During the 1930’s, situated between Logan Street moving east was a small wooded area, which ran through to Church Street. The wood ran alongside the drill hall, what we know now as “Terminal One” Youth building. The name “St John’s Wood” was common to the 1930’s and 1940’s era and was less used post WW2, and unknown why St John’s name was chosen.
In the corner of the woodland on the Logan Street side between Priory place and the Drill Hall was a small hut with some seats and a stove that various clubs from around Blantyre used as a meeting hall. In the 1920’s this small wooden hut was officially the Episcopal Church. However, it changed use by 1930 used more by local community groups.
In later decades, it was used as the Racing Pigeon hall adjacent to Priory Place, which was next to the Priory Bar Lounge i.e. beyond large green doors where the beer was delivered. Next to the small hall, the local Doocot. Owners would spend a lot of time looking at the sky to see the birds coming home and then try to get them to land to get the ring off their leg, putting it into their time clock. There are still people with old pigeon lofts in their back gardens at Logan Street although this little hut is long gone.
2016 From Church Street wooded area, formerly Abbeygreen and St Johns Wood
This land is currently vacant although a ‘for sale’ sign has been erected 2017. It’s in a prime, central spot for development and we predict confidently that it will be put to use again. If not and with trees already sprouting again, perhaps alternatively, it will see a return of the name, “St John’s Wood”. Photo pictured from the Church Street side in 2016.
From the book, “Blantyre Glasgow Road – The Real Story” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,:
Mary McGaulley My daughter went to Miss Nancy dancing school along with the McDougalls and Jackie and Elizabeth Currie