Ruchill
Encyclopedia
Ruchill is a district
in the city of Glasgow
. It lies within the Canal Ward of North Glasgow in the Ruchill Community Council area between the Maryhill
and Possilpark
areas of the city. It has traditionally been characterised by a high degree of deprivation and social problems. However from the late 1990s much of the poorer quality housing stock has been cleared to be replaced by newly built housing association and owner-occupied homes, improving much of the area's character.
One part of the area that is largely unchanged is High Ruchill
, which unlike the rest of the area was never made up of tenemental properties, but semi-detached housing instead. This part of Ruchill also never suffered the same concentration of social problems as the rest of the area.
, the Glasgow Corporation purchased 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of land there for a public park, golf course and 36 acres (145,687 m²) for the city's second fever hospital, to relieve the increasingly cramped conditions at Belvidere Hospital in Parkhead
.
Ruchill Hospital was designed by the City Engineer, Alexander B. McDonald in a Neo Jacobean
style, largely using red brick dressed with red sandstone ashlar
. McDonald was responsible for a number of civic projects in the city from 1890 to 1914, the most notable being the People's Palace
. Ruchill Hospital's design set the standard for local authority infectious diseases hospitals built after the 1897 Public Health Act, which had made the provision of such hospitals compulsory.
Work started on Ruchill Hospital on 16 April 1895, and the foundation stone was laid on 29 August 1895 by Lady Bell, the wife of Sir James Bell Bt, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and it was opened on 13 June 1900 by Princess Christian. Ruchill Hospital cost £330,000 and was designed to deal specifically with infectious diseases, such as smallpox
, diphtheria
, scarlet fever
, poliomyelitis
and measles
, which were widespread at the time.
It had an initial capacity of 440 beds, spread across sixteen isolated
Nightingale ward
pavilions, twelve of which were large, each containing beds for 30 patients, and four smaller ones accommodating 20 patients each. The only entrance was via a gatehouse on Bilsland Drive. Other buildings included; a Kitchen and Stores block, an Administration block, a clearing house, a Mortuary and Laboratory block, a Stable block, a sanitary Wash House and Disinfecting station, a Laundry and a three-storey Nurses home as well as ten staff villas and semi-detached cottages along Bilsland Drive. The centrepiece however was its 165 ft (50.3 m) water tower, required due to the height of the site. An additional 270 beds were provided after the construction of three ward pavilions in 1910 and a tuberculosis
pavilion in 1913.
By the time of its absorption into the NHS
in 1948 Ruchill Hospital had 1,000 beds. With the discovery of vaccinations and improved public health, cases of diseases like tuberculosis declined and the role of the hospital was diversified from the 1960s. Initially a "young chronic sick" unit was set up, mainly dealing with young people suffering from catastrophic brain damage. By 1965 an additional five wards had been converted to accommodate geriatric patients. An additional laundry building was added in 1969. The number of in-patients was 586 in 1975. The Hospital was the scene of the Jessie McTavish
scandal in 1974.
Other developments on the site by 1973, included the establishment of small general medical and general surgical units, the Brownlee virology laboratory - where the first nude mice were discovered by Dr. Norman R. Grist in 1962 - and the University of Glasgow
's Departments of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. In addition to treating other Sexually transmitted disease
s, from the 1980s Ruchill Hospital was also designated the primary Glasgow hospital dealing with cases of HIV
, the cause of AIDS
, after the emergence of this virus. In addition, the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, or SCIEH, the progenitor of today's Health Protection Scotland,http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ was based in the "White House" at the hospital.
Ruchill Hospital was eventually closed in 1998, after the opening of the Brownlee Centre for Infectious and Communicable Diseases at Gartnavel General Hospital
. The Ruchill Hospital site was sold by the NHS to Scottish Enterprise
in July 1999 and 12 of the 16 original ward blocks and other outbuildings on the site were demolished. The remaining listed buildings currently remain derelict awaiting redevelopment, with emergency demolition of the Administration block and part of the Kitchen block occurring in 2007 due to structural deterioration.
