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Paisley - My Pics Of Old Or Unusual Buildings Or Places Of Interest.


Sonny

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  • 4 weeks later...

  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks HSS. Description here.....(ignore the links as I couldnt be bothered in taking them out).

Wikipedia

'On the afternoon of 31 December 1929, during a children's matinee, a freshly shown film was put in its metal can, in the spool room, where it began to issue thick black smoke. Nitrocellulose film, as used at this time, can burn on its own without needing any supply of air. Soon the smoke filled the auditorium containing about one thousand children. Panic set in. Children ran downstairs so fast and in such numbers that they piled up behind the escape door which led to Dyers Wynd. The door could not be opened, as it was designed to open inwards and was padlocked. The following day, Paisley was stunned by the news that seventy children had died in the crush in the worst cinema disaster in British history.

An inquiry was held in on 29 April 1930 during which it was revealed that the cinema had been inspected and pronounced safe by the Paisley fire brigade on the morning of the fire. The owner, James Graham, had, however, agreed that there were insufficient exits, but claimed he had repeatedly reminded the manager, Charles Dorward, that the escape exits were not to be shut during matinee performances. The manager conceded that the exit gates had sometimes been locked to prevent children from entering the cinema without paying. A policeman who arrived on the scene just after the fire started reported that the gates were padlocked; however, another witness confirmed that she had seen Dorward unlock them. It remained unclear as to why the gates had been padlocked but there was a suggestion that it had been done by two boys. The conclusion of the inquiry was that the fire had been started by a short circuit when a metal box containing film stock had been placed on the top of a battery in the projection room. The tragedy had been made worse by the limited number of exits, insufficient attendants and overcrowding.

A relief fund for the injured children and bereaved parents raised £5,300: Paisley Town Council offered them a week's holiday at the seaside.'

Daily Record anniversary story

'SURVIVORS of a cinema disaster in which 71 children died took part in a moving ceremony yesterday to mark the 80th anniversary of the tragedy. The youngsters were killed at the Glen Cinema in Paisley after fears a fire had broken out triggered a stampede for exits.

Around a thousand had turned out to watch the cowboy movie Desperate Duke on Hogmanay, 1929.

But tragedy struck when black smoke belching from a film canister filled the auditorium.

Panicking youngsters rushed for the emergency exits, but found they couldn't escape as the doors were designed to open inwards.

Waves of children tumbled down the stairs and crushed those below.

The pile of bodies began to mount until they lay 6ft high.

Former postie Robert Pope, 87, was one of the survivors at yesterday's service at Paisley Cenotaph.

He said: "I think my guardian angel must have saved me that day.

" I was at the show and the next thing I can remember I was sitting on the street.

"A fireman asked me what I was doing and I told him I was waiting for the film to start again.

"He told me to get home to my mother right away and that the film wouldn't be starting again."

Emily Brown was just five years old when she was taken to the matinee show by her two sisters.

She said: "I can remember vividly the moment someone shouted fire.

"There was a panic and everyone started running for the doors. I got separated from my sisters.

"I remember a window was broken and a fireman pulling me through it, out into the street.

"Both my sisters had managed to get out, too. We had been lucky but many more were not.

"A girl called Julia who lived next door to us died when she jumped from the balcony and a schoolfriend of mine, Lilly, died in the crush."

Former mill worker Emily added: "The service today was beautiful, I think it is really important people don't forget what happened.

"It is great to talk to other survivors. I have a friend who I have been meeting for years and we only realised we had both been at the cinema that day after meeting at another memorial five years ago."

Lifelong pals Peter Smith, 86, and Jim McCallum, 85, were both at the cinema that day and braved the cold to attend yesterday's service.

Peter was supposed to have joined Leah Dickson, who was older and was to look after him.

But Peter arrived late and sat on his own in the stalls.

He said: "There was a shout of 'fire' and people started charging for the door.

"I can remember somebody falling from the balcony, that was when I really began to panic.

"I ran to the toilet because I knew it had a window. Some older boys held me up on the cistern as I kicked the window.

"I gashed my leg open, but a policeman outside pulled me out. I found out later that Leah had died. If I had been with her I would probably have been killed, too."

