Rouken Glen Park

The park takes its name from the old Rock End Meal Mill in the glen, which dates back to the early 16th century. The remains of this mill can just be seen at the foot of the waterfall, deep within the foliage and rhodedendron bushes high on the slope away from the pathway.

The lands and the originally named Birkenshaw House were bought in 1852 by the Crum family who owned factories and mills in Lancashire with the plan of building a paper mill. The Thornliebank Crums as they became known due to their ownership of the Thornliebank Print Works and their investment in Thornliebank could not find enough investors for this project and therefore Walter Crum decided to make his home there instead. Walter and his eldest son Alexander rebuilt the Mansion House to grand Victorian standards and renamed it Thornliebank House. They planned and planted the walled garden as well as adding the natural woodland.

The house was destroyed by fire and demolished in 1963 and all that remains of this once impressive house and its estate is Birkenshaw Cottage which is now used as a Chinese Restaurant, the Stable Courtyard behind and the walled garden. The site of the house is marked by a visitor shelter, and the grassy terrace on which Thornliebank House once stood still gives a sense of how the grounds would have been viewed and enjoyed from the house.

The Park was officially opened in May 1906 by Archibald Cameron Corbett, M.P. for Tradeston (later Lord Rowallan) who gifted the estate and mansion house to people of Glasgow.

The Park became popular with day trippers, school and work parties due to its public transport links. The tram system had been extended to reach the park gates and the Caledonian Railway had recently opened Whitecraigs Station in 1903. New facilities were built within the park including tearooms and bandstands. The original curling pond was enlarged around 1924 to form the boating pond that we see today.

The park has been the venue of many shows over the years and was even visited in circa.1947 by Laurel and Hardy to hand out prizes at a horse riding show.

To find out more about the park and its history including its connections to the infamous murder case of 1857 involving Madeleine Smith who’s family are believed to have used Birkenshaw Cottage as a summer residence please see the links below.

Here is a small selection of historical views of the park from  our own postcard collection.

Thornliebank House 1922	Thornliebank House 1943	Thornliebank House 1907
The Tea Rooms - Now used as a Chinese Restaurant	Band stand	The Old Mill at Rouken Glen in 1912
Waterfall	Lover's Walk 1906	The Pond 1910

Park History
http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~davidm/website/history01.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouken_Glen

Rouken Glen Homepage
http://www.roukenglen.org.uk/

Madeleine Smith Murder Case
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Smith
http://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/