There were reports that developers Gladedale and Bellway planned to build five hundred houses on the site of Ruchill Hospital in 2008, whilst restoring the remaining listed buildings, but the deal later fell through due to market contagion. Plans were subsequently submitted by Scottish Enterprise in April 2010 to demolish all the remaining listed buildings, with the exception of the water tower, despite no associated plans to regenerate the site. This was rejected by Glasgow City Council's planning committee in April 2011. At present the hospital's A-listed red-brick water tower
remains a prominent local landmark, whilst the other remaining buildings are category B-listed.
The 1990s BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest
was filmed on location at Ruchill Hospital.
opened in 1892, is prominent in the area, and is one of many public parks in the city. The poor quality of the soil and its high, exposed situation was not ideal for a public park, but under the direction of Parks Superintendent James Whitton the area was transformed. The park's best known feature is the panoramic view of Glasgow and its surroundings which can be obtained from the top of the hill. This is topped by an artificial mound (with a flagpole) constructed from 24,000 cartloads of spoil from the construction of the adjacent Ruchill Hospital. It is known locally as "Ben Whitton". During WW2 an ack ack gun was positioned in the park and was used to defend the area during the Clydebank Blitz
.
ers in the city but in 2000 the city council closed the facility and money was issued by council to establish redevelopment plans. The golf course has a former railway tunnel running under it, named the "miley" by locals as it was around a mile long. It was formerly part of the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
, linking Maryhill Central railway station
to Possil railway station
. There was also a tunnel linking Ruchill to the Lambhill area. The tunnel ran under the Forth & Clyde Canal which ran through the golf course. This tunnel is known locally as the Halloween Pen. It was not a railway tunnel but a tunnel used to herd sheep through in the past when the area was still relatively rural.
On 17 September 2009 Ruchill Golf Course was reopened by Colin Montgomerie
. However, use of the club house and regular play did not commence until after the open evening on the 1st of April 2010. The course - now officially termed the "Ruchill Community Golf Facility" is now run by Culture and Sport Glasgow, part of Glasgow City Council, and is a nine hole course, designed with Colin Montgomery's input, apparently suited for developing and established players.
, designed by the celebrated architect
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
is located to the west of the area, close to Maryhill Road and the Forth and Clyde Canal
.
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
in the city of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. It lies within the Canal Ward of North Glasgow in the Ruchill Community Council area between the Maryhill
Maryhill
Maryhill is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. The population of Maryhill is about 52,000. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road...
and Possilpark
Possilpark
Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde. Following the closure of the Saracen Foundry in 1967, this section of Glasgow has become one of the poorest in the United Kingdom, with an above average crime rate....
areas of the city. It has traditionally been characterised by a high degree of deprivation and social problems. However from the late 1990s much of the poorer quality housing stock has been cleared to be replaced by newly built housing association and owner-occupied homes, improving much of the area's character.
One part of the area that is largely unchanged is High Ruchill
High Ruchill
High Ruchill is an area of Ruchill in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Unlike the rest of Ruchill was traditionally and much of the rest of the city, High Ruchill's dwellings are not of the tenemental property type but semi detached properties. Also dissimilar to the rest of Ruchill in that poverty...
, which unlike the rest of the area was never made up of tenemental properties, but semi-detached housing instead. This part of Ruchill also never suffered the same concentration of social problems as the rest of the area.
Ruchill Hospital
The area was formerly the site of Ruchill Hospital. In 1891 when the boundaries of Glasgow were extended to include Ruchill and MaryhillMaryhill
Maryhill is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. The population of Maryhill is about 52,000. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road...
, the Glasgow Corporation purchased 53 acres (214,483.6 m²) of land there for a public park, golf course and 36 acres (145,687 m²) for the city's second fever hospital, to relieve the increasingly cramped conditions at Belvidere Hospital in Parkhead
Parkhead
Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road and Westmuir Street. Duke Street and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross...
.
