Area Name:

Hillhead

Part of Glasgow:

West (North of River Clyde)

Postcode:

G12 9__

With the possible exception of the Merchant City, Hillhead is probably the most vibrant and stimulating place to live in the City of Glasgow. It is an overpowering mix of nightlife, culture and greenery along its boundaries with a heart of terraces and tenements mixed in with grand residences and leafy suburbia. The combination of a large student and professional population creates a huge demand for accommodation throughout the year.

Marks

9 (out of 10)

Hillhead is part of the West End Conservation Area created in 1972 and is an area in the heart of the West End of Glasgow bounded by Great Western Road to its northern boundary, The River Kelvin to the East, University Avenue to the South with Byres Road to the West.

Hillhead is home to the Great Western Infirmary (North Glasgow University NHS Trust) and to Glasgow University as well as the University Campus which now spreads across much of the district and inhabits many of its more grand townhouses and terraces.

As with many other parts of the West End, the character of the area itself is a result of the manner in which the buildings have been carefully maintained by their owners through the years. This is largely assisted by the University itself which has gradually acquired and preserved a large number of the buildings which extend beyond the immediate confines of its position on Gilmorehill.

The bulk of Hillhead was constructed on one of Glasgow's several drumlins which has its highest point at the junction between Gibson Street and Hillhead Street.

Much of the effect of this feature is concealed by the University campus boundary which forms much of the southern boundary of Hillhead and shields the best views over Kelvingrove Park for its staff and students.

A walk into the main campus is highly recommended as is the view south over Kelvingrove and the city from the main elevation

Glasgow University is widely regarded as Scotland's foremost University (particularly by people in Glasgow) and many of its 20 000 students choose to live around the edges of its enlarged campus. This obviously places a great demand for property in the area, although the demand is mainly towards the Great Western Road and Byres Road edges which are generally more affordable.

As a consequence today the area is in great demand which is reflected in both purchase and letting prices.

Marks:

9 (out of 10)

The amenities and attractions of the Hillhead area are obvious and varied. Byres Road and Ashton Lane provide a rich mix of pubs, clubs and restaurants which attract visitors worldwide.

Cresswell Lane extends the theme created by Ashton Lane but still has a more boho chic feel than its more bar chic of its trendy neighbour.

The Botanic Gardens is another feature of this area as it lies to the immediate North of Great Western Road and is well used by the local residents.

Hillhead residents are spoiled for choice when it comes to parks since Kelvingrove Park also forms around its southern edge beyond Gilmorehill.

There are fantastic transportation links into the City Centre either by bus or by Underground which is accessed from Hillhead Underground station on Byres Road.

The city centre is within walking distance as is Glasgow University on University Avenue, Western Hospital on Dumbarton Road and the BBC on Queen Margaret Drive.

There are many bars, pubs and clubs, the most notable being along Ashton Lane which has become the central social watering hole for Glasgow's Great and Good. The Ubiquitous Chip is a restaurant of international repute and is normally booked up months in advance as is Room at One Devonshire Gardens which lies to the immediate west of Dowanhill on Great Western Road.

Schools are good and are well above the national average. There are also a large number of Independent Schools in the area which provide education of an international standard.

Marks:

7 (out of 10)

With a few notable exceptions Hillhead consists largely of tenement apartment buildings and terraces predominately from the late 19^th Century originally built to cater for Glasgow’s middle and lower middle classes.

The tenement buildings are predominately between 4 and 5 stories in height treated externally in buff colour sandstone obtained from local quarries. Unlike its wealthier neighbour Dowanhill there is less in the way of green space or amenity.

The tenements reflect the speculative nature of their construction and the fact that their development began in the late 19^th Century when the area was already established with the correspondent increase in land values.

The buildings facades are generally plain with some decorative features around entrances and window on the front elevation. Some of the more spacious properties have ornate bay windows or elegant steps with wrought iron railings leading up to the front entrances.

Closes (internal common areas within the building) are often elaborately decorated with period wall tiling to dado height which frequently extends up the entire stair.

