THE names of the buildings and streets at Barclays’ new Glasgow Campus are to pay homage to the city, the bank has announced.
It comes following a vote from Barclays Scotland staff which decided that the 500,000 square feet site would pay homage to the city’s heritage.
The bank worked closely with Professor Murray Pittock and his team at the University of Glasgow to uncover and pay tribute to the rich industrial heritage of the Tradeston area, in which the campus is located.
Tradeston was developed in the early 1800s as a manufacturing district by Trade House, which was a union of Glasgow’s craftsmen – including bakers, tailors, weavers, joiners, coopers, hammermen and maltmen.
The team researched the history of the area as far back as the 1500s to find inspiration and local historical references for the names of the five buildings which form the campus:
- Clyde Place House – the B listed Kingston House, which dates back to 1878, is being restored to its original name.
- Tradescroft – 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.
- Windmillcroft – the area of Windmill Croft dates back to the 1700s, named for its windmill sitting on the banks of the Clyde just to the west of the site.
- Wellcroft – 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.
- Grays Hill – just to the south of the campus site, the area was commonly called “clay holes” thought to be due to the leftover materials used by the local brickworks.
The street traversing the campus development will be named Clyde Place Lane leading to Clyde Place Square, an outdoor community event space.
Scott Stewart, head of Barclays Scotland, said, “As we move closer to opening the doors to the campus this year, we were keen to involve our colleagues in a meaningful way. Their desire to recognise Glasgow’s heritage was resounding.
“We wanted the names to be both an accurate and sensitive representation of the area’s history which is why we worked closely with the University of Glasgow and Glasgow City Council to achieve this. It is really quite fitting that the campus, which will be a state-of-the-art expression of modern industry, pays tribute to Glasgow’s rich industrial past.”
First minister and Glasgow Southside constituency MSP Nicola Sturgeon added, “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.”
