Banking giant Barclays has worked with academics at the University of Glasgow to name the buildings and streets at its under-construction city campus at Tradeston.
The bank is drawing on “the city’s rich heritage” in the naming exercise at Tradeston, and has worked closely with Professor Murray Pittock and his team to “dig into the history of the plot of land on which the campus is being built”.
The bank said: "In the early 1800s Tradeston was developed as a manufacturing district by Trades House, which was a union of Glasgow’s craftsmen including bakers, tailors, weavers, joiners, coopers, hammermen and maltmen. The project team researched as far back as the 1500s to find inspiration and local historical references for the names of the five buildings which form the campus."
Barclays, which declared its financial services development “is bringing thousands of new jobs to the city”, is naming the buildings Clyde Place House, Tradescroft, Windmillcroft, Wellcroft and Grays Hill. The site has the capacity for up to 5,000 staff.
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The bank noted that the choice of “Clyde Place House” would see the B-listed Kingston House, which dates back to 1878, restored to its original name.
Barclays said Tradescroft had been developed in the 1790s after Trades House purchased the plot of land which was previously part of the larger area of the Barony of the Gorbals. It added that the area of Windmill Croft dated back to the 1700s.
The bank noted this area was named for its windmill sitting on the banks of the Clyde just to the west of the site.
The bank said Wellcroft was “likely named after wells or springs in the location which later became the start of the Paisley and Johnstone canal built to support the local coal industry”. It added that Grays Hill, just to the south of the campus site, was commonly called “clay holes”, and that this was thought to be because of the leftover materials used by the local brickworks.
Barclays said the street traversing the campus would be named Clyde Place Lane
First Minister and Glasgow Southside constituency MSP Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Barclays campus is a fantastic development for my constituency and for Glasgow as a whole and it’s great to see it reach this milestone. Glasgow grew out of the River Clyde and it is so important that the city’s history is remembered in our modern developments. I’m delighted that Barclays has chosen to draw on the industrial heritage of the area to name the streets and buildings and look forward to seeing the campus opening later this year.”
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Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Glasgow cherishes its heritage. We live with it in our everyday lives. The street and building names of Barclays’ Glasgow Campus have been chosen well, reflecting Tradeston’s role in our history and development. We can all look forward to the campus contributing to Glasgow’s economic renewal, and becoming a symbol of the regeneration of both Tradeston and the ongoing return of life to the Clyde.”
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