The buildings to the east and south are larger and more grand many being classical villas which were built in the earlier part of the 18th Century when the area was largely owned by the Gibson Family.

Today the majority of residential property is apartments, usually in a purpose built tenement block but occasionally in a converted townhouse or villa.  The quality of accommodation is generally high but varies according to location.

As a general rule of thumb the closer a property is to University Avenue the better its standard of accommodation. The southern boundary adjacent to University Avenue was always desirable as it was always close to the Park and the Gilmorehill Estate.

The terraces which line Great Western Road are also always in demand. These predate most of the tenemental housing stock and were generally created as townhouses but are mostly converted into flats.

As with much of the West End's housing stock, some of the earlier conversions which were carried out in the 1950’s and 60’s are of a poorer standard as they were converted to accommodate the rapidly expanding student and staff population of Glasgow University and the Western Infirmary when purchase costs were lower.

As prices are not as high in Hillhead as they are in Dowanhill, Kelvinside or Hyndland there is a larger percentage of this type of accommodation in the area particularly since this more affordable accommodation is eagerly snapped up by students.

Several of the blocks within Hillhead are

Population:

The existing population of Hillhead is an eclectic mix of predominately professional middle class and students who live in rented accommodation.

The area is also popular with lecturers, media employees and medical staff who work in the BBC, Western Hospital or Glasgow University which are all within walking distance of the area.

There are also a large number of younger city professionals who live here, attracted by the vibrant nightlife, good mix of restaurants, shops and bars together with its close proximity to the city centre and the well developed transportation links both to the city and beyond.

Parking:

Permits and meters.

History of Area

The Hillhead area can be seen as developing from 1840 when the Great Western Road was constructed in order to provide a direct route from the city to the areas to the west of the city for the first time.

This was a result of the rapid expansion within the centre of Glasgow itself in the mid 19^th Century when the rapid increase in population coupled with problems of overcrowding, disease and poor sanitation necessitated expansion to the cleaner air to the west.

This westward trend encouraged the relocation of the Botanic Gardens to the Kelvinside estate several years later which in turn further accelerated the change in the area from the isolated farm communities and large country estates of the very wealthy.

The attractions of the Hillhead area around was obvious particularly as it was already home to several wealthy families to the south and eastern edges of the area

In Hillhead large parts of the Gibson Estate, the largest in the area were being acquired from the late 1840's by wealthy merchants to create their own West End residences and buy into the west end dream. One of the earliest examples of these large villas is Southpark House at 64 Southpark Avenue which is still standing today.

The Gibson name is remembered in Gibson Street itself which runs centrally through the area up towards the University campus.

Speculative development started in Hillhead in the 1860’s  initially along the length of Great Western Road itself.

Several prominent architects were commissioned for this prestigious work most notably Charles Wilson, Alexander Greek Thomson, James Thomson and John T. Rochead as developers strived to offer the highest standards of modern living available at the time.

The result along the Road is an elegant mix of Townhouses and Terraces set back from the Main Road to increase the feeling of spaciousness and grandeur.

Byres Road itself is a slightly more utilitarian affair. The road forms the western boundary of Hillhead and was originally the road which led from Partick to the mansion of Byres of Partick. Until the mid 19th Century this road was little more than a minor access road with a mix of single storey to 2 storey buildings in the traditional Scottish vernacular. (e.g. Curlers Bar which dates from mid 18th Century).

In 1872 Byres Road became the High Street of the newly defined Burgh of Hillhead and was lined with newly constructed tenements. Once both Byres Road  and Great Western Road was fully developed the surrounding area became attractive to developers. 

Hillhead had earlier been the centre for a short lived series of shallow pit coal mines which had been mined intensively for a short period at the start of the Industrial Revolution. As a consequence the land was seen as less desirable and was cheaper than the land occupied by Dowanhill to the west which remained untouched by the mining works.

As the area became more established, particularly after Glasgow University relocated itself to Gilmorehill in 1870, demand for sites in the area grew and mass development increased in the area.

