Mosspark

Mosspark Scottish Gaelic:Pàirc na Mòna
Mosspark Location withinGlasgow
OS grid reference	NS543632
Council area	Glasgow City Council
Lieutenancy area	Glasgow
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GLASGOW
Postcode district	G52
Dialling code	0141
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Glasgow South West
Scottish Parliament	Glasgow Pollok

Mosspark(Scottish Gaelic:Pàirc na Mòna) is adistrictin theScottishcity ofGlasgow.It is situated south of theRiver Clyde,in the southwest of the city.

History

Mosspark and the lands of East and Mid-Henderston were incorporated into Glasgow in 1909.They covered seventy-two hectares of farmland and their acquisition was prompted by the need to develop peripheral communities to help ease the city's notorious overcrowding. TheFirst World Warwas crucially important in determining Mosspark's pioneering place inGlasgow Corporation's housing programme. In 1919, groundbreaking legislation made it compulsory for local authorities to implement planned housing schemes, underpinned by subsidies. As a result, Mosspark became the most ambitious of the Corporation's immediate post-war developments.

Postcard view of Mosspark Avenue

The housing density and extensive green space were inspired byRaymond Unwinand theGarden city movement.The neighbourhood is almost unique within the surrounding area with its tree-lined streets and boulevard stretching the length of the area at its most northern point. Entirely residential, the scheme's green and semi-rural setting was intended to provide a healthier alternative to the city's traditional tenement landscape, which had become too much identified with urban corrosion.

The 1500 house development was built by the firm Mactaggart and Mickel,with the local church also seen as an important consideration - its buildings on Ashkirk Drive were begun in 1927 and completed two years later.Although flats featured in Mosspark's plans, two-thirds of the housing stock was built in the form of cottages, semi-detached and terraced, and surrounded by gardens. The dwellings were built to high standards with spacious rooms and modern conveniences including a clean new energy source of electricity. The allocation of tenancies was predominantly to "professional" and "skilled" strata,and the area became and remained one of the most desirable for Corporation tenants.

The district's exclusive character had arisen because it was generally not cost-effective for the Corporation to build such prestigious, low-density developments, especially in the depressed economic climate of the inter-war years. Mosspark was consequently a showpiece of modern planning in Glasgow, but it could not serve as a realistic blueprint for the Corporation's long-term housing strategy. Similar later housing schemes were built likeKnightswood,although the blueprint was changed to cheaper building materials, fireplaces were removed from the bedrooms and interior walls were no longer brick.

Transport

To the North of Mosspark isBellahouston ParkandPaisley Canal railway lineto the south, which separates the area fromCorkerhill.Oddly, the nearest train station isCorkerhillwhileMosspark railway stationmore accurately serves South Cardonald and northern Pollok.

Facilities

The area has a great deal of amenities in spite of its rather small size, including a church, school, bowling club, several shops and a park directly facing the much granderBellahouston Park.There are no public houses in Mosspark, the nearest being the Parkway Bar in Craigton.

In late 2017, the local parish church closed and the congregation merged into another inPollokshieldsto formSherbrooke Mosspark Church.TheCategory BListed buildingswere taken over and renovated by Harvest Glasgow.

In popular culture

• Some outdoor portions of the sitcomStill Gamewere filmed in Mosspark.
• The TV showVidsused an empty shop in Mosspark as the storefront in the show.

Notable people

• Peter Mullan,Scottish actor, film maker and former resident.
• Robert J. Murray,Scottish songwriter
• John Fraser,actor
• Dean Keenan,Scottish Footballer who played for; Greenock Morton, Ayr, and is currently the Assistant Manager also inducted into Hall of Fame at Troon Football Club.