Ruchill Hospital was designed by the City Engineer, Alexander B. McDonald in a Neo Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
style, largely using red brick dressed with red sandstone ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
. McDonald was responsible for a number of civic projects in the city from 1890 to 1914, the most notable being the People's Palace
People's Palace
The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland is a museum and glasshouse situated in Glasgow Green, and was opened on 22 January, 1898 by the Earl of Rosebery....
. Ruchill Hospital's design set the standard for local authority infectious diseases hospitals built after the 1897 Public Health Act, which had made the provision of such hospitals compulsory.
Work started on Ruchill Hospital on 16 April 1895, and the foundation stone was laid on 29 August 1895 by Lady Bell, the wife of Sir James Bell Bt, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and it was opened on 13 June 1900 by Princess Christian. Ruchill Hospital cost £330,000 and was designed to deal specifically with infectious diseases, such as smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
, scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
, poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
and measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, which were widespread at the time.
It had an initial capacity of 440 beds, spread across sixteen isolated
Isolation (health care)
In health care, isolation refers to various measures taken to prevent contagious diseases from being spread from a patient to other patients, health care workers, and visitors, or from others to a particular patient...
Nightingale ward
Nightingale ward
A Nightingale ward is a type of hospital ward, which contains one large room without subdivisions for patient occupancy. It may have side rooms for utilities and perhaps one or two side rooms, that can be used for patient occupancy when patient isolation or patient privacy is important. ...
pavilions, twelve of which were large, each containing beds for 30 patients, and four smaller ones accommodating 20 patients each. The only entrance was via a gatehouse on Bilsland Drive. Other buildings included; a Kitchen and Stores block, an Administration block, a clearing house, a Mortuary and Laboratory block, a Stable block, a sanitary Wash House and Disinfecting station, a Laundry and a three-storey Nurses home as well as ten staff villas and semi-detached cottages along Bilsland Drive. The centrepiece however was its 165 ft (50.3 m) water tower, required due to the height of the site. An additional 270 beds were provided after the construction of three ward pavilions in 1910 and a tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
pavilion in 1913.
By the time of its absorption into the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in 1948 Ruchill Hospital had 1,000 beds. With the discovery of vaccinations and improved public health, cases of diseases like tuberculosis declined and the role of the hospital was diversified from the 1960s. Initially a "young chronic sick" unit was set up, mainly dealing with young people suffering from catastrophic brain damage. By 1965 an additional five wards had been converted to accommodate geriatric patients. An additional laundry building was added in 1969. The number of in-patients was 586 in 1975. The Hospital was the scene of the Jessie McTavish
Jessie McTavish
Jessie McTavish is a Scottish former nurse who was convicted in 1974 of murdering a patient with insulin. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 1976. McTavish was dubbed the "Angel of Death" by the press.-Prosecution:...
scandal in 1974.
Other developments on the site by 1973, included the establishment of small general medical and general surgical units, the Brownlee virology laboratory - where the first nude mice were discovered by Dr. Norman R. Grist in 1962 - and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
's Departments of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. In addition to treating other Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s, from the 1980s Ruchill Hospital was also designated the primary Glasgow hospital dealing with cases of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, the cause of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, after the emergence of this virus. In addition, the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, or SCIEH, the progenitor of today's Health Protection Scotland,http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ was based in the "White House" at the hospital.
Ruchill Hospital was eventually closed in 1998, after the opening of the Brownlee Centre for Infectious and Communicable Diseases at Gartnavel General Hospital
Gartnavel General Hospital
Gartnavel General Hospital is a teaching hospital in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. The hospital is located next to the Great Western Road, between Hyndland, Anniesland and Kelvindale. Hyndland railway station is adjacent to the hospital. The name Gartnavel is derived from the Gaelic Gart ...
. The Ruchill Hospital site was sold by the NHS to Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
in July 1999 and 12 of the 16 original ward blocks and other outbuildings on the site were demolished. The remaining listed buildings currently remain derelict awaiting redevelopment, with emergency demolition of the Administration block and part of the Kitchen block occurring in 2007 due to structural deterioration.
