The surprising early history of this famous Glasgow scheme

However, its early history is just as interesting although some of it is still a mystery.

In this week’s column from Glasgow City Archives, manager Dr Irene O’Brien looks into the rich past of an area which has played an important part in the evolution of Glasgow’s story.

Castlemilk’s life as a housing scheme is an important and central part of Glasgow’s history.

It was built to provide homes for large numbers of Glasgow’s citizens. This is a history I shared. My family moved for Kinning Park to Castlemilk when I was a toddler, spending my school years there.

At that time there was certainly still a hint of its rural origins. We lived at the very top of the scheme with a waterfall and a wooded area, often covered with bluebells, only a few hundred yards away.

Castlemilk House c1790s (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Alongside there were fields belonging to Carmunnock farm, which as children we would sledge down during winter. In many ways, it was an idyllic existence for a child.

Its early history is a bit of a mystery, but evidence has been found back to the Bronze Age, with Celtic and Pictish settlements discovered nearby. In later centuries it became famous for its grand aristocratic estate with an ancient tower.

In the 15th century the lands of Cassiltoun, which was its name in early times, were acquired by the Stewarts of Castlemilk from Dumfriesshire and in the 16th century they renamed the estate Castlemilk.

In about 1460 a stately mansion, Cassiltoun Tower, was built on the site of a 13th century castle. The site was well chosen. It was planted at the base of Cathkin Braes, where few positions commanded such a sweep of rich and varied landscape.

The Stewarts of Castlemilk had royal connections and were related to Mary Queen of Scots. This connection explains why the Queen may have chosen to stay in the castle the night before the Battle of Langside in May 1568.

The ceiling of the room where she slept was originally ornamented with the arms of the Kings of Scotland in the Stuart line, and with the arms of all the crowned heads of Europe with whom the Stuarts were connected. This apartment was for a long time labelled as “Queen Mary’s Room.” Sadly, during subsequent alterations and repairs, those early decorations totally disappeared.

During the 18th and 19th centuries a larger mansion house was built up around the tower house and other buildings including the stable block, built in 1794, were added.

 Castlemilk House was inhabited until the 20th century. The heir to the last Laird of Castlemilk was killed in the First World War and in 1938 the grounds and buildings were sold to Glasgow Corporation for housing. 

Castlemilk Stables (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The outbreak of the Second World War delayed building work. The mansion was used to accommodate evacuees from the city until the end of the war, and then until 1968 it operated as a children's home until closed in 1968. Castlemilk House was demolished in 1972.

The area was developed by the Glasgow Corporation as one of the four peripheral housing schemes in the 1950s with Castlemilk providing accommodation for 34,000 people from inner-city slum areas. The modern development grew around Castlemilk House, the former stately old mansion built around Cassiltoun Tower.

Castlemilk was developed from 1953 as one of four housing schemes all situated on the outskirts of the city for families displaced by slum clearances. The new residents were provided with open spaces, a clean environment with plenty of fresh air, and the houses had indoor toilets, and bathrooms.

The stables continued to be used by Glasgow City Council Parks Department as a plant nursery and offices until the building was set on fire by vandals in 1994.

The Cassiltoun Trust was established in early 2000s to oversee the restoration and development of Castlemilk Stables to create a sustainable community asset. It now manages the running of the historic building and delivers multiple projects that benefit the wider Castlemilk community.