Blair from Shannon’s Mill, the Scotchiest place in Ireland. Take a look through the gate of the old established Church and you will see opposite 1434 Shettleston Road, two Sentry Boxes as good as they were nearly a hundred years ago. At that period men in the district had to take their turn of watching the graveyard when the students went prowling about in the “Death Coach” looking for dead bodies to experiment on. The men of the district patrolled. I knew one man, Peter Fleming of Crownhall, who had to take his turn in watching. At Crownhall there was a wee clachan of houses at the head of Eastmuir and only one house remains now owned by James Gilmour who used it as part of a garage. At one time a large family lived in it.
The only kind of Sport in the village then was the games called “Smuggled, Bar the Door, or Charlie ower the Water, Bethleum, Presently Brace’’. These games were all played on the Toll Road, that was the play ground. There was very little traffic on the road, you could hear a horse and cart half a mile away and when it arrived your game was finished. The management of all the games and sports was superintended by “Tinker Jock Gilmour”. He was a miner but a handyman. In his idle days he did a lot of soldering cans, flasks, etc., hence they called him ‘‘Tinker Jock’’. He was a very intelligent ‘man and assisted the boys and girls in their innocent fun.
Sandyhills House where the Cassells lived, only one son left and is still living in the house at present. It is situated south of the Golf Course on Sandyhills Road and is one of the most picturesque spots in the district with beautiful trees shading each side of Sandyhills Road for a distance of a few hundred yards. Then take the first turn close to the Lodge Gate and you are on another narrow lane that extends about half a mile from Sandyhills Road to Shettleston Road. About 64 years ago the path was about four foot wide and a large hedge on each side, very lonesome at night or winter time and a steep brae on the Sandyhills Road and a steep brae on the Eastmuir side, it was near cut to Tollcross and Carmyle and Broomhouse. But half road down the lane you cross a small bridge where a burn runs beneath and at the very edge of the burn there is a small spout running with water fed by a small spring. To my knowledge it has been running for 66 years and has never ceased and is still running. It is exactly one yard from the bridge east coming from Shettleston. It is remarkable that the small spout had to supply the village of Eastmuir with water, and sometimes the water was brought from nearby pits for washing purposes.
It was a treat to see the boys and girls, old and young, go with their gallows over the shoulders and a stoup and pail in each hand and many a good story is told about these days. It was the rule in some homes that the one who took the last drink had to don the gallows and go for a rake of water. No one ever went alone. Always several people went together. The road was very narrow. Two could not pass each other with a rake of water. They had to walk sideways. Sixty years ago it was called Galloway’s Lane. Then Lovers Lane, then the Burn Road, now half of the Burn Road has grown into a large and busy street called Culross Street. At that time there was an old and respected citizen of Eastmuir called John Travers, who had a horse and cart and a large barrel which he filled with Loch Katrine water at Parkhead and he sold it through the old town of Shettleston including the Cotton Lawn. He sold the water one half penny a stoup. I helped to fill the stoups and cans many times.
The Loch Katrine water supply came to Shettleston in 1869 and went no further than the head of Eastmuir. The cockstop was at the east end of St. Paul’s School railings on the main road. The pressure was tried over a tree that is standing in the same place and the house attached to it belonged to the Gilmours, and the only remaining house of the small clachan of houses called Crownhall. It is now used as a garage by one of the Gilmours. The pressure and force of the Loch Katrine was not sufficient to carry it any further for several years. It was a permanent blessing to the householders of Shettleston and Eastmuir, etc., and the older generation will never forget its arrival and use, but the present generation will never know what it was to don the gallows and stoups and cans on a late winter night and walk half a mile with your rake of water. But Lord Provost Stewart, who was always advocating a scheme to bring the Loch Katrine to Glasgow which he managed in 1859, and ten years later it arrived in Shettleston, and the wells were mostly placed outside the houses and keys used to fill the dishes and remained that way for many years.”