The grid concept of the City itself was again imposed upon the topography of the land with a Roman relentlessness. Roads and services were installed allowing the buildings and people to follow suit.

Gilmorehill runs along the southern edge of the area and was formerly owned by a series of tobacco barons who built a prominent mansion on the site at the turn of the 19th Century. As the area  became increasingly part of the rapidly expanding city of Glasgow the land was sold to Glasgow Western Cemetery Company who in turn (and before they had the chance to create a west end Necropolis) sold the land on to the College of Glasgow in 1865.

Many of the buildings originate from a later period in the late 19th Century and were designed to provide more affordable housing for people who still wished to live in the increasingly fashionable West End they are typically tenement flats varying in size from one to four bedrooms.

They are more austere than many although many tenements in this area are particularly worthy of note. Mass construction and little regard for Building Codes meant that a number of tenements were constructed directly over mine shafts - many of which were only a few feet deep. This has caused the collapse of several buildings in the area over the last Century.

Local Council:

Glasgow City Council,

Telephone: 0141 287 2000

Website : http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/

Nearest Police Station:

Strathclyde Police 1380 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow ,

Maryhill, Glasgow, G20 9TX

Telephone: 0141 532 3700

Nearest Hospital:

Western Infirmary, Dumbarton Road,

Glasgow G11 6NT

Telephone: 0141 211 2000

Website : http://www.nhsgg.org.uk/content/default.asp?page=s2_2&loc_id=14/

Nearest Library:

Hillhead Library,  Byres Road,

Hillhead, Glasgow G
Telephone: 0141

Website:

Main Retail Area:

Byres Road, Great Western Road

Nurseries:

University of Glasgow Nursery, 28 Hillhead Street
Glasgow, G12 8PZ

Telephone: 0141 334 4650

Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/nursery/

Kelvin Side Day Nursery 17, Lancaster Crescent Lane,

Kelvinside, Glasgow, G12 0RS

Telephone: 0141 334 1124

Somerset Nursery,2a & 3 Parkgrove Terrace,

Kelvingrove, Glasgow. G3 7SD

Telephone: 0141 337 6655

Primary Schools:

Hillhead Primary School, 21 Cecil Street
Hillhead, Glasgow G12 8RL

Telephone: 0141 339 9175

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/Findaschool/

Notre Dame Primary School, 66 Victoria Crescent Road,

Dowanhill Glasgow G12 9JL

Telephone: 0141 334 2762

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/Findaschool/

Willowbank Primary School, Willowbank Crescent,

Woodlands Road Woodlands, Glasgow. G3 6NB

Telephone: 0141 332 6281

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/Findaschool/

St. Aloysius, 45 Hill Street,

Garnethill, Glasgow. G3 6RJ

Telephone: 0141 332 3190 (Independent Fee paying school)

Website: http://www.staloysius.org/

The Glasgow Academy Colebrooke Street

Glasgow G12 8HE

Telephone: 0141 334 8558 (Independent Fee paying school)

http://www.theglasgowacademy.org.uk/

Secondary Schools:

Hillhead High School, Oakfield Avenue
Hillhead, Glasgow. G12 8LJ
Telephone: 0141-582-0100
http://www.hillheadhigh.ik.org/

Notre Dame High School, 160 Observatory Road,

Dowanhill, Glasgow G12 9LN

Telephone: 0141 582 0190

Website: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/Findaschool/

St. Aloysius, 45 Hill Street,

Garnethill Glasgow G3 6RJ

Telephone: 0141 3323190 (Independent Fee paying school)

Website: http://www.staloysius.org/

The Glasgow Academy, Colebrooke Street

Glasgow G12 8HE

Telephone: 0141 334 8558 (Independent Fee paying school)

Website: http://www.theglasgowacademy.org.uk/

Further Education:

University of Glasgow, University Avenue

Hillhead, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Telephone: 0141 330 2000

Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/

University of Strathclyde, Cathedral Street,

City Centre, Glasgow G1

Telephone: 0141 582 0190

Website: http://www.strath.ac.uk/

Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road
City Centre, Glasgow. G4 0BA

