Houses in Anderston

[Matt R]

Hi all...

I am currently investigating WHERE my anestors lived in the mid 1880's after coming over from Ireland. I have found several addresses for them. Here is what I have found so far from vaioous bmd certs and poor relief records...

1884 - Bernard Owens dies in infirmary but usual residence given as 44 Richard Street, Anderston, Glasgow.

1885 - His widow Eliza applies for relief, from number 45 Richard Street.

1884/5/6/7 - Their child Catherine and her hubby and kids are living at number 41  Richard Street (you can see where this is going!)

1885 - Another of Bernard and Eliza's daughter gets married...cert says usual address of both bride and groom is 45 Richard Street.

1888 - Two of Bernard and Eliza's sons are married. Usual address for one is  41 Richard Street, the other is 45.

So, I definitely know the family were in close proximity...but where exactly?? I am trying to find out whether or not this was actually a big house, split into 41, 44 and 45. I know 42 and 43 are missing...I dont know of any family living at those numbers.

I know Catherine was in Scotland before shebrought her parents and siblings over, so I am wondering whether or not she gt the house for her parents and the others moved where theydid if the house became available. Catherine moved to Richard Street from Argyll so is it possible she saw a number of houses going and thought she'd get the lot??? The family were very poor...so maybe this was unlikely.

I would appreciate any information about Richard Street housing or the make up of houses in that area around 1885. I say this because I am writing a story about the Owens family. I need to know the process and the layout of the house and how they would be obtained...and maybe even how much. Anything really...I hope there is someone out there who knows something.

Regards and thanks for reading

Reaybo

[Baird]

http://www.anderston.ukpals.com/partfive57-59.htm


This site may give you some assistance and other links.


Baird

[Mean_genie]

Great site, Baird, thanks for the link!

Reaybo, several members of my family lived in Richard Street (10, 38, 41, 59, 84) and from the census and the valuation rolls the dwellings appear to be tenements, exactly what you'd expect to find in Glasgow.

I'm guessing you're not familiar with the set-up of Glasgow tenements. Each house number is a 'close' containing several self-contained units. Most people would describe these as flats or apartments but, confusingly, in Glasgow they are often referred to as houses! So there would be several families living at No 41, for example, each behind their own front door. Glasgow was (and is) a very crowded city, and this is high-density housing. I have one family at No 41 in the 1891 census, and another unrelated family at No 38. this look like quite some coincidence, but there were more than 2.5 thousand other people in Richard Street in 1891.

Most people then were tenants, probably with few possessions, and might move around quite frequently, but within the same network of streets near their friends and family. I'm sure if you look at the Anderston site you will get a better idea of what 19th century Glasgow was like. I'm off to explore it now.

Have a look at these sites too

www.theglasgowstory.com

www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualmitchell

All the best

Mean_genie

[gerryfarrell]

Hi Reaybo,

The Virtual Mitchell has photographs of Richard St at this link -

http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualmitchell/index.php?a=street&s=gallery&key=rYToxOntpOjA7czoxMDoiUmljaGFyZCBTdCI7fQ==

Gerry

[RJ_Paton]

http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/59/Details/

Will also give you an insight into a Glasgow tenement (albeit towards the top end of the market).

Tenements in the lower income areas tended to be either "Room & Kitchen" units of two rooms (kitchen + 1) or what were referred to as "Single Ends" - one room - toilets were communal and were often housed in or between the stair landings - or even out in the back courts.

In these cramped conditions anything up to three generations of a family lived together.

[gerryfarrell]

Here's another good sight which will give you a insight to a close and the amount of houses that could be in each. I noticed you said that Eliza applied for relief in 1885, If you have a copy of the poor relief application or the inspectors report these quite often give better details of their address ie No 45 Richard Street - 1up / 2nd Left. This can also be a great source of information to how much rent was paid, their earnings and relations as well as a great source for the kind of life they lived.
I found out one of my relations was in and out of prison from the poor relief.
Glasgow's Mitchel Library Archives has a great selection of poor law registers.

Gerry

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/images/exhibitions/month/Dougan%252064/Dougan64_0026wf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/Mar2006.html&usg=__SQIRP7b-tdAW7E441Ru_tOTJMBM=&h=482&w=395&sz=126&hl=en&start=16&um=1&tbnid=wl6Hv2yISmxiBM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dglasgow%2Btenements%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

[Mean_genie]

I'll second Gerry on the subject of the poor relief records at the Mitchell, they are full of my relatives as well, including three of my great-grandmothers (and the other one wasn't much better off).

That's another interesting link, too, something else to explore to the neglect of the housework, nothing new there  .

I lived in a Glasgow tenement in the 1950s, as did most of my relatives, and they were generally pretty decent buildings, but I remember I dreaded visiting my aunt in George Street. She was lovely, but the building terrified me, it was dark and dirty and the spiral stairs were badly worn, I can't imagine anything much worse than living in a place like that. The buildings were pulled down and the families moved to Easterhouse, which my aunt and uncle  thought was paradise by comparison with their old place. I think the buildings were where the Graham Hills Building of Strathclyde  University now stands.

Mean_genie

[gerryfarrell]

Mean_genie,

I also had an old Aunt who lived in a tenement with a worn spiral stair in the west end which scared the life out of me when I was younger. I couldn't think of anything worse than having to go there on many a dark evening...........That was till I helped move her to her nursing home, All that old heavy huge wooden period wardrobes trying to go down a spiral stair....my back still aches at the thought of it.

Gerry

[Matt R]

Hi guys, thankyou all for this information. I think I a beginning to picture the house in my mind.

I have had a look at the poor relief records for Eliza and her son-in-law Francis McDonald. In 1885 Eliza was applying for relief from number 45 Richard Street, here are a few letters besides the number of the house but I cannot read them, they look like they say "LouL".

I also know from poor relief records that numbr 41 was "2 up".


Would this mean then that the Owens/McDonald's had half of the house, wth 41 at the top, 42 and 43 occupied by otherfamilies, and then 44 and 45 at the bottom? I am trying to gage an accurate image of what exacty the house/tenements looked like. The photos do help (although they lookvery spooky). They look like the ideal spot for a murder scene Cripes!

I am really starting to realise just how hard these guys had it. Sad thing is, they weren't alone.

Thanks again for everythig I am hurrily printing it out and putting it into a file

Reaybo