Widowed dad-of-two Peter, who was a World War II air gunner, added: "It's very sad that so many people still don't know about the Glen Cinema disaster. It's shocking when you consider what happened."

Pal Jim, a former joiner, added: "It was terrifying, people all around were being crushed. It was just luck that I survived."

Yesterday's service included prayers from Paisley's Bishop Philip Tartallia, the Reverend Monsignor John Tormey of St Mirin's Cathedral and Paisley Abbey's Reverend Allan Briss.

The ceremony ended with Emily laying a wreath to commemorate those who died.'

My dear old aunt will once again lay the wreath at the cenotaph in memory of the children who lost their lives that day.If you,re not doing anything tomorrow at 10-30am please attend and give your support.Three of my aunts went out that day and three returned safely.Sadly their 2 friends and next door neighbours did not.Does not bear thinking about when i see my cousins tomorrow that but for a twist of fate they may never have been here.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hi guys. I am still alive!

I know I have not posted for ages but this thread is by no means finished. I still have shots to show and have more shots to take. Other considerations have taken up my time and I am not saying more shots will appear in the next week or two but they will appear.

Anyway this post is to tell everyone that I received a letter today confirming the demolition of Blackhall House, Hamilton House and Anchor House all at Blackhall Lane (opposite Morrisons) - the only surviving historic silk mill in Scotland.

I was one of a hundred objections which included objections from Historic Scotland. Renfrewshire Council backed the objections and refused planning permission however the Developers took their plans to the Scottish Government who have approved the demolition. So now a Grade C Listed building in a prime riverside location in the only remaining historic industrial heartland of Paisley's heritage will be demolished to be replaced with more mass built, unimaginative and uninspiring housing.

I am gutted at this. However if anyone wants to take some photos of another part of historic Paisley before it is turned into a nondescript wilderness you had better be quick.

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Hi guys. I am still alive!

I know I have not posted for ages but this thread is by no means finished. I still have shots to show and have more shots to take. Other considerations have taken up my time and I am not saying more shots will appear in the next week or two but they will appear.

Anyway this post is to tell everyone that I received a letter today confirming the demolition of Blackhall House, Hamilton House and Anchor House all at Blackhall Lane (opposite Morrisons) - the only surviving historic silk mill in Scotland.

I was one of a hundred objections which included objections from Historic Scotland. Renfrewshire Council backed the objections and refused planning permission however the Developers took their plans to the Scottish Government who have approved the demolition. So now a Grade C Listed building in a prime riverside location in the only remaining historic industrial heartland of Paisley's heritage will be demolished to be replaced with more mass built, unimaginative and uninspiring housing.

I am gutted at this. However if anyone wants to take some photos of another part of historic Paisley before it is turned into a nondescript wilderness you had better be quick.

Unfortunately we have a Scottish Government planning department (not directly linked to the SNP i might add) who can overrule local planners and they are based in Edinburgh and i would suspect have no feeling for local issues outside of the Edinburgh ring road. Developers mean cash and cash excites Edinburgh.

The old building is a bit of an eyesore and would have needed major cash to revamp it and again unfortunately nobody wanted to put cash into it.

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Unfortunately we have a Scottish Government planning department (not directly linked to the SNP i might add) who can overrule local planners and they are based in Edinburgh and i would suspect have no feeling for local issues outside of the Edinburgh ring road. Developers mean cash and cash excites Edinburgh.

The old building is a bit of an eyesore and would have needed major cash to revamp it and again unfortunately nobody wanted to put cash into it.

I can think of one person/alias/troll(possibly all the same c**t) who would disagree with that. .

The problem in this area is that we simply sweep away all our old buildings which could lead an unsuspecting member of the public thinking that , this area only appeared around the end of the 19th century ! Our heritage is simply being bulldozed away and has been for a long time.There are plenty of places down south where you will see loads of old building preserved , many of them going back to the Tudor times. .

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Two pertinent points for me.

