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The Old Cross Keys

March 15, 2017 by John Gorevan Leave a Comment

60 Rottenrow, Glasgow.

The Old Cross Keys sat at the corner of Rottenrow and Weaver Street.

It was said that a date of 1796 adorned the premises. That would probably be quite accurate as the old tenement building was very old indeed.

The old building was erected in 1795 and became a licensed house the following year. It was the property of the Incorporation of Weavers, who purchased it from the Crawford’s of Jordanhill. The memory of several well known members of the Incorporation were preserved on tablets on the walls, one was the grandfather of Mr. Alston, of Duke Street Prison.

The house was rebuilt in 1795 on the ruins of what was the dwelling house of one of the fourteen prebendaries of the Glasgow Cathedral. Neither the exterior or interior of the old pub was altered in years. The old kitchen and sitting room as right next to the bar. A large room where dancing was held in the old days, the old North Quarter Society used to hold their meetings there.

William Stobo took over the old pub in 1848 and lived next door all his life with his family and wife Jane. Their son David took over the licence when old Mr Stobo passed away, he trained as an Iron Turner while his sister Jane was a Machinist to trade.

The Old Cross Keys Rottenrow.

The Old Cross Keys c1960.

There was a quaint old rhyme which adorned one of the rooms, it was entitled Lament for the Gutty Steeple, and began “A’ ye wha in the north do dwell, Frae College hall to Campsie Fell, A tale of woe to you I tell, Na mair ye’ll hear St. Mungo’s Bell, Ring in the Gutty.”

David Stobo continued as landlord in the Old Cross Key’s until 1901.

Edward Gallagher then acquired the licence and continued in the pub just before the Second World War broke out.

One of the barmen in 1952 was a gentleman called Tommy Hoey.

Francis Timoney then took over the pub until the 1950s.

The last licensee was a gentleman called Bernard Murphy. The pub was closed in the 1960s and demolished shortly afterwards.

The Old Canteen Bar

March 15, 2017 by John Gorevan Leave a Comment

436-38 Gallowgate, corner of Lambert Street, Glasgow.

There has been licensed premises on this site since at least 1847. Mr & Mrs Stenhouse ran a Tea, Wine & Spirit business from here in the late 1840s and continued to do so for many years.

When the old premises were demolished a new tenement of flats and a pub on the ground floor was erected in 1876 a new landlord Mr Mattew Riddell took over. The Riddell family were well established on the Gallowgate from as early as the 1820s as spirit merchants and grain merchants. Their grain store was only 2 door away from their pub at 446 Gallowgate, many well remember this old shop in the 1970s as J R Dalziel (Castings) Ltd, sausage skin merchants.

The Old Canteen Bar on the left along Lambert Street.

The Riddell family traded first traded as Victuallers and Hay Dealers and traded as John Riddell & Sons from as early as the 1850s. In 1897 John Riddell & Sons traded at 10 Lambert Street as Hay, Staw, Grain, Seed and Manure Merchants. The sons Matthew lived at 7 Westercraigs in Dennistoun, apart from running the pub he was a partner in the family business with Robert and Daniel. Generations of the same family continued to run the family business well after the 1930s, by that time Alexander and James were the main partners.

Matthew Riddell died in 1896, the licence was then transferred to his sons Matthew and John as partners.

In 1918 Matthew Riddell and his shopman William Murray were each fined £2.00 at the Sheriff Court, for having on 20th May at 2pm allowed treating on the premises. Mr Riddell was not present when the offence was committed. The Barman went down to the cellar to screw off beer and the shopman took the money from the customer.

In 1927 Alexander Riddell, the licensee sold the business to Daniel McVeigh, Alexander gave up the licence to devote more time to the grain business on the Gallowgate.

Another well known publican to own the Old Canteen Bar was John Wintergill, he started out with his mother in premises on Garscube Road. To read more on John Wintergill keep an eye out for our second book here.

For the sixth time running, the Old Canteen Bar have won the local Guinness Darts League. Des McFarlane right, area representative for Guinness, presenting the Shield to team captain Jimmy Miller. 1969. In the centre is Davie Lamont, his daughter May now works in the Hielan Jessie. Do you know anyone in this image. If so please get in touch.

to read more on darts click here.

Customers of the Old Canteen Bar, Gallowgate, setting out on a bus run to Dunbar, this was a regular event during the summer months with many Glasgow pubs, the bus always left from outside the premises on a Sunday morning as pubs in the city didn’t open on the Sabbath. Mr & Mrs McBride in the center of the photo kneeling down. 1951.

To read more on the pubs on the Gallowgate read up & Doon the Gallowgate by John Gorevan. A copy can be bought for a few pounds at the Hielan Jessie on the Gallowgate or contact me at [email protected]

Licence Holders.

1975-1960 John Walker Kerr Wintergill.

1959-1951 Mr J A McBride.

1947 Edward Lavelle.

1937 John A Aitken.

1930s-1927 Daniel McVeigh.

