Govan and Its History from Early Times to the Present

By Brian McQuade

This book is a historical narrative on the 6,000 year history of Govan, one of the oldest, most continuously inhabited places on earth. The book is not parochial for it also expands into its role (when it served for 3 centuries as the capital of Strathclyde) as the formative force behind the creation of Scotland and England as separate nations. In other words a 'History of Britain' but seen from a viewpoint not produced before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291992809

Book preview

Govan and Its History from Early Times to the Present

Govan and Its History

from the

Past to the Present

Brian Thom Mcquade M. A.

The right of Brian Thom McQuade to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or in any form whatsoever without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. 

All photographs within this book have been taken by the author Brian Thom Mcquade unless otherwise stated.  All others are photographic reproductions of originals where the copyright has expired and which are now in the public domain.  This applies to Australia, the European Union or those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.  This also applies to the United States of America and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or fewer.

ISBN: 978-1-291-99276-2

© Copyright:

Brian Thom McQuade

Foreword

Govan is not its people’s heritage; it’s the people of Govan who are its heritage.  From the past to the present they have made it what it is and who have given it its traditions and practices regarded as the valuable inheritance of contemporary society: the Stone Age canoeists who fished and hunted the area, the Damnonii villagers who traded with the Romans, the first Christians including St. Constantine and its medieval farmers, fishermen and stone cutters who built its reputation, through to the weavers and the merchant of the 18th century.  It includes the industrial barons of the 19th and 20th centuries and the hordes of workers whose engines and ships ran the world.  The many rich benefactors and the poorer people of the municipality who fought two great wars and suffered after both, and the people now who are re-inventing post industrial Govan in a wave of revitalization, construction and communication.  All of this is our heritage which we, as its citizens, inherited at birth. 

Govan, its history and its community are notable things.  From the Stone Age to the present people have been living, working and worshiping in the area, which makes it one of the oldest, continuously inhabited places in the world.  It has had two ages of great importance and is perhaps currently beginning a third.  More than a thousand years ago it forged a reputation for royal power and religious belief whereby it became a centre for political authority.  More recently, its reputation for engineering and shipbuilding was known throughout the world.  Today it is once again coming to world notice as the largest media and entertainment centre of the United Kingdom and the holder of the biggest hospital in Europe.  In between these two places is the best bit – the people of Govan whose sense of community is founded on Govan’s timeless sense of place.

There have been two books written about Govan’s history, the first from T. C. F. Brotchie, The history of Govan in 1905, and the second by John Simpson, A History of Govan in 1987.  Govan has changed greatly since these books were written – not just in a structural way but through new research on its past which has brought to light an entirely different slant on its history.  That is why I decided to write a new history of Govan.

PLATE 1: THE AUTHOR AT THE GLASGOW ART CLUB

PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY TH. A. M. VAN ASPEREN

About the Author:

Brian Thom Mcquade was born and brought up in Govan where he still lives.  He is the author of two published books:

Sir John Lavery and his use of Photography at the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888, TH. A. M. van Asperen, Glasgow, 2006

ISBN: 978-0-9552290-0-8

Seven Painters who Changed the Course of Art History, AuthorHouse, Bloomington, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-2741-1

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

Govan is a district situated in the West Central Lowlands, southwest of the city of Glasgow in Scotland.  It lies 2.5 miles (c. 4 k.) west from the city centre on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin in Partick and 12.5 miles (c. 20 k.) from the old Alt Clut capital of Dumbarton Rock.  Present day Govan is shaped like a great north-facing bow where its cord stretches from Paisley Road Toll in the East to Shieldhall Road in the west, and where its arc reaches out from the former, peaks at Govan, and bends in at the latter.   Govan sits between the Grampian Mountains to the north and the Southern Uplands to the south, both of which were formed of rock c. 400 million years ago.  Over time, glacial ages and subsequent invasions from the sea helped to gouge out the land between these features.  The process of erosion was added to by prolonged rainfalls, rushing streams and rivers (from the Grampians and the Uplands), which helped to scour out what we know today as the Clyde valley and its river.  [1]  As the climate improved from the last glacial age (c. 12,000 BC) its geology and geography proved suitable for humans where its wooded valley and marshy flats could offer food and shelter. The first people who arrived there were Mesolithic (c. 8,000 – 4,000 BC) hunter gatherers who lived a nomadic lifestyle and survived on seasonal hunting, fishing and gathering wild foodstuffs.  Their chert, mudstone and flint tools have been found along the banks of the Clyde River valley where they camped for shelter from the elements.

