St Rollox Canal
Introduction
Around 1824 this canal was built from the Cut of Junction close to Townhead Basin on the Monkland Canal It ran north and then east to serve a number of works. The canal was built by Charles Tennant & Co to assist with the sale of lots of land owned by the company, the canal serving the sites would assist in the sale. It was a narrow canal, thus each works required a widening for a berth for barges to the side of the main channel. The canal closed to navigation in the 1860s, but remained open as a source of water for various works, and in 1886 Sir Charles [2nd] Tennant took legal action with some of the owners and users of the canal to make the other owners bring the canal back into use for navigation. The canal has been filled in and almost entirely landscaped.
Dates
| / /1824 | Cut of Junction
St Rollox Canal Charles Tennant & Co, of the nearby St Rollox Chemical Works, form a canal from the Cut of Junction, near the Monkland Canal's Townhead Basin, running north and then east to serve land they owned east of Castle Street and their chemical works. The land was to be sold in lots and the serving of the lots with a canal connected to the Forth and Clyde Canal and Monkland Canal would assist in the sales. The new owners of the land would jointly be responsible for maintaining the canal, Tennant would retain the canal solum. |
| / /1850 | St Rollox Canal Cleared of silt. |
| / /1851 | St Rollox Canal The canal falls out of use for navigation (due to regular build up of silt and the nearby roads and railway), although it remains in use as a source of water for various works. |
| / /1858 | St Rollox Canal Cleared of silt. |
| / /1874 | St Rollox Canal Cleared of silt. |
| / /1878 | St Rollox Canal Cleared of silt. |
| / /1886 | St Rollox Canal Sir Charles [2nd] Tennant, on behalf of Charles Tennant & Co (St Rollox Chemical Works), and others including D Y Stewart & Company (Glasgow Pipe Foundry), start legal action to seek to reopen the canal to navigation, to make the other owners, landowners and parties using the the canal contribute to the costs. |
| / /1888 | St Rollox Canal Charles [2nd] Tennant's case is successful. Lord Young's opinion was 'I think it a plain case for the enforcement of the condition and I think it ought to be enforced and that the defenders are liable to have it enforced against them.' |
Portions of line and locations
This line is divided into a number of portions.
Townhead to St Rollox
The canal ran north from its junction with the Cut of Junction to pass under Garngad Road (now Royston Road). It then turned east north east at the St Rollox Foundry to run nearly as far as Turner Street. A short branch ran north north west under Charles Street to the Clyde Bottle Works and Glasgow Pipe Foundry. This latter branch closed before the rest of the route.
The St Rollox Canal opened north from the Cut of Junction in 1824. It was a narrow canal, only the width of a barge, so works along the route had their own berths. North of the junction and on the east side was the berth of the Glasgow Iron Works. Immediately to the north the canal passed under Garngad Road (now Royston Road) to reach further works.
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This foundry was directly east of the St Rollox Chemical Works, over Castle Street (the foundry was at number 236). The site was L shaped - it ran north up Castle Street from Garngad Road to Charles Street. It also ran east along Charles Street (which was on the north side of the works). The foundry was at a bend on the St Rollox branch of the Cut of Junction between the Monkland Canal and ...
More detailsThis pipe works was opened at St Rollox by D Y Stewart & Co in 1847. The works produced cast iron water pipes, the pipes being cast vertically. Notable contracts were for water pipes for Montrose and Paisley. The works was on the north side of Charles Street and served a branch of the St Rollox Canal, the land being purchased from Charles Tennant & Co who built the canal. This allowed ...
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