Govanhill

Area of Glasgow, Scotland

Govanhill (Cnoc a' Ghobhainn) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, situated south of the River Clyde between Pollokshields, the Gorbals, Strathbungo, Crosshill, Polmadie and Queen's Park. Historically part of Renfrewshire, Govanhill had the status of a police burgh between 1877 and 1891 before becoming part of the City of Glasgow. Since 2007, it has fallen under the Southside Central ward of Glasgow City Council. A previous (1999 to 2007) smaller ward named Govanhill had boundaries of Dixon Avenue and Dixon Road to the south, Victoria Road to the west, Butterbiggins Road to the north and Aikenhead Road to the east.

The history of the area is linked to the Dixon family. A prominent ironmaster, William Dixon opened blast furnaces to the north of Govanhill which became known as Dixon's Blazes. A company village called Fireworks Village was situated on the site of the later Burgh of Govanhill. The village was built by Dixon for his workers, who worked in his Little Govan Colliery. Allison Street is thought to be named after Sir Archibald Allison, Sheriff Principal of Lanarkshire. As the construction expanded to the west of Victoria Road during that period, Govanhill became joined with its older neighbour Strathbungo. A secondary school, fire station and police station were constructed in that sector to serve the growing population, integrated into the same sandstone tenement style as surrounding dwellings. The buildings have been converted and still stand today the school is now for younger age groups as St Brides Primary, the others are apartments; The nearest fire station is still fairly close at Polmadie,

Govanhill was one of the few areas to avoid Glasgow Corporation's programme of 'Comprehensive Development Areas' in the 1960s. This program saw 29 inner city areas demolished and replaced with new buildings, typically high rise or deck access and non traditional, with existing communities dispersed to new estates at the edge of Glasgow such as Pollok and Castlemilk, or to Scotland's new towns – e. g. East Kilbride and Cumbernauld. Govanhill resisted this redevelopment programme and, based on early experience in Govan, a community based Housing Association The community action at that time allowed Govanhill to retain their period housing stock and public buildings, the majority of which was built between 1890 and 1912, including examples from famous Scottish architects such as Alexander "Greek" Thomson and James Robert Rhind.

The refurbishment of Govanhill's tenement housing was not completed due to changes in policy and funding in the early 2000s. By that time, 13 housing blocks in the south west of the district remained 'unimproved'. In combination with housing issues, the district has been known at times as a place where levels of recorded crime and violence are higher than the national average, owing to its history as a destination for migrants of low means and high population density. Under Section 28 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 and in order to tackle problems in the private rented sector, four tenement blocks within South West Govanhill were designated an Enhanced Enforcement Area (EEA) in September 2015. In 2017, this was expanded to include a further 14 blocks. As a result, some of the housing in the area has been improved, with Glasgow City Council seizing property that failed to achieve the required standard and removing rogue landlords (many of whom had allowed their properties to be occupied by dangerously high numbers of poor, newly arrived immigrants with few other housing options, the flats often lacking basic utilities such as running water) from the Scottish Landlord Register. This ongoing programme is scheduled to be continue for several years until the properties in the sector are brought up to required modern standards and occupied in a responsible manner.

Govanhill is home to one of Glasgow's original Carnegie libraries, designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by James Robert Rhind. The area has a number of residential buildings by architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson (known for notable Glasgow buildings including The Egyptian Halls and Holmwood House), such as 19 23 Garturk Street, 265 289 Allison Street and 34 Daisy Street all of which remain private residences. Govanhill Picture House is an Egyptian themed cinema built in 1926, designed by architect Eric A. Sutherland. The building is currently considered 'at risk', and as of 2019, local community group Glasgow Artists' Moving Image Studios (GAMIS) has been working to bring the cinema into use for the local vibrant art scene. Govanhill Baths, which currently provide a home for communities groups, and health and wellbeing programmes from swimming classes to art and ceramics groups was designed by A. B. McDonald and opened in 1917 after the architect's death. It closed as a swimming venue in 2001, but moves to demolish the building were resisted by community groups.

From the first days of the neighbourhood's formation, Govanhill has always been a popular settlement area for people coming to Glasgow and Scotland. from Ireland (particularly County Donegal); Italians; Jews fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe; people from the Punjab and other parts of the Indian sub continent; Glasgow's new communities of former asylum seekers and refugees and – most recently – migrants benefiting from Enlargement of the European Union originating from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic (2004) and Romania and Bulgaria (2007). The area has long been Scotland's most culturally diverse neighbourhood. Of the 15,000 people living in the neighbourhood, approximately 33% are from ethnic minority communities (2012), with Roma people from Eastern Europe making up 3,000–3,500 of the local population. This diversity is reflected in the local shops, the languages spoken in the street and in the people found locally. A social survey carried out by Govanhill Housing Association identified 52 nationalities and 32 languages spoken within just 13 tenement blocks within the area. with numerous reports of women and children being prostituted and arrests made by the police in the area for related offences on multiple occasions. However, when specialist officers from Police Scotland's National Child Abuse Investigation Unit investigated these reports in 2018, they were proved to either be unsupported by evidence, to be exaggerated or not to involve the local Roma community. During the COVID 19 pandemic in Scotland in 2020, false reports of Govanhill's Roma community flouting lockdown rules led to a reported 50% of the Roma population fleeing the area in fear of being targeted by racist violence. At the end of that year, social media videos alleging widespread and ongoing child abuse by the Roma community in Govanhill which were viewed by thousands prompted denials from the police, local groups and Nicola Sturgeon. Footage of squalor and accumulation of dangerous waste in back courts and common closes, itself by no means a new problem in the area, was more readily identifiable in the videos, though it was apparent that this was exacerbated to an extent by the pandemic which had disrupted regular and by request refuse collection services, and indeed in that same week community groups staged a protest at the rubbish problem by collecting black bags and leaving them at the front gates of Queen's Park.

The neighbourhood is considered to be queer and queer friendly, and is home to several queer businesses and organisations such as Category Is Books, Pink Peacock, and Small Trans Library.

Govanhill International Festival and Carnival is a yearly event that began in 2017. It is a cultural programme featuring live music and historical, culinary, and educational events culminating in a carnival parade. The festival is organised by Govanhill Baths Community Trust.