There were reports that developers Gladedale and Bellway planned to build five hundred houses on the site of Ruchill Hospital in 2008, whilst restoring the remaining listed buildings, but the deal later fell through due to market contagion. Plans were subsequently submitted by Scottish Enterprise in April 2010 to demolish all the remaining listed buildings, with the exception of the water tower, despite no associated plans to regenerate the site. This was rejected by Glasgow City Council's planning committee in April 2011. At present the hospital's A-listed red-brick water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
remains a prominent local landmark, whilst the other remaining buildings are category B-listed.
The 1990s BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac Arrest (TV series)
Cardiac Arrest is a British medical drama series made by World Productions for BBC One and first broadcast between 1994 and 1996. The series was controversial due to its depiction of doctors, nurses, and the National Health Service.-Creation:...
was filmed on location at Ruchill Hospital.
Ruchill Park
Ruchill ParkRuchill Park
Ruchill Park is a public park in the North of Glasgow. It is adjacent to the former location of Ruchill Hospital on Bilsland Drive. The park features a small hill on which stands a lit flagpole, which has one of the best possible viewpoints of the whole city and surrounding area.-External links:**...
opened in 1892, is prominent in the area, and is one of many public parks in the city. The poor quality of the soil and its high, exposed situation was not ideal for a public park, but under the direction of Parks Superintendent James Whitton the area was transformed. The park's best known feature is the panoramic view of Glasgow and its surroundings which can be obtained from the top of the hill. This is topped by an artificial mound (with a flagpole) constructed from 24,000 cartloads of spoil from the construction of the adjacent Ruchill Hospital. It is known locally as "Ben Whitton". During WW2 an ack ack gun was positioned in the park and was used to defend the area during the Clydebank Blitz
Clydebank Blitz
The Clydebank Blitz refers to two devastating Luftwaffe air raids on the shipbuilding town of Clydebank in Scotland which took place in March 1941.-The air raids:...
.
Ruchill Golf Course
Ruchill Golf Course was popular for many years with golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
ers in the city but in 2000 the city council closed the facility and money was issued by council to establish redevelopment plans. The golf course has a former railway tunnel running under it, named the "miley" by locals as it was around a mile long. It was formerly part of the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
- Early days :The Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway was authorised in 1891, and opened in stages between 26 November 1894 and 1 October 1896.On 16 August 1909 the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway was absorbed into the Caledonian Railway...
, linking Maryhill Central railway station
Maryhill Central railway station
- Location :To the west of the station was a triangular set of junctions. Immediately to the west was Maryhill Central junction where the line to Kirklee diverged to the south and the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway headed east to Bellshaugh Junction where the western side of the triangle ...
to Possil railway station
Possil railway station
Possil railway station was situated on Balmore Road, in the north of Glasgow, Scotland and served the Possilpark and Parkhouse areas of the city.-History:...
. There was also a tunnel linking Ruchill to the Lambhill area. The tunnel ran under the Forth & Clyde Canal which ran through the golf course. This tunnel is known locally as the Halloween Pen. It was not a railway tunnel but a tunnel used to herd sheep through in the past when the area was still relatively rural.
On 17 September 2009 Ruchill Golf Course was reopened by Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31...
. However, use of the club house and regular play did not commence until after the open evening on the 1st of April 2010. The course - now officially termed the "Ruchill Community Golf Facility" is now run by Culture and Sport Glasgow, part of Glasgow City Council, and is a nine hole course, designed with Colin Montgomery's input, apparently suited for developing and established players.
Other amenities
Ruchill Church HallRuchill Church Hall
Ruchill Church Hall, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was built as a mission for the Free Church of Scotland and completed in 1899. It is located at 15/17 Shakespeare Street, a side road off Maryhill Road, Glasgow, Scotland, close to the bridge which takes Ruchill Street across the Forth and...
, designed by the celebrated architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
is located to the west of the area, close to Maryhill Road and the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
.
External links
- http://www.communitycouncilsglasgow.org.uk/ruchill/default.aspx
- http://www.turbozutek.f2s.com/index.php?cat=16