About Cranhill 

Cranhill was one of the first East End housing scheme to be completed after Word War II.  Before the War, Carntyne had marked the limit of Glasgow’s eastward expansion.  Beyond was mainly open farm land.

Most of Cranhill’s first residents were euphoric when they moved into the area in the early 1950s.  Many had escaped the over-crowded and often unsanitary tenements of Glasgow’s old industrial areas and felt as if they were living in the country.  For many married couples this was the first home that they could call their own - spacious beyond belief and with its own bathroom!

However, there was a downside.  Such was the pressure on Glasgow Corporation to build houses that there was a significant lag in the provision of amenities such as schools and shops.  Early on, roadways and pavements had not been surfaced.  Children were ‘bussed’ to schools such as Haghill in Dennistoun until Milncroft and St Modan’s were opened.  Travelling vans were the main sources for provisions until the three blocks of shops at Bellrock Street, Lamlash Crescent and Ruchazie Place were completed. Not only was Cranhill  devoid of amenities, bus services also were skeletal to say the least.  Nonetheless, initially the place was alive with hope and optimism. 

However, all too soon these good times were to come to an end. By the 1980s and 1990s, like a number of other parts of  Glasgow, the flow of Cranhill's  fortunes had reached a low ebb. Today, the tide has turned and once again Cranhill is 'on the up and up'.