1927 Alexander Riddell.

1921 Daniel Riddell.

1919-1896 Matthew Riddell.

1896-1876 Matthew Riddell.

1854 Mrs Stenhouse.

1850 Mr Stenhouse.

1849 Mrs Stenhouse.

1847 George Fisher.

The Old Basin Tavern

March 15, 2017 by John Gorevan 1 Comment

58 Old Basin, Baird’s Brae, Hamiltonhill, Glasgow.

The Old Basin Tavern was owned by Hugh Baird & Company, Great Canal Brewery in the 1880s.

The old tavern was rented out to a gentleman called John Peacock for £17.00 per annum. Mr Peacock also owned the Oakbank Spirit Vaultswhich was situated at the corner of Garscube Road and Camperdown Street, he also owned a smaller public house on North Woodside Road at the corner of Lyon Street.

In 1902 Mr Peacock rented the Garscube premises out to John Higgie, this gave Mr Peacock an annul income of £75.00 which was a great deal of money as he was only paying £17.00 for the Old Basin Tavern.

In the early years the Great Canal Brewery was adjacent to the Old Basin, the proprietors of the brewery owned the tavern. Many old cronies foregather here in the evenings, men who were employed on the “Hoolets,” plying between Edinburgh and Glasgow. These were little boats that carried passengers as well as luggage and although slower than the other boats, more romance clustered round them. One of the men who furnished some of the material embodied here was a rider on one of the swift boats, rigged out too, in red uniform and long boots. At one time the magistrates made the tavern the rendezvous of their annual outings.

A note on Hugh Baird…

Hugh Baird & Sons Ltd, brewers and maltsters in Glasgow, Scotland, derived from Hugh Baird & Co of Great Canal Brewery. Hugh Baird senior founded Great Canal Brewery in Possil Road (his first brewery), in 1823. He retired from the brewing side of the business in the late 1850s in order to concentrate on malting at his Springbank works, situated on the Forth and Clyde Canal, Garscube Road. It was not until 1863 that his eldest son Hugh Baird junior joined the company, followed by Hugh junior’s brother Montague Baird, in 1870.

When Hugh Baird senior finally retired from all aspects of the business in 1878 his two sons became sole partners. Various members of the family continued to rank amongst the company’s Directors well into the 1940s and Montague Baird went on to become the president of the Institute of Brewing from 1906-1907. By 1889 the company owned four works; the Great Canal Brewery and Maltings, Rock Villa Maltings, Petershill Maltings at Springburn, and a Roasting Works on top of Hundred Acre Hill.

In 1894 Hugh Baird & Sons became a limited liability company. In 1907 the company took over the well established firm of maltsters, Corder & Haycraft, based in Greenwich, London. This became the Company’s English base for many years until they moved to a new mechanical plant at Witham in Essex in the 1960s. In 1939 the company consolidated with Charles & Co (Leith), the latter becoming a subsidiary company of the former. And by 1947 Thomas Bernard & Co became a subsidiary company by the same process of consolidation.

In 1946 Hugh Baird & Sons Ltd owned the Springbank County Malting and Newside Malting in Garscube Road, Glasgow, the Vulcan Malting at Vintner Street, Port Dundas, and the Electric Malting and Roasting House in Glasgow. The Roasting House was destroyed by fire in the 1950s, and was rebuilt, and fully modernized, operating up until 1966. In 1964 the company opened the Pencaitland plant in East Lothian. All floor maltings were subsequently closed, the Glasgow workings closing in 1966. The mechanical malting plants of Pencaitland and Witham remain operating to this day.

1787 Post-Office Directory…

Mrs Gilchrist, Old Basin Tavern.

1827-30 James Gilchrist, Innkeeper, Canal Old Basin.

The Old Barns

March 15, 2017 by John Gorevan 2 Comments

179 London Road, Calton, Glasgow.

The Old Barns. 1991.

This is the oldest established pub in the city of Glasgow dating back to the 1600s. However the original Old Burnt Barns was demolished and this pub stands in it’s place.

To read the full history of the Old Barns check out our book here.

Exterior view of the Old Barns, August 2005.

Interior View of the main bar with the late John Lynch the proprietor. This photograph was take just two weeks before he died. Many will remember him as a generous man. He was like Dellboy from the East End, I met him many a time in various auctions in and around Glasgow, he always went away with something. He told me “You should come along and see the treasure’s I’ve picked up over the years.” He must have had an Alladin’s cave somewhere. I will miss John as we always had a good chat about the old days in the Calton the Gallowgate and the Barras. R I P.

Various view of the interior of the Old Barns. 2006.

Mr Patrick McVey, manager of the Old Barns at the turn of the 1900s.

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In the NEWS 1979…

15 HELD in DAWN RAIDS AFTER PUB BLASTS…

Fifteen men were being held in custody by Strathclyde Police last night following two bomb blasts in public houses in Glasgow on Saturday night.

They were arrested by armed members of the Special Branch and Strathclyde serious crime squad yesterday in dawn swoops in various parts of Glasgow.