Telephone: 0800 027 9171 (Independent Fee paying school)

Website: http://www.gcal.ac.uk/

Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street,

Garnethill, Glasgow. G3 6RQ

Telephone: 0141 353 4517

Website:  http://www.gsa.ac.uk/

Stow College 43 Shamrock Street

Cowcaddens,  Glasgow G4 9LD

Telephone: 0141-332 1786

Website: http://www.stow.ac.uk/

Nearest Airport:

Glasgow International Airport (5.4 miles)

Abbotsinch, Paisley, PA3 2SJ

Website: http://www.glasgowairport.com/

Train Stations:

Partick Station (0.6 miles)

Elmbank Crescent, Glasgow, G2 4PR

Telephone: 0845 748 4950

Hyndland Station (0.6 miles)

Queensborough Gardens, Hyndland, Glasgow, G12 9PP

Website:http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/content/travelinfo/station-info.php?stationletter=H

Glasgow Central Station (1.5 miles)
Gordon Street, City Centre,  Glasgow G1 3SL

Telephone: 0141 335 4352
Office Opening hours: 0730-1700 hours Monday – Friday

For train times, ticket information etc.:

First ScotRail – 0845 601 5929
Virgin – 0845 744 3366
GNER – 0845 722 5444

National Rail Enquiries 08457 48 49 50

Bus Station:

Buchanan Bus Station (1.75 miles)

Killermont St, Glasgow, G2 3NW

Telephone: 0141 333 3708

Taxi

Glasgow Taxis

Telephone: 0141 429 7070

Website: http://www.glasgowtaxisltd.co.uk/

Botanic Gardens, 730 Great Western Road,

Glasgow G12 0UE
Telephone: 0141 334 2422

Kibble Palace, Botanic Gardens (1863 by James Cousland)

University of Glasgow, University Avenue

Hillhead, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Telephone: 0141 330 2000

Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/

Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Argyle Street,

Kelvingrove, Glasgow.G3 8AG
Telephone: 0141 276 9599

Website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=4

Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena 1431-1451 Argyle St,

Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, G3 8AW

Telephone: 0141 357 2525

Transport Museum, 1 Burnhouse Rd,

Kelvinhall, Glasgow, G3 8DP.

Telephone: 0141 287 2720

Website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=7

Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street,

Garnethill, Glasgow. G3 6RQ

Telephone: 0141 353 4517

Website:  http://www.gsa.ac.uk/

Area Landmarks:

Grosvenor Terrace, 1855 by J T Rochead (Grade A Listed from 15/12/1970)

Great Western Terrace Masterplan (1855-1867 by Decimus Burton)

Former Kelvinside Parish Church, 731 Great Western Road

BBC Queen Margaret Drive, (1869 by JT Rochead)

Scots College, BBC Queen Margaret Drive (1895 by John Keppie & Charles Rennie Mackintosh)

North Park Terrace, Hamilton Drive, Hillhead ( 1866 by Alexander "Greek" Thomson)

Belgrave Terrace, Great Western Road

Buckingham Terrace, Great Western Road

Western Baths, Cranworth Street, Hillhead

Curler's Tavern, Byres Road (dating from 18th Century)

Botanic Gardens Garage, (now Arnold Clarks)

Vinicombe Street, Hillhead

The Salon Cinema (1912-1913 by Brand & Lithgow)

Vinicombe Street, Hillhead

Nearby Landmarks:

Mitchell Library,  North Street,

Charing Cross, Glasgow G3 7DN
Telephone: 0141 287 2999

Website: http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/

Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Argyle Street,

Kelvingrove, Glasgow.G3 8AG
Telephone: 0141 276 9599

Website: http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=4

Glasgow University, University Avenue,

Hillhead, Glasgow. G12 8QQ

Telephone: 0141-330 2000

Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/

Glasgow Science Centre, 50 Pacific Quay
Finnieston Glasgow. G51 1EA

Telephone: 0871 540 1000