Cloudhowe Terrace are ‘modern’ council built houses situated on the south of Glasgow Road across from Coatshill and adjacent to the Westend.

Cloudhowe Terrace shown on the 1962 map

Built in 1952 and throughout 1953, the first tenants moved into these desirable homes of the time in Summer 1953. Set back off the Glasgow Road on the former site of Walker’s Buildings, demolished a year or two before and on the site of former Douglas Place, these were to address and compliment and expand the large Wheatland Orlits estate beyond the rear gardens. Our map of 1962 on the previous page shows just how extensively Blantyre was being added to. Of 2 storey brick construction, these family homes afforded tenants large spacious gardens to the front and rear, particularly nearer the Westend and provided good, off-road, safe parking.

Six blocks, each with four homes meant 24 new houses were built at Cloudhowe Terrace. It is not known why this name was given to the street, but it may have been a reference to the popular Scots book of the same name.

Cloudhowe Terrace, set back off Glasgow Road. Photo 2016

Houses don’t have Glasgow Road addresses. They are numbered all oddly from 15 – 61 (odd numbers only), with 61 being adjacent to the Westend. The fact that 1-13 were missing in other circumstances may have meant something had been demolished, but not in this case. 1-13 has never existed, the council choosing to begin numbering at 15, in the hope that the spare and vacant ground during the 1950’s to the east of this belonging to the Bowie Market gardeners could be bought. It seems the council intention had been to construct further blocks and assigned the postal addresses on the basis of that plan. However, it never came to be, the Bowie’s selling to private developers presumably for offers of a higher magnitude than the council was prepared to pay. An indication of the council’s former plan for this still remains today at the end of Cloudhowe Terrace abruptly stopping where it had once been hoped to continue the blocks.

Cloudhowe Terrace, east end road abruptly ends where new blocks had been proposed

In 2015, a resident, a cancer patient fell in potholes outside her home breaking her arm at Cloudhowe Terrace, prompting council action in making urgent repairs to the road. Today, many of the council homes have been bought over by private owners and each house has taken on a distinct separate appearance, with different walls, fences, colours and landscaping apparent. They remain well kept and we’re told, have a neighbourly community spirit.

Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,

Helen Mccallum The street where i grew up I still miss it and I miss Blantyre

Iain Brown Can you tell me like Cloudhowe, why Cypress Avenue starts at 10? The space for further development answer would be unlikely as it is next to the grounds of the West End Bar.

Paul Veverka Hi Iain. This is to do with little outbuildings at the side of the westend, belonging pre Ww2 to the bar. (Not sure if they did after the war) the outbuildings had addressed 4 and 6 bardykes road but later demolished. I’m sure it will have been down to that but couldn’t say for sure until I research cypress ave.

Paul Veverka Following 1930 many addresses in bardykes road had 100 added to them perhaps in recognition of the available space to build homes at a later date.
Anne Marie Murray Would the West end building its self not been included .We used to live in the building ie. the chip shop was our house. There was about another dozen families also stayed in the building above and side of the pub.

Blantyre Project Hi Anne Marie – the full, detailed history of the Westend over 9 detailed articles is told here for the first time, over the coming days.