Bearsden History

Explore my collection of articles on notable residents, locations and other moments of history in and around the Bearsden area. Comments and feedback warmly welcomed on all posts.

The shops at Douglas Place on Roman Road

In modern terms, Douglas Place is the short stretch of road from Roman Road by Bulbir’s (the Post Office) to New Kirk Road by Vanity Fair, including the entrance to...
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Shops at Bearsden Cross: Overview and the start of Stewart Terrace

A short (and approximate) timeline We can deduce the approximate dates of the buildings at the Cross from their first appearance in the Valuation Roll, the annual list of ratepayers...
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Meldrum’s Tree and Meldrum’s Stables

You might know of this photo, showing what we would now call Bearden Cross, looking from Thorn Road into Roman Road, with Drymen Road running horizontally across the centre (Photo...
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Dalsholm Paper Mill

This photo is of Dalsholm Paper Mill on 19th June 1934 and this is approximately the same view on Google Earth, just over 90 years later: Pulling back gives a...
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The Lady and The Sweet Shop

This image was posted by Kenny Speirs on the Old Maryhill and Old Glasgow Facebook page in February 2025.  Kenny thought the location was Maryhill Road and the number 1856...
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The Romans in Bearsden

In the unlikely event you went to the Tripadvisor website and typed in Bearsden, then clicked on Things to Do, you would find five listings with the Roman Bathhouse at...
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The Toll House, Canniesburn

In 1861 the south entrance to what we now call Bearsden looked like this: Just to the left of centre you can see “Canniesburn TP” where TP stands for turnpike. ...
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Bearsden’s farms: Mosshead, Gartconnell, North & South Baljaffray

I found this fascinating map on the Scotland's People website.  It is dated 1945 and was part of a series covering farmland in Scotland.  In the area I have selected...
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Two lost Bearsden villas: St Germains and Lochbrae

In the post 1861 I showed the substantial houses on the north side of St Germain's Loch,  While I have found several undated pictures of houses surrounding the loch, I have not...
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The Canal Bridge, Temple

In a previous post I described the site of Temple Saw Mills (link) which was on the land to the west of Bearsden Road, between the Forth Clyde Canal and...
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