The Rottenrow is a street in the Townhead district of Glasgow, Scotland. One of the oldest streets in the city, it underwent heavy redevelopment in the 20th century and now forms part of the University of Strathclyde's John Anderson Campus. The street runs along the summit of a drumlin known historically as Balmanno Brae, although this name has long fallen from use.[ citation needed ]
The Rottenrow is one of eight streets which formed the medieval burgh of Glasgow. [1] It was recorded as le Ratonraw de Glasgw in 1283. [2] The name was once a common one in British towns and cities and literally means "rat row" (from Middle English ratton raw), suggesting a tumbledown row of houses infested with rats. [3] The original alignment of Rottenrow stretched from High Street at its east to John Street in the west.
The original premises of the University of Glasgow were situated in the Rottenrow, in a building known as the "Auld Pedagogy". [4]
Townhead was once a densely populated residential area, but in 1962 the Glasgow Corporation earmarked it for redevelopment as part of its policy of slum clearance. The tenements and other buildings surrounding the Rottenrow were swept away to make room for the new University of Strathclyde, formed in 1964 from the Royal College of Science and Technology, and their inhabitants were moved into high rises. [5] Much of the surrounding street grid was either lost completely or realigned between the new campus buildings. The western section between Montrose and John Streets disappeared after the demolition of John Street Ironworks in the 1950s, the new Engineering Block and Chemistry Block of the Royal College were constructed over this portion in the early 1960s. The western continuation of Rottenrow - a footpath known as Love Loan which ran behind St Paul's Church parallel to Martha Street - also disappeared around this period.
Today, the Rottenrow itself is now divided into two sections. The eastern part which starts at High Street is designated Rottenrow East, and terminates at Taylor Street where it becomes a pedestrian footpath around the Architecture Building and Wolfson Centre. The western section then continues as Rottenrow from North Portland Street to Montrose Street, following the original alignment where it terminates on Montrose Street.
The Rottenrow is perhaps best known as the site of the Royal Maternity Hospital, the birthplace of generations of Glaswegians. Opened in 1860 to replace an older maternity hospital in St Andrew's Square, it continued to function until 2001, when it was replaced by the Princess Royal Building at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. [6] The University of Strathclyde subsequently purchased and demolished the hospital, turning it into a park, Rottenrow Gardens. [7] A few parts of the building, including the main entrance portico, the arch on North Portland Street, and sections of basement wall were spared destruction. [8] The area's heritage is commemorated by a giant metal nappy pin at the centre of the gardens, created by sculptor George Wyllie. [9]
In 2023, the University of Strathclyde reached an agreement with Glasgow City Council to take full possession of the Rottenrow along with neighbouring North Portland Street and Richmond Street. [10] The land, which carried a nominal value of £50,000 was transferred to the university at no cost. [11] The three streets will be pedestrianised, to allow for the expansion of Rottenrow Gardens and to create an uninterrupted public space for students and staff. A new Love Loan is also being created parallel to its original alignment but further south, between John Street and North Frederick Street in 2024.
The University of Glasgow is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in 1451 [O.S. 1450], it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Along with the universities of St Andrews, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century. Glasgow is the largest university in Scotland by total enrolment and with over 19,500 postgraduates the second-largest in the United Kingdom by postgraduate enrolment.
The University of Strathclyde is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first technological university in the United Kingdom. Taking its name from the historic Kingdom of Strathclyde, its combined enrollment of 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students ranks it Scotland's third-largest university, drawn with its staff from over 100 countries.
Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It sits directly north of the city centre and is bordered by the newer area of Garnethill to the south-west and Townhead to the east.
Townhead is a district within the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of Glasgow's oldest areas, and contains two of its major surviving medieval landmarks – Glasgow Cathedral and the Provand's Lordship.
The Princess Royal Maternity Hospital is a maternity hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834 in Greyfriars Wynd, just off the city's High Street. It moved to St Andrew's Square in 1841, then to Rottenrow in 1860 and to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary site in 2001. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around 8 hectares, and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It was originally opened in 1794, with the present main building dating from 1914.
