1906 Shuttle Row (PV)

An excellent photo from 1906 showing the deplorable conditions at Shuttle Row, Blantyre Village works.

Life must certainly have been difficult in these times. The washhouse appears boarded up (above which was a dovecot). In the background , individual porcelain washing stations allowed tenants nearby to clean their cooking utensils and do a “cold wash” of their clothes. Bleaching and drying greens were situated out the back of the building.

In this photo a little boy plays in the dirt in the foreground. A woman stands at the entrance to Shuttle Row itself, and in the other entrance a small group of residents stand posing for the camera. This clear picture puts me almost right at the scene and i can only imagine the tough times being endured.