Shawfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shawfield |
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 Old entrance to Shawfield Stadium, at the north of the stadium, at the junction of Shawfield Road and Shawfield Drive, 2009 |
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 Shawfield
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| OS grid reference | NS60749622 |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLASGOW |
| Postcode district | G73 1 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Shawfield is an industrial area in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It's located north of the town centre. The River Clyde is to its east. To the north are Glasgow's Oatlands and Richmond Park. To the south-west are Glasgow's Polmadie and Toryglen areas. Rutherglen's Main Street and Burnhill are to the south-east. However, railway tracks and the M74 motorway separate them. A road bridge connects Shawfield to Dalmarnock, Bridgeton, and Glasgow Green.
Many Scottish sports fans know Shawfield. The stadium there is famous for greyhound racing. It was also once the home of Clyde F.C..
Contents
Shawfield's Early Days
Records show that in 1611, the Shawfield estate belonged to the family of Claud Hamilton. His grandson, James Hamilton, had to sell the estate. Later, in 1707, Daniel Campbell, a Member of Parliament and tobacco merchant, bought it. He built a mansion in Glasgow, also called Shawfield. But this mansion was destroyed in a riot in 1725. The riot was about taxes.
Glasgow city officials were found to have encouraged the rioters. So, Campbell received money from Glasgow as compensation. He used this money to buy the entire island of Islay. His family owned Islay for over 100 years. Shawfield in Rutherglen also stayed with the Campbell family until 1788. In 1821, the chemist Robert Cleghorn died at Shawfield House. He might have been there for a new chemical business.
J & J White Chemicals: A Big Business Story
J & J White Chemicals, also known as Shawfield Chemical Works, started in 1820. Brothers James and John White (called 'I' here to avoid confusion) founded it. Before this, a soap business on the same site had failed. John White I had been a partner in that business since 1810. He also bought the Shawfield estate, including Shawfield House.
Over the years, the chemical business grew a lot. They were especially good at making bichromate of potash. Their factories expanded across the land that used to be a quiet estate. Later, John White I’s sons, John White II and James White II, took over. The family's homes in Rutherglen became part of the chemical factory. So, in 1859, James White II bought land near Dumbarton. He built a large new mansion there, far from the factory's smells. This mansion was called Overtoun House and was built in 1862. By the time James White II died in 1884, the factory in Rutherglen employed 500 people. It produced as much as all other similar businesses in Britain combined.
After James White II, his son John White III and his cousin William James Chrystal took over the company.
Lord Overtoun and Keir Hardie: A Fight for Workers
John White III was a very religious man. He was involved in many charity projects. He also became involved in politics. In 1893, he became a peer in the House of Lords, known as Baron Overtoun. He took the name from his family’s estate.
However, his good reputation was damaged in 1899. This happened because of Keir Hardie, a leader of the Labour Movement. The factory workers had asked Hardie for help. They had tried talking to the managers and even went on strike, but nothing worked.
Hardie wrote a series of pamphlets called White Slaves: Chrome, Charity, Crystals and Cant. These pamphlets strongly criticized the terrible working conditions at Shawfield works. Workers were paid much less than in similar jobs. They had to work 12-hour shifts without a meal break. They also worked seven days a week. This was surprising because Lord Overtoun, as a churchman, campaigned for strict Sunday observance. He even wanted public transport to stop on Sundays.
But the worst part was the effect on workers' health. Safety rules from 1893 were ignored. Workers used ineffective protective gear in sheds with no fresh air. This meant they were always exposed to harmful chemical dust. In the short term, many workers got holes in their noses. They also got 'chrome holes', which were painful skin sores. Over longer periods, they suffered from lung problems, stomach issues, and skin diseases. We don't know the exact number of affected workers. This is because records were unreliable. Also, authorities at the time didn't want to admit the link between the dust and health dangers.
The workers were so covered in dust that locals called them ‘White’s Dead Men’ or ‘White’s Canaries’. This was because their faces looked pale and their clothes were yellow from the chrome dust. Hardie's pamphlets became very popular. They showed the public the bad conditions at White's works. Another famous Glasgow businessman, Thomas Lipton, faced similar criticism from Hardie.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography said that there was no good way to deny the accusations. Overtoun was accused of being a hypocrite. This was because he was strict about Sundays but kept his chemical works open. Even though Overtoun wasn't involved in the daily running of the factory, he was still blamed for the conditions.