Sauchiehall Street became one of the main shopping streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.
Murdoch Cameron was Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow from 1894 to 1926. He was a pioneer of the Caesarean section under modern antiseptic conditions, becoming world famous after the success of his first such operation in 1888, at what was then the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary, now the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, an institution he was deeply involved with. He was honorary President of the first international Congress on Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in 1892. His son Samuel James Cameron followed in his footsteps, becoming Reguis Professor of Midwifery at Glasgow in the 1930s.
Parliamentary Road was a major street in the Townhead area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and was originally the district's main thoroughfare. Most of the street was removed by the late 1980s as part of successive regeneration schemes in Townhead and neighouring Cowcaddens, and as such almost none of the street remains evident to the present day.
The Livingstone Tower is a prominent high rise building in Glasgow, Scotland and is a part of the University of Strathclyde's John Anderson Campus. The building was named after David Livingstone. The address of the building is 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow.
The James Weir Building is an academic building in Glasgow City Centre, Scotland, United Kingdom and is part of the University of Strathclyde’s John Anderson Campus, situated between the Townhead and Merchant City districts of the area. It was completed in two stages between 1956 and 1964 as an extension to the Royal College Building. It is the third largest building on the John Anderson Campus in terms of overall floor area after the Royal College and the Curran Building. In addition, the stair and lift tower on the south east corner of the building is the second highest structure on the campus after the Livingstone Tower, and is highly visible throughout the eastern side of the city centre.
The John Anderson Campus, the main campus of The University of Strathclyde, is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The campus is self-contained in its own area which straddles the Townhead and Merchant City districts on the north eastern side of the city centre, while being only minutes from the M8 Motorway, George Square and is located midway between Queen Street Railway Station and High Street station on the North Clyde Line.
Glasgow City Centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. Is bounded by Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to the east, The River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to its west and north. Glasgow City Centre is composed of the areas of Garnethill, Blythswood Hill and Merchant City as well as parts of Cowcaddens, Townhead, Anderston and Calton.
Morris and Steedman was an architecture firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The firm was founded by James Shepherd Morris (1931–2006) and Robert Russell Steedman in the 1950s. The pair are best known for their private houses in the modernist style, built during the 1950s and 1960s, described as "arguably the most important series of 20th century houses by a single practice in Scotland". Both founders retired in 2002, although their practice continues as Morris and Steedman Associates.
Anderston/City/Yorkhill is one of the 23 wards of Glasgow City Council. Created as Anderston/City in 2007, it returned four council members, using the single transferable vote system. The same criteria applied in 2012. For the 2017 Glasgow City Council election, the boundaries were changed, the ward slightly decreased in size and was renamed Anderston/City/Yorkhill, still returning four councillors.
The Barony Hall,, is a deconsecrated church building located on Castle Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland, near Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the city's oldest surviving house, Provand's Lordship. It is built in the red sandstone Victorian neo-Gothic-style. The original or Old Barony Church was built as a part of the Barony Parish in Glasgow by architect, James Adams. It opened in 1799 and served ceremonial and other congregational purposes. The replacement for the old building was designed by J. J. Burnet & J. A. Campbell and raised in 1889, and incorporated architectural artifacts from the old church and a number of other relics.
Prof James George Wilson MD FRSE FFPSG FRCSE (1830–1881) was a 19th-century Scottish surgeon and obstetrician. He was the first Superintendent and Physician of the Glasgow Maternity Hospital.
The Wolfson Centre is an academic building within the city of Glasgow, Scotland and part of the University of Strathclyde's John Anderson Campus.
The Strathclyde School of Architecture, is an academic building in Glasgow, Scotland and part of the University of Strathclyde, John Anderson Campus.
The St Paul's Building, is a deconsecrated church building located at 104 John Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. Originally constructed in 1904, it has been part of the University of Strathclyde since 1953, when it was converted for use as the Chaplaincy. The building lies on the western edge of the university's John Anderson Campus, close to George Square.
55°51′44″N4°14′38″W / 55.86232°N 4.24397°W
