Who Remembers These?, THE GIRNIN" GATES Options

[Brenda]

After leaving Whiteinch I used to live on Glenkirk Drive , Drumchapel , before emigrating here to Adelaide. Many a time I passed these gates on Drumry/Drumchapel Road.....[ can't remember what it was called now !]...What were they? Cheers, Brenda

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[scotslad90]

Hi Brenda I think that was the entrance to Garscadden House on Garscadden Rd in Drumchapel and that's a continuation of Drumry Rd.I vaguely remember the ruins of the old house-its now high rise flats and I think there were bluebell woods near the gates?Any idea why they were called the Girnin Gates?

[david lowson]

Heard of it Brenda and Iain, my guess that it was probably the entrance to some jail or place of execution. Is girnin not auld Scots for crying or whinging crying.

[Brenda]

I went searching on Google this morning to try to find out A. What they were. B. Why they were called The Girnin' Gates. Apart from a pub in Glasgow called The Girnin' Gates, this is all I could come up with......."The Girnin Gates were built as the south gates to Garscadden House in 1789 for William Colquhoun, then the laird of Garscadden. They were designed by the architect Charles Ross, of Greenlaw, near Paisley."....The Gates were demolished in the 1960s by Glasgow City Council after a spate of vandalism.
So what was Garscadden House, and why were they called The Girnin' Gates? Brenda

[david lowson]

Brenda the orgin is unclear. One theory holds that it derives from the 2 iron lions' heads adorning the gates. When it rained, instead of the water running away down a drain it appeared to run out of the eyes of the lions, as though they were "girnin"

[Brenda]

Thanks very much for the explanation David...Take care. Brenda

[*Guest Cameron **]

I was born and brought up in Drumchapel and can tell you that "Girnin" in Glasgow is a kind of whining sound that's not possible to explain without actually demonstrating the sound so you can hear it. The "girnin" in this instance refers to the sound the gates made when they opened and closed, much like any old rusting gates, so you can possibly imagine what that sounds like.

If you complained to your mum in a whining way about how someone wronged you, she would tell you to "Stop girnin!"

Glasgow City Council (in an amazing display of their infinite wisdom) tore the gates down (they claim) because of vandalism, but I was told (as a youngster) that it was because they couldn't be bothered maintaining them and (allegedly) had plans for the land on which the gates sat. The land sat empty for as long as I've known.

I hope this helps.

[tombro]

Amazing !

Posts from 2004 getting an answer four years later !

I lived in 'the Drum' from 1955-1960 and remember the gates well. Indeed, used to walk past them every time we went to Drumchapel Station to catch a train.

The area between the gates and where I lived in Airgold Drive was basically open land and we used to play there as kids. There was a lane that cut up from Drumchapel Road to Linkwood Avenue and the Linkwood Flats were built near the top end of this lane (in the sixties I think, after my family emigrated to Australia.

The thread brings back lots of great memories though !

Thanks,
Tombro

[backcauseway]

Found this as a silver surfer. Long long ago I lived in Drumchapel. Used to play on the "bings" now long gone I expect.Used to live in one of the "big houses" in the late 1930's early 1940s in Garscadden Road next the Girnin Gates. The name Girnin was due to small water spouts taking rain water from the flat roof that were in the shape of gargoyles that had "Girnin' Faces". I recall the name "Napier" living in I think one of the gates. Used to be gas lights all the way to Bearsden in my day There were great big beech trees opposite it which no doubt are long gone.
Kinner & Moodie had an big civil engineering yard opposite them in the early 1950s. No doubt gone.
I was last in Drumchapel in 1954 just as the housing scheme was being built. Then we all emigrated. Best thing we ever did in my opinion!

[**Alan**]

i used tae stay there is that what we used to call horses grave yard

[**Sandy**]

backcauseway is correct about why the gates were called Girnin Gates.

The main house was burned down in the mid fifties as a result of local children breaking in and trashing it. Some one started a story that the house had been vacated and was lying open. In fact some kids had got in through a back window and left all the doors open. By that time a large number of kids had heard the story and gathered around the house and going inside to see what there was.

Before the police could arrive some idiot had lit a fire which quickly spread throughout the upper landings and into the roof.

I mind hearing all the kids telling each other that the house was open and going over to see what was going on. At that time I was about 10 years old and stayed next to the estate. When I got there I could see large numbers of kids running in and out of the house carrying items from the house. The next thing we seen was smoke coming from an upstairs window.

The bings were up on a hill near peel glen and usually had tinkers camping around them. They were used up as road sub base in the late fifties.

The Buebell Woods again were up near peel glen. The woods at the Girnin Gates had a stream flowing through it and had an old dam near the gates. One night there was a very heavy rain storm and the old sluice gate of the dam got blocked. The next day the dam was full and the woods were flooded. This took a long time to flow away.

Sandy