Glasgow, Castle Street Bridge, Underpass
Canal Bridge (19th Century), Tow Path (19th Century), Underpass (19th Century)
Site Name Glasgow, Castle Street Bridge, Underpass
Classification Canal Bridge (19th Century), Tow Path (19th Century), Underpass (19th Century)
Canmore ID 296804
Site Number NS66NW 473
NGR NS 60275 66197
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/296804
- Council Glasgow, City Of
- Parish Glasgow (City Of Glasgow)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District City Of Glasgow
- Former County Lanarkshire
The underpass is a fragmentary section of towpath surviving from the link between the Forth and Clyde and Monkland canals. The marks on the wall are left from scouring by tow ropes.
RCAHMS (CAJS) 2012.
Photographic Record (11 February 2008)
Photographed by the Threatened Buildings Survey as a result of a Notice to Record from Historic Scotland.
Reference (13 April 2013 - 6 May 2013)
The Monkland Canal runs from Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire to the southern end of the Glasgow Branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow. It was built to bring coal and other goods more cheaply into the city.
Construction of the Monkland Canal began in June 1770. Completed lengths of the canal were opened for use as early as 1771, whilst construction westwards was still underway. After several delays and financial obstacles, the canal finally reached its junction with the Glasgow Branch of the Forth and Clyde in 1791.
After some prosperous years industrial development and the growth of railways led to the decline of the Monkland Canal. It closed to navigation in 1952.
Today, the majority of the Monkland Canal has been buried in pipes and only two sections in Coatbridge remain above ground. The buried canal still flows into the Forth and Clyde at Pinkston Basin, as it is still a vital water supply despite not being navigable. In Glasgow the route of the canal lies under the M8 Motorway, nicknamed the ‘Monkland Motorway’, which was built in between the early 1960s and 1980.
At Castle Street are the remains of a bridge, the canal cutting and towpath, with a new road bridge over the top. The canal cut has been paved for pedestrians. It is still possible to see the deep grooves in the cast iron rubbing strakes, where the barge tow ropes rubbed as horses pulled them along (G.Hutton, 1993). At the eastern end of the section it is also possible to see the stop-plank groove in the wall.
Sources:
http://www.glasgows-motorways.co.uk/#/the-m8-motorway/4535749716 [n.d.]
Information from Scottish Canals (JT) May 2013.
