How about this cracking aerial shot of High Blantyre? It’s 1978 in this photo and the flat roofs of the ‘Jerusalem Houses’ are apparent. So white and new looking, despite being nearly 7 years old. The brand new EK Expressway runs alongside on a newly created embankment which also saw Hillhouse Road being realigned. There’s a lack of cars given this was just before opening. A far cry from today!
No slip roads either. Douglas Street cuts through perpendicular on the left foreground. The houses were laid out with a deliberate intention of creating large open green spaces for children to play. The creation of these family homes was a significant development for Blantyre as it emerged from the 1960’s.
Despite a construction boom with good housing all over Blantyre in the late 60’s, there was still a need for further homes. The creation of the Jerusalem housing estate (and Priory Bridge around the same time in the very early 1970s) enabled hundreds of families to move to better quality homes, many giving up their older homes no longer fit for purpose. Some families also moved to the area for the first time and as Blantyre expanded, with it came the need for new schools, halls and facilities.