MOST Glaswegians can recall the widespread demolition which took place
in the city in the Sixties. In answer to the serious problems of
overcrowding and poverty, the city fathers decided to destroy slum
tenements, erect concrete tower blocks and resettle whole communities in
sprawling, outlying estates. The rest, as they say, is history.
However, one far-sighted demolisher, Jimmy Wilson, agreed with the
then Glasgow Corporation to bury the redundant sandstone at his farm in
Carmyle (the rest lies in Glasgow's docks).
Twenty-five years later Jimmy is planning to excavate it from his farm
''quarry'' and hopes to see it return to the city. He says he has the
equivalent of 30,000 two or three-bedroom flats underneath his field.
In fact, work to extract the stone started several years ago, with
some of it going to build a private housing estate in Yorkshire.
Carmyle quarry also supplied stone for the Townhead by-pass, and an
old mill in Lesmahagow was restored. However, with the extension of the
new M74 motorway which passes through the quarry, extraction had to be
put on hold for the duration. A substantial proportion of the sandstone
remains buried under the motorway.
John Entwhistle, Jimmy Wilson's partner in a company called Glasgow
Sandstone Ltd, believes that the Glasgow Development Agency's admirable
City of Stone scheme could benefit from their massive stockpile, which
includes six colours of sandstone.
Many of Scotland's sandstone quarries have now closed, although
Newbigging, Gatelawbridge and Lochnarbriggs are still functioning.
Increasingly, however, developers are importing stone from England.
The stone used in the recently opened development at the corner of
Byres Road and University Avenue came from the Tyneside area. Known as
''black pasture'', it was chosen because it complemented the buff
sandstone used in adjacent buildings along Byres Road. It was also used
in the extension to the Mitchell Library.
The City of Stone scheme aims to enhance the quality of new buildings
at key sites throughout the city, improving the environment by creating
buildings finished in a traditional Glaswegian style and material. The
idea of recycling Glasgow's original sandstone for such a venture is
undoubtedly an appealing one.
A spokesman from the Glasgow Development Agency agreed, but said it
was really up to individual developers to assess the quality and type of
stone required and of course the cost involved.
The agency has already approved three other projects at Great Western
Road, Saracen Cross and Torness Street, with others under consideration.
Priority is given to projects within conservation areas, in prominent
positions and which have a residential or mixed use.
Back at Carmyle, preparations for reclaiming the stone are under way.
A million pounds worth of machinery is due to arrive any day and a
workforce of 20 masons is being trained.
Finding men suitably skilled was a problem, according to John
Entwhistle. To answer this the partners, with the motivating force of
Bill Miller, now Glasgow's MEP, set up an apprentice course -- a joint
venture with the John Wheatley College and Strathclyde Business
Administration.
Thanks to this, the young men on the course can look forward to
full-time employment as part of the workforce, a godsend for many who
have been unemployed since leaving school. One apprentice said:
''Carmyle Quarry gives me a reason for getting up in the morning.''
Jimmy, who has one son and nine daughters, is obviously proud of his
latest recruits and is incredibly paternalistic towards them. ''They
just want to do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, and I am happy
to give them the chance,' he said.
One apprentice in particular has shown such promise that John
Entwhistle hopes to take him to Italy later this year to learn more
about renaissance carving.
''We want to make Glasgow beautiful again. Sandstone has a natural
warmth and enhances any building. We have a wealth of Glasgow's heritage
and would encourage builders and developers to help us get it back into
the city where it belongs,'' he said.
Cut out to
be masons
THE Carmyle quarry partners have set up an apprentice scheme with the
John Wheatley College and Strathclyde Business Administration to train
20 young masons in the now comparatively rare skill of dressing
sandstone.
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