When people began to settle on the land (c. 4,000-2,000 BC) their choice was determined by such factors as safety from predators (including humans), a reliable food supply, and ready access to water.  The last is why all early settlements in the Govan area are found near to streams or beside the Clyde.  We know that they moved about these watery routes for twenty one of their ‘log-boats’ have been found in the Govan/Glasgow area and a number of others from the lower Clyde.  Their stone axeheads have also been found in various locations including the Kingston Dock, in the Clyde at Rutherglen and inland at Newton Mearns.  Some of these Neolithic tools were trade objects from places like Wales and Ireland.  In fact, an axehead found in a dug-out canoe (in Partick in 1780) came from as far away as the Alps.   Once these early settlers had formed their communities they built houses in a circular form (known as ‘roundhouses’) from wattle and daub topped off with thatch. [2]  They wove their own clothes, farmed for barley and wheat and made baskets and pottery for storing and transporting goods for themselves and for trade.  They also tended sheep, goats, cattle and pigs for ready food and barter [3] which they exchanged at communal meeting grounds.  One such centre was found on the Great Western Road where it was used for trade, ritual and burial. [4]

We also know from recent archaeological digs that humans continued to live in the Govan area through the Bronze and into the Iron Age.  A Bronze Age axe head c. 2000-750 BC was discovered in the Clyde at the old York Street ferry while, from the Iron Age (c.750-200), we have a number of finds including a settlement at Shields and another next door at Braehead.  In the North Woods of Pollock Estate we have the remains of a third Iron Age village that was circumnavigated by a defensive earthwork.  There is also a collection of clay pots containing human remains proving that cremation and not inhumation was the preferred burial practice of the time. [5] From then until the present, people have been in residence here which means that Govan is one of the oldest, most continuously inhabited places in the world.

The people who lived there would have wanted an easy means of communication which they found in the River Clyde.  It was a convenient transport route west, east and south along the river valley but not a barrier from north to south because of the presence of a number of fords.  The crossing at Govan’s Water Row was superior to the others because its tributary, the Kelvin, deposits large amounts of silt that makes for a dependable, shallow crossing point and also allows for direct access to the Kelvin valley and the route north. Although there were other fords along either side of Govan (at Kelvinhaugh and Braehead), the one at Water Row was the first suitable intersection from the mouth of the Clyde in the west.  Govan’s early inhabitants would also have wanted a sense of security which they would have obtained from the high look-out point on Yorkhill.  This stands across the way from Govan Cross and was a site from where they could see welcome or unwanted visitors approaching.

The name ‘Govan’ itself is first recorded as Ouania, and appears in the Historia regum Anglorum et Dacorum, a historical compilation attributed to the 12th century monk and chronicler Symeon (died after 1129) of Durham Priory in England.  There are several versions concerning its origins: one comes from folk etymology and is based on the Celtic/Gaelic word ‘gobha’ meaning ‘smith’ or ‘place for ironworkers’. There could be a connection between this and the name Gobanius, who was the smith-god of the Celts.  As Govan was famed for high-status burials the Gaelic word ‘guba’, meaning ‘mourning at a burial’, might well apply also.  [6]

  The other name for Govan has two features gwo or go, which means ‘small’ and ban, meaning ‘hill’.  Together, we have ‘goban’ which means ‘little hill’.  The word derives from the time when the locals spoke a Cumbric or common Brittonic language – something akin to Old Welsh.  As Govan is relatively flat, the coining of the word might have been used for what was its most defining feature then – Doomster Hill which was located within the boundaries of the present day Water Row, Govan Road, Napier Street and the River Clyde. [7]

PLATE 2: DOOMSTER HILL (ON THE LEFT) AT WATER ROW.  AN ETCHING TAKEN BY ROBERT PAUL ON THE NORTH BANK OF THE CLYDE AT PARTICK IN 1757

Doomster Hill is first recorded in General Roy’s military survey map (1747-1755) and pictured in the earliest known drawing of the mound taken by Robert Paul in 1757.  It is probably of prehistoric origin and would have been utilized to serve as a place for rituals such as the worship of the sun, long before Christianity arrived in the area.  During the early 1800s a reservoir was dug to a depth of 12 feet (c. 3.5 m) for the local dye works.  When this was later deepened to the base of the hill the excavators discovered several charred planks of oak, some fragments of human bones and a bed of decayed bulrushes.  [8]  This shows that the Hill was first created as a burial mound to mark the cremation site of someone very important – a pre-Christian practice which means that it could be at least 2,000 years old.

During the 1990s a series of excavations were held in the area to see if Doomster Hill was connected to Govan’s other ancient site, Govan Old Parish Church. A pathway was discovered running between them, which stretched from the site of Govan Old through to the Hill which itself was found to be surrounded by a massive ditch.  Originally the structure was a two-tiered, man made mound c. 16. 4 feet (c. 5 m)