Soon after, improvements were made at the factory. These included baths and recreation areas for workers. But the health issues were only properly fixed after another bad report. This report was by the Medical Inspector of Factories, Thomas Morison Legge.
Shawfield in the 1900s
Even with the criticism, Lord Overtoun was made a special citizen of Rutherglen in 1905. This was because he gave land to the town for a public park. This park was named Overtoun Park. Lord Overtoun, or John Campbell White III, died in 1908. By then, the Shawfield works were the biggest of their kind in the world.
William Chrystal took full control of the company until he died in 1921. By the mid-1920s, the works employed about 900 people. Another cousin in the White family, Hill Hamilton Barrett, now controlled it. The site had grown even larger, to 30 acres.
In 1953, the company joined with Eaglescliffe Chemical Company. They became British Chrome and Chemicals. In 1958, the name changed to Associated Chemical Companies. Albright and Wilson bought the company in 1965. The Shawfield works then closed down. The chain of companies making chemicals still exists today as Elementis, but not in Scotland.
A Toxic Problem: The Legacy of Chemicals
Even though chemical production stopped in Shawfield in the 1960s, its effects lasted for decades. This was because of a dangerous chemical called hexavalent chromium (Chromium VI). This chemical is a byproduct from the factory and can cause cancer. Its dangers were shown in the Hollywood movie Erin Brockovich.
The factory had a 12-acre (7 ha) area for waste. This was the same size as the park Lord Overtoun gave to the town. But this area was not big enough for all the waste.
In the early 1990s, surveys were done on sports fields. These fields were going to be used for a nursing home. The surveys found very high levels of hexavalent chromium. More investigations showed that J & J White Chemicals had regularly dumped up to 2.5 million tonnes of their waste. This waste was called Chromate Ore Processing Residue (COPR). They dumped it in places around Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and Glasgow (like Carmyle) for many years. At the time, this was allowed. These sites were often old quarries or mines that needed filling in to be reused.
Places Affected by Waste
The most well-known dumping ground was a park and sports fields in Eastfield. This area was on a former quarry. It was fenced off and left empty for ten years until it could be cleaned up. Locals called this land 'The Toxic'. A new park and houses were built there. But people still worry. In 2014, when workers tried to drill for sewer pipes, people immediately raised concerns.
Other places that were confirmed or thought to be contaminated with COPR include:
- The Eastfield burn south of 'The Toxic' park (now a small park).
- The playgrounds of the first Trinity High School in Eastfield (now the new school and sports facilities).
- The sports fields at Overtoun Park in Rutherglen (now a nursing home).
- The site of Rutherglen Maternity Hospital (now a local health centre).
- Open ground north of the Burnhill area, across the railway lines from Shawfield (now the new stadium for Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. and a sports centre).
- Sports fields on both sides of Prospecthill Road, Toryglen in Glasgow (now a supermarket and football training centre).
- Spectator areas at Lesser Hampden football ground.
- Morriston Park estate in Cambuslang (now a supermarket and housing).
- Rosebery Park football ground in Oatlands (now the Glasgow East End Regeneration Route).
- The former Phoenix Tube Works (now a retail park).
The local Member of Parliament, Tommy McAvoy, talked about this issue in the House of Commons in 1995. However, studies in 1999 and 2000 suggested that people living in contaminated areas were not much unhealthier than those in unaffected areas.
Impact on Shawfield Itself
Within Shawfield, the contamination was at its worst. In the late 1960s, all signs of the factory were removed. This included Shawfield House, which had been an office building for 150 years. An industrial estate was built in its place. Businesses like Greggs bakers moved in. But at that time, no one knew how bad the chromium contamination was.
The spectator areas of Southcroft Park, the original home of Glencairn FC, were largely built with chromium waste. The waste ground behind the stadium also had very high levels of contamination. This caused great concern when the M74 motorway was planned to go through this land. People worried that disturbing the chemicals would be dangerous.