The men can be held for 48 hours under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and police can then apply to the Secretary of State for Scotland to hold them without charge for a further five days.

Police confirmed yesterday that explosive devices were used in the blasts, and they believed they were related and were the work of an extremist group.

WARNING

The incidents brought a warning to the public from Chief Constable Patrick Hamill of Strathclyde Police to “display the utmost vigilance in licensed premises for any suspicious package, parcels, hold-all or the like which is unattended.”

In this statement, Mr Hamill said: “Management and staff of Licensed premises, and in all instances where suspicious objects or articles are observed the police should be noticed immediately.”

Police inquiries into the blasts, at the Old Barns public house in London Road, Calton and the Clelland Bar, Hospital Street, Gorbals, were continuing last night, and a special mobile police station was set up outside the Clelland Bar.

The bomb in the Old Barns public house went off in a lounge bar, which is being redecorated. No one was injured. In the Clelland Bar, however, five people were treated in hospital for cuts caused by glass from the juke box, fruit machine, and windows, and a hole was blown in the floor.

APPEAL

The licensed trade last night backed up the chief constable’s appeal to the public. A spokesman said: “We want people to co-operate fully with the police. Anyone who sees anything remotely suspicious should tell the bar staff to contact the police, even if it does turn out to be innocent.”

Neither of the bars involved in the blast is sectarian, but those arrested are believed to have connections with the Ulster Defence Association.

Two week ago at Paisley 24 men, believed to be associated with the UDA, were charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Police are believed to have taken possession of weapons and explosives during raids on houses in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.

Also see John Lynch didn’t pay the water bill…

Licence Holders.

2006-1967 John Lynch. R.I.P.

1940 E R Cowan.

1937 Margaret McElroy Magee.

1920 Edward Magee.

1903 Amelia F Scouler.

1899-1885 James McElroy.

1871 Mrs Janet Hislop.

1870-1866 Robert Hislop.

1863-1856 John Boyle.

1853-1848 James Davie.

1847-1831 James Barr.

1828-1816 Peter Barr.

1783 William Buchanan.

O’Kane’s

March 15, 2017 by John Gorevan 2 Comments

174 Westmuir Street, Parkhead, Glasgow. G31 5BS. Tel: 01415503154.

O’Kane’s photo taken August 2005.

Like many pubs in Glasgow when the name of the establishment changes, the locals will still call the pub by it’s old name, this is what happened to this pub. It was known for many years as O’Kane’s, when the name changed to The Two Bells, many of the locals still called it O’Kane’s and the name was changed back to it’s former title.

In the early part of the 1800s a small two storey cottage sat on Westmuir Street at the corner of Backcauseway, this old house became licensed to sell liquor and was known by the locals as the Auld Hoose. Over the years the licence changed hands until 1879 when David Anderson took over the thriving business. At this time there were three other pubs sitting on Westmuir Street and three licensed grocers. Read more on the Auld House. Click here.

For the next forty years David Anderson held the licence without complaint from the local authorities, his daughter Annie work close by learning all the tricks of the trade from her father.

In the early part of 1900 Westmuir Street was one of the main streets running to Shettleston and had to be widened to cope with the heavy traffic passing, however the Auld Hoose was standing in the way of development as it stood out further than all the other houses and shops in Westmuir Street. The pub had to be pulled down to make way for the widened street.

David Anderson was granted a new certificate and opened a public house across the road from the old premises in 1919. David was now in advanced years and had been confined to his bed for the last few years at his home in Early Brae, Springboig, he died a few months afterwards in April 1920 from Bronchitis. His daughter Annie, who had worked with him in the previous licensed premises applied for a transfer and was refused it. Mr Anderson left an estate valued at £6753, a vast amount of money in those days.

More on David Anderson’ Auld Hoose Click Here

A crowd stand outside O’Kane’s for the opening of the new refurbishment which took 3 months for the modernisation in 1974.

O’Kane is named after Thomas O’Kane. Thomas O’Kane sold his pub on London Road at the corner of Green Street called the Crystal Bar in the early 1950s having owned it prior to 2nd W W and bought the Westmuir Street pub. Initially it was just half the size it is now, there was a café next door, eastwards which he bought and converted it to a lounge bar. He sold it to Tennents about 1960 and bought an off-sales in Langlands Road Govan.

Mr Thomas O’Kane. Thanks to Catherine Kelly.

Over the past years many licence holders have come and gone to serve the locals of Parkhead, Tennent Caledonian Breweries took over the pub in 1960. The licence holder then was a gentleman called Joseph Smillie, he also ran the Dennistoun Bar, Duke Street and pubs in Morrison Street and Stockwell Street.

In 1991 the licensee was Janet Healy, today the pub is still going strong.

Interior view 1974. With David Aitken, divisional controller for T C B, wishing success to John Higgins, manager of O’Kane’s and his staff. Also in the photo is R Skelton, divisional manager extreme left and Mr T Heaney, entertainments manager of T C B extreme right.