Caldergrove Row
On the 1896 map, there is a curious block of 8 small homes, single storey all terraced directly opposite the Caldergrove Lodge House. What makes this curiously interesting is that they’re not in the 1891 census nor the 1895 valuation roll or indeed in the 1901 census. Certainly not shown anymore on the 1910 map. As such they could only have existed sometime between 1896 and 1900, at the very most no more than 4 years.
The row at Caldergrove on 1896 map
Built on Marshall family land on the Caldergrove estate, they may have been hastily erected wooden or brick homes or huts as overspill for servants working on the nearby Caldergrove Estate, mansion house, offices and formal gardens. Servants tended to live in the Caldergrove House itself so these homes could have been temporary accommodation for contractors for renovation works or perhaps associated with nearby Spittal Colliery.
At the back of was another smaller block, most likely a washhouse or communal toilet. Another reason altogether may exist that explains these properties. No formal name can be found for these homes in documentation, their short existence little known about.
Today, the flat, gated field is still there, but there is no sign of any terraced buildings that once formed this little row at Caldergrove. A handful of small stones can be found amongst the grass, the remnants of small foundations.
From the book, “Blantyre Glasgow Road South – The Real Story” by Paul Veverka (c) 2017