Springburn Virtual Museum

Springburn in transition

Cowlairs Cottages (The Blocks), 1930s

In 1841 the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway Company opened the Cowlairs Works to build and repair its own locomotives. In order to attract skilled workers the company set out to build a model village near to the works in Springburn. The first houses built in this planned village were called the 'Cowlair Cottages', but became known locally as 'The Blocks'.

The proposed shops, schoolhouse and library never materialised, but the cottages themselves were of a high quality by 1865 standards, and those who remained in the blocks formed a small but tightly-knit community made up of rail workers and their families.

By the 1960s, the Blocks were in poor condition and it was considered uneconomic to refurbish them. They were consequently demolished in 1967.

Source: Glasgow City Archives