In 1834, Sir John Maxwell commissioned a plan for the development of his land at Kinninghouse.
The plan of the proposed neighbourhood, held at Glasgow City Archives, lays out a design for a grand, upper-class development, structured around sweeping crescents and large squares lined by villas.
Maxwell's proposed development at Kinninghouse was never carried out – the area’s proximity to the river lent itself more to industry and affordable accommodation than to an up-market residential area.
Maxwell’s garden suburb would ultimately be realised in the form of Pollokshields, while Kinning Park, as the area would become known, was laid out as a working-class neighbourhood, with tenements, shops, warehouses and factories.
The deepening of the river Clyde in the early to mid-19th century resulted in the rapid expansion of industry on the river, and the corresponding expansion of the neighbourhoods on its banks.
Kinning Park was no exception, with industries and factories of all kinds setting up shop in the area.
1862 saw the arrival of Gray Dunn & Co bakers and biscuit manufacturers, one of Kinning Park’s most fondly remembered factories.
In 1871, engineers and bridge-builders P&W MacLellan opened a large workshop on what would become MacLellan Street, taking its name from the firm.
From bridges to biscuits, industry was at the heart of this working-class neighbourhood.
In 1871, Kinning Park gained police burgh status, a peculiarly Scottish way for "populous places" to take more control over their affairs.
At only 108 acres and with 6,634 inhabitants, Kinning Park was Scotland’s smallest and most densely populated police burgh.
The Burgh of Kinning Park was endowed with a wide range of municipal powers, including its own council, provosts, elections, police force and fire brigade.
At the time Kinning Park gained police burgh status in 1871, the area was buzzing with industry and manufacturing.
The Burgh’s coat of arms, depicting a beehive topped by a globe, speaks to the area’s "small but mighty" identity – a hive of activity with connections all over the world.
The inaugural meeting of the council of the Burgh of Kinning Park took place in the Methodist Church on Great Wellington Street in November 1871.
In a rare example of working-class representation in local government at the time, five of the elected commissioners of the new Burgh of Kinning Park were working men.
One of these men was stonemason and trade union activist Andrew Boa.
Boa, who had relocated to Kinning Park after a period working in Sheffield, had a busy year in 1871.
Not only was he elected to the council of the Burgh of Kinning Park, but in the same year, he also helped launch the very successful Kinning Park Co-operative Society.
The philosophy of the Co-operative movement was that enterprise should run for the benefit of its customers (or members) and that those members should have a say in its running.
In 1890, the first Co-operative Society Women's Guild in Scotland was formed as part of the Kinning Park Co-operative Society.
By the 1920s, there would be hundreds of Women's Guilds across the country.
The Co-operative Society Women's Guilds provided a rare opportunity for working-class women to discuss politics and participate in debate.
Mary Barbour, who would go on to lead the rent strikes of 1915 and become one of the city’s first female councillors, first became politically active as a member of the Kinning Park Co-op's Women's Guild.
After resisting annexation by Glasgow in 1891, Kinning Park became absorbed into the city in 1905.
By the mid-20th century, the inhabitants of Kinning Park were suffering living conditions familiar to many working-class neighbourhoods in that period, namely overcrowded and dilapidated housing.
The problem was made worse in the 1960s when much of neighbouring Kingston’s residential property was cleared to make way for the Kingston Bridge.
The bulldozers would soon also come to Kinning Park.
In the 1970s, a large part of the neighbourhood was demolished under Glasgow Corporation’s Comprehensive Development scheme.
One building which escaped demolition was a large Edwardian sandstone building, built as an annexe to Lambhill Street Primary School.
Since the mid-1970s, the building has been run by Strathclyde Regional Council as the Kinning Park Neighbourhood Centre, offering facilities such as childcare and evening classes.
In 1996, in protest at the proposed closure of the facility, users and supporters of the centre came together and occupied the building for 55 days.
The result of this tenacity is that the Kinning Park Complex, as it is now known, is still open as a community space for Kinning Park and the surrounding neighbourhoods.
