“Imagine the clang of hammers. Think of the roar of furnaces.” Today we are standing where the Lambhill Foundry once stood. It was a hub of industry and innovation. Its story is woven into the very fabric of Glasgow.
Lambhill, until 1926, was a small village. It stood on Glasgow’s northern edge. It was a place of farms and foundries. Mines and even meteorites contribute to its rich past.
In the 1840s, the Lambhill area saw the rise of a new industry. Ironstone pits were dug here. After the iron was extracted, iron foundries and forges appeared. The Gilshochill pit was the last ironstone pit. The Summerlee Iron Company used it from 1850 to 1897. During World War 1, demand for iron soared. The Gilshochill pits reopened.
Across the bridge from Lambhill Stables, the Lambhill Ironworks opened in 1880. R. Laidlaw and Sons founded it. They made pipes, pumps, and gas meters. Lochburn Ironworks opened further west in 1877. They employed 1000 workers. They made water and sewage pipes. All these industries have since closed. They have all been swept away now.
Walter Macfarlane and Co’s Saracen Foundry was the most important manufacturer of ornamental ironwork in Scotland. Walter Macfarlane I founded the firm in 1850. The first premises were in Saracen Lane, Gallowgate. The foundry relocated briefly to Washington Street in 1862. Then they moved to a purpose-built foundry on the former Possil Estate in 1872.
Macfarlane created the suburb of Possilpark to house the firm’s vast workforce. The area’s population increased dramatically. It went from 10 in 1872 to 10,000 by 1891. The foundry covered 14 acres. Its main gates were at 73 Hawthorn Street. The foundry’s pollution earned Macfarlane the nickname “the Laird of Fossiltown”.
Macfarlane specialized in the production of drinking fountains. They also made bandstands and lamp standards. They produced pre-fabricated buildings and architectural crestings. The firm mass-produced patterns. Prominent Glasgow architects like James Sellars and Alexander “Greek” Thomson designed them. James Boucher was a particular favourite. He designed their Possilpark foundry.
Macfarlane’s most celebrated work is the Saracen Fountain in Alexandra Park. They gifted it to the city. They exhibited it in the grounds of the International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park in 1901. Copies of the fountain were erected in other locations.
During World War II, much of the firm’s architectural crestings, fountains, and railings were destroyed. They were requisitioned for the war effort. The Possilpark works were eventually demolished in 1967.
Today, some of Macfarlane’s work can still be found. Look for the Saracen Fountain in Alexandra Park. Visit Kibble Palace in the Botanic Gardens. See the Bailie Martin memorial drinking fountain at Arcadia Street. Note the lamppost stands outside the Mitchell Library.
The legacy of Lambhill Foundry and Saracen Foundry lives on. It is visible in Glasgow’s streets and parks. The ironwork stands as a testament to Glasgow’s industrial past. They remind us of the skill and innovation that once thrived here.