The COPR waste has been in the soil for so long that it has seeped into the groundwater. Polluted water enters the Cityford/West Burn and the Malls Mire/Polmadie Burn. These streams run along the west side of the site, mostly underground. Then, they flow into the main River Clyde. This might also have caused plants in affected areas to absorb the contamination. In 2019, pollution from the COPR in the Polmadie Burn was still so bad that the water turned green. Local politicians discussed this. Glasgow City Council said that the substance was only risky if people touched the contaminated water directly. They also said that they had redirected the West Burn into the Clyde before it joined the Polmadie Burn. This reduced the chance of people being exposed. Two years later, the burn was found to have turned bright yellow.
Shawfield Today: Cleanup and New Beginnings
Because of the contamination, an expensive and big cleanup is happening in Shawfield. It is expected to take 20 years. This will allow the large area to be used safely in the future. Most of the empty warehouses have been taken down. Greggs bakers left the area in 2007. They moved to new, modern facilities in Cambuslang. Other businesses stayed, like a large Arnold Clark Automobiles showroom. This showroom closed in early 2021, and the site was quickly cleared for decontamination.
The cleanup project is run by Clyde Gateway. It aims to bring new, valuable businesses and factories to the area. Shawfield has good road links to central and eastern Glasgow (via Rutherglen Bridge). It also has access to the motorway network. The agency faced some questions about its financial dealings related to the site in 2013.
The Clyde Gateway projects want to improve this region. They plan to create new business parks. They also want to make the River Clyde accessible again in Rutherglen. The town's old port can be reached where the railway line goes over the riverside path. This area is currently overgrown. A sewage treatment plant has been across the river since 1894. This doesn't make the area look very nice.
A new main office for Police Scotland was built in 2015. It's on the Glasgow side of the river near Rutherglen Bridge. This is one of the most noticeable new buildings. The first building of the new development within Shawfield is the Red Tree Magenta business centre. It was finished in 2018 and officially opened in 2019. Many businesses have already rented space there.
Further checks found that the levels of Chromium VI in the west zone were five times higher than in the cleaned east zone. This means the west zone will need much more intense cleaning.
The Morris furniture company started in the 1900s. It was once famous for providing furniture for luxury ocean liners. The company was also involved in a difficult worker dispute in the 1980s. More recently, in the 2000s, they received a lot of money to move because of the M74 motorway. By 2015, the owner, Robert Morris, closed the furniture part of the business. But four years later, he finished the first part of a new 'Morris Park' business centre next to their old buildings. A temporary concert venue, Junction 1, was set up at Morris Park for the summer of 2022. But there were problems. People living nearby complained a lot about loud noise. Several shows were cancelled suddenly. Also, customers had to wait a long time for refunds for cancelled shows.
Shawfield Smartbridge: A Modern Link
A new bridge for people walking and cycling has been built. It connects Shawfield and Dalmarnock. This project was part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It encourages people working in the area to use the nearby Dalmarnock railway station. The bridge also carries communication and power lines over the river.
T B Seath & Co Shipbuilders: Building Boats in Shawfield
Another industry in the area was shipbuilding. The company T.B. Seath & Co. built ships here between the 1850s and the 1900s.
Sports in Shawfield
In the early 2000s, the M74 motorway was built through Shawfield. This meant some factories were torn down. It also led to the demolition of Southcroft Park. This was the historic home of Glencairn FC. The team had to move its playing fields to Burnhill. However, their social club was rebuilt at the original spot.
There was also a Junior team called Shawfield F.C.. But their stadium, Rosebery Park, was in Oatlands. It was also contaminated with industrial waste and torn down for the motorway.
Another amateur football team, Shawfield Amateurs, played in the Scottish Cup several times. We don't know much about this team. But they seem to have been the factory team for J & J White Chemicals. There were sports facilities among the factory buildings. The team stopped playing around the time the chemical business left Rutherglen.
Shawfield Stadium was the home of Clyde F.C. for over 80 years. It was also the main place for greyhound racing in Scotland for many years. The building has Art Deco features, which are a style of design. In 2022, the stadium had not been used for two years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports said the owners wanted to build houses on the site. This depends on the results of an environmental report about the contamination there.
Shawfield is also home to the West Of Scotland Indoor Bowling Club, which is across from the stadium. There's also Flip Out, a very large indoor trampolining centre. It claims to be the world's largest and is in a former furniture warehouse next to the motorway.
Images for kids
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Old entrance to Shawfield Stadium, at the north of the stadium, at the junction of Shawfield Road and Shawfield Drive, 2009
