The Gorbals
| Gorbals | |
|---|---|
 Gorbals
|
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| Gorbals shown within Glasgow | |
| Area | 0.83 km2 (0.32 sq mi) |
| Population | 6,030 (2015) |
| • Density | 7,265/km2 (18,820/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | NS 59100 64000 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area |
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| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GLASGOW |
| Postcode district | G5 |
| Dialling code | 0141 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late nineteenth century, it had become densely populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived there because their jobs provided worker housing and they could not afford their own. Poor sanitation and poverty contributed to problems. As industrial jobs declined during restructuring, this area became widely known as a dangerous slum associated with drunkenness and crime. In the late-twentieth century, it was subject to efforts at redevelopment, but poorly designed and constructed tower blocks of social housing contributed to further problems. Since the late-twentieth century, much of the area has been demolished and redeveloped with a mixture of market and social housing. Some buildings are being refurbished and restored to a higher standard.
At its peak, during the 1930s, the wider Gorbals district (which includes the directly adjoined localities of Laurieston and Hutchesontown) had swelled in population size to an estimated 90,000 residents. Along with its relatively small size, this gave the area a very high population density of around 40,000/km².
In the early 2000s, a local group started a campaign to reinstate the cross fountain, aided by people attracted to their Facebook page, Old Gorbals Pictures (Heritage Group). The group have discovered that a copy of the original cross fountain was installed on the Caribbean island of St Kitts & Nevis. They are working to engage professional help to digitally scan this object to allow for the manufacture of Gorbals Cross, No 3, to be installed in a new development near to where it originally stood.
The name is first documented in the 15th and 16th centuries as 'Gorbaldis', and its etymology is unclear. It may be related to the Latin word garbale (sheaf), found in the Scots term garbal teind (tenth sheaf), a tithe of corn given to a parish rector. The taking of garbal teind was a right given to George Elphinstone in 1616 as part of his 19-year tack (lease). The placename would therefore mean "the Sheaves". The name is similar to a Lowland Scots word gorbal/gorbel/garbal/garbel (unfledged bird), perhaps a reference to lepers who were allowed to beg for alms in public. Any Gaelic form of the name is conjectural, since none survives from medieval times. Gort a' bhaile (garden of the town) conforms with certain suggestions made by A.G. Callant in 1888, but other interpretations are also popular.
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Wikipedia