1 Is that there seems to be little scope for councils for collaboration/enforcement in planning applications. Ie having a planning strategy that developers must adhere to to respect local objectives. At the moment a developer submits a plan and the Council can only effectively say yes or no. In Ireland Councils can for example say you must integrate an existing building into to plans and to help you do so we will reduce council tax/rates for a specific period to make it financially viable. No such flexibility exists in Scotland.

2 A report of 18 months ago by Historic Scotland stated that Blackhall could be repaired. The latest survey (by the Developers) states it was not economical. The government assessor noted how much the building had deteriorated in such a short time. When a developer purchases a listed building there should be an enforcement issued to ensure it was wind and watertight and secure. I can remember great controversy at Ferguslie Mills where developers were alleged to have opened windows and doors and removed all security to allow the elements and vandals in to let the buildings deteriorate and have to be demolished.

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I can think of one person/alias/troll(possibly all the same c**t) who would disagree with that. .

The problem in this area is that we simply sweep away all our old buildings which could lead an unsuspecting member of the public thinking that , this area only appeared around the end of the 19th century ! Our heritage is simply being bulldozed away and has been for a long time.There are plenty of places down south where you will see loads of old building preserved , many of them going back to the Tudor times. .

True, unfortunately if the old building was in Edinburgh they would not be allowed to demolish it. Another point is that if you wanted to refurbish the building you would have been faced with strict rules as to what changes you could make and the materials you use would not be decided by you as they would dictate to you on what you could do. e,g, wooden windows and doors.

But if you want to demolish it - go ahead

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Two pertinent points for me.

1 Is that there seems to be little scope for councils for collaboration/enforcement in planning applications. Ie having a planning strategy that developers must adhere to to respect local objectives. At the moment a developer submits a plan and the Council can only effectively say yes or no. In Ireland Councils can for example say you must integrate an existing building into to plans and to help you do so we will reduce council tax/rates for a specific period to make it financially viable. No such flexibility exists in Scotland.

2 A report of 18 months ago by Historic Scotland stated that Blackhall could be repaired. The latest survey (by the Developers) states it was not economical. The government assessor noted how much the building had deteriorated in such a short time. When a developer purchases a listed building there should be an enforcement issued to ensure it was wind and watertight and secure. I can remember great controversy at Ferguslie Mills where developers were alleged to have opened windows and doors and removed all security to allow the elements and vandals in to let the buildings deteriorate and have to be demolished.

Arson was also used in an attempt to have the old cotton club building demolished and now it stands as a sorry looking wreck

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Arson was also used in an attempt to have the old cotton club building demolished and now it stands as a sorry looking wreck

lndeed. That was a beautiful building that got into the wrong hands basically . I think there was a similar story at the old Cue Ball Club. .

Edited by saintnextlifetime
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No surprise to some extent as I was aware that the congregation could not afford the upkeep of the building. Hopefully the Council will take it over and use it as an Arts Centre for Community use. Either that or demolish it for yet another nondescript housing estate. :(

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Is the grade C listing relevant to this? If it was A possibly B listed would it make the demolition harder to get through?

A or B would have made a demolition much harder however the Government do recognise it is a building of unique historical significance but not enough architectural significance to upgrade tp B or C. Only 18 months ago a survey stated the building was not beyond economical repair. However since then, according to to the Developers's survey it has deteriorated and is no longer economical. So in the big scheme of things agrees it has to go. Allowing buildings to fall into such disrepair should be a criminal act and developers' fined and planning permission refused out of hand in such cases.

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Wasn;t sure whether to start a new thread for this but it seems the Coats Memorial Church is to close sad.png

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/iconic-paisley-church-known-baptist-7400230

Yes, unfortunately it is too big a burden for anyone to maintain as a church, people don't go to churches much these days. It would need to be taken over by private developers who can afford to maintain it, no way can the council afford to buy and maintain it when they are having to cut budgets and jobs. Also noticed that St., James' church on underwood road is to be closed.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

Old thread I see, but I was there and in the time period mentioned. Was taught by many of those teachers. I was one of those "allowed" in because I must have scored well in the tests. Lots of snobbishness and taking care of your "friends" at that time. Hey ho, didn't stop me having. Marvlous life even though I didn't fit in ????

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