About us
About us
History
Balornock first appears on record in a Papal Bull dated 1171 in which "Budlornoc"
along with Barlanark, into which Balornock was later incorporated, was confirmed as among the possessions of the canons of the Cathedral of Glasgow.
In medieval times certain lands within the barony and regality of Glasgow were set up as prebends or benefices for the clergy. The prebendary of Barlanark was in the peculiar position of having no parochial charge and drawing no teinds (tithes), but deriving his income solely from the produce of the land. In 1322 Robert I authorised John Wyschard "canon of the prebend of Barlanark" and his successors to possess the prebend in free warren, a sort of forest right, forever, and all persons were forbidden to cut wood, hawk or hunt on the lands without licence of the prebendary.
A canon required both a town house in Glasgow and a country residence on his estate. Glasgow's only surviving medieval house, Provand's Lordship, located near the cathedral, is thought to have been the manse of the prebendary of Balornock, although excavations have revealed the remains of two similar houses.
Moving on to the nineteenth-century, the earliest village inhabitants were handloom weavers and miners. Balornock, then an area of open country to the north-east of Springburn, was owned along with the eighteenth-century mansion 'Balornock House', by Andrew Menzies (1822-1873), who in 1848 established the successful horse-drawn omnibus company known as "Tartan Buses". By 1870 the fleet consisted of 50 omnibuses and 500 horses.
Menzies was also the first managing director of the Glasgow Tramcar and Omnibus Company, a private company who ran tramcars on corporation owned tracks. He was credited by his contemporaries with having "opened up Glasgow" to its citizens.
By 1933, under the 1924 Housing Act, 718 houses had been built on the estate of Balornock, which had been acquired by Glasgow Corporation. This comprised 424 four-in-a-block dwellings, 114 cottages and 180 tenement style flats. Many street names in Balornock refer to Andrew Menzies.
Extended in the late 1930's, much of the earlier Victorian housing was replaced by the 1960's. The infamous Red Road flats were constructed between 1964-1969 and comprise eight massive high-rise blocks the tallest being 292 foot, designed to house more than 4700 people. Opened by Secretary of State for Scotland, Willie Ross, in October 1966, six of these blocks reach 31 storeys and were said to be the tallest in Europe at the time of their construction. Views from the upper floors draw the eye along Campsie Fells to Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps, then west past the Erskine Bridge and out to Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran continuing south over Glasgow and east towards Edinburgh. Subsequently the flats became known for their poor quality construction and for social problems.
In 2003 when the flats were transferred to Glasgow Housing Association, the new landlords as well as Glasgow City Council insisted that repairs were costing more than receipts in rent and that big changes therefore had to be made. All eight buildings have been planned for a phased demolition which began in April 2010, with the two "slab" high-rise blocks being first to be demolished and the rest between 2014-2017, currently the land lies empty.
In 2006, the area was the setting of the multi-award winning film 'Red Road' by Andrea Arnold.
In medieval times certain lands within the barony and regality of Glasgow were set up as prebends or benefices for the clergy. The prebendary of Barlanark was in the peculiar position of having no parochial charge and drawing no teinds (tithes), but deriving his income solely from the produce of the land. In 1322 Robert I authorised John Wyschard "canon of the prebend of Barlanark" and his successors to possess the prebend in free warren, a sort of forest right, forever, and all persons were forbidden to cut wood, hawk or hunt on the lands without licence of the prebendary.
A canon required both a town house in Glasgow and a country residence on his estate. Glasgow's only surviving medieval house, Provand's Lordship, located near the cathedral, is thought to have been the manse of the prebendary of Balornock, although excavations have revealed the remains of two similar houses.
Moving on to the nineteenth-century, the earliest village inhabitants were handloom weavers and miners. Balornock, then an area of open country to the north-east of Springburn, was owned along with the eighteenth-century mansion 'Balornock House', by Andrew Menzies (1822-1873), who in 1848 established the successful horse-drawn omnibus company known as "Tartan Buses". By 1870 the fleet consisted of 50 omnibuses and 500 horses.
Menzies was also the first managing director of the Glasgow Tramcar and Omnibus Company, a private company who ran tramcars on corporation owned tracks. He was credited by his contemporaries with having "opened up Glasgow" to its citizens.
By 1933, under the 1924 Housing Act, 718 houses had been built on the estate of Balornock, which had been acquired by Glasgow Corporation. This comprised 424 four-in-a-block dwellings, 114 cottages and 180 tenement style flats. Many street names in Balornock refer to Andrew Menzies.
Extended in the late 1930's, much of the earlier Victorian housing was replaced by the 1960's. The infamous Red Road flats were constructed between 1964-1969 and comprise eight massive high-rise blocks the tallest being 292 foot, designed to house more than 4700 people. Opened by Secretary of State for Scotland, Willie Ross, in October 1966, six of these blocks reach 31 storeys and were said to be the tallest in Europe at the time of their construction. Views from the upper floors draw the eye along Campsie Fells to Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps, then west past the Erskine Bridge and out to Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran continuing south over Glasgow and east towards Edinburgh. Subsequently the flats became known for their poor quality construction and for social problems.
In 2003 when the flats were transferred to Glasgow Housing Association, the new landlords as well as Glasgow City Council insisted that repairs were costing more than receipts in rent and that big changes therefore had to be made. All eight buildings have been planned for a phased demolition which began in April 2010, with the two "slab" high-rise blocks being first to be demolished and the rest between 2014-2017, currently the land lies empty.
In 2006, the area was the setting of the multi-award winning film 'Red Road' by Andrea Arnold.
About the name Both Lobharnaig
Both Lobharnaig is Scottish Gaelic and is the Gaelic translation for Balornock, which is a village to the North East of Glasgow. This is where the Executive Director grew up as a child and is where Both Lobharnaig Minibus Services traded for over 10 years before moving and expanding.
As no definitive information exists regarding the meaning of Both Lobharnaig and the fact that Glasgow and environs, like any other part of Scotland, have a complicated language history stretching back over 1,500 years. We have to assume that the following information is as close to the meaning as we can get: As Scotland has a complicated language history, the earliest language to have left out significant place-names is Cumbric, a British language closely related to Welsh, giving us Balornock (Buthlornoc in 1186, "the residence of, or more probably the church dedicated to, a man with Cumbric name Louernoc").
