Hansard

Voltaire famously said,

“We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”,

and we can see why when we look at the extraordinary historic environment from the Athens of the north—that is Edinburgh—to the wilds of the Highlands. There is not a corner of this country that is not teeming with history.

My Glasgow Cathcart constituency has a rich historic legacy. Much of it is connected to Mary Queen of Scots and it includes a long connection with the Stuart dynasty of Castlemilk. The battle of Langside marks the last act of Mary Queen of Scots on Scottish soil. As we know, the battle between Mary and the Earl of Moray, the ruler of Scotland until his nephew James VI was old enough to take the throne, was the last act of Mary before she sought refuge in England with her cousin Elizabeth I—and we all know how that worked out.

The political, social and religious turmoil that ensued while Mary was in prison still has ramifications in Scottish society today. With Elizabeth I bearing no children, James VI of Scotland became James I of England, uniting the crown in 1603. Had the battle of Langside gone differently for Mary and her army, it is not an overstatement to say that huge swathes of Scottish history would have been different.

The battle of Langside is well recognised in the area, and as well as Langside this part of Glasgow contains the communities of Battlefield and Queen’s Park and streets such as Queen Mary Avenue, Moray Place and Regent Park Square, all of which commemorate the big players in the battle. The Langside monument stands proudly in the area, the lion atop it looking in the direction from which Mary’s troops advanced. A local organisation in Battlefield, at Valeview Terrace and the Valeview lane, has put its own plaque on the railings. It is now quite a feature and a good number of people stop to look at where Mary is meant to have stood before the battle. It is nice to see local people getting involved.

I was delighted to lend my support to a local campaign to have the Langside battlefield included in Historic Scotland’s inventory of historic battlefields—a campaign that I am delighted to say was successful. The inventory is just one example of the work that is being done to ensure that Scotland’s rich historic heritage is documented and maintained for future generations. It is extremely important that we continue to invest so that locals and visitors alike continue to learn about the role that the area played in Scottish history.

There is not a corner of this great land that does not have a story to tell such as we have heard from many members, and we must do all that we can do to document and teach about those stories, making them and the places where they happened as accessible as possible. That is what the strategy will do.

It says in the strategy:

“Our vision for Scotland’s historic environment is that it is understood and valued, cared for and protected, enjoyed and enhanced. It is at the heart of a flourishing and sustainable Scotland and will be passed on with pride to benefit future generations.”

There are examples of the strategy being put into practice throughout the country, such as the regeneration of the Castlemilk stables. The night before the battle of Langside, Mary Queen of Scots stayed with her family, the Stuarts, at the castle in Castlemilk. That beautiful house was a feature of the south side for centuries. It is unfortunate that in 1939 it passed to Glasgow Corporation, which demolished it in 1969 to make way for new houses. I was pleased to hear about the group that involves local authorities and COSLA. I hope that the group will also involve local housing associations, which have a role to play in ensuring that historic monuments become part of the community.

All that remained of the castle were the stables, which fell into disrepair and were set alight by vandals in 1994. Thereafter, in essence, Glasgow City Council wiped its hands of the building and it fell to the local community to refurbish and regenerate it. The work was completed in 2007 and the stables are now the focal point of the Cassiltoun Trust. The highlight is a magnificent fireplace, which was found among the rubble. The fireplace shows what the castle must have been like and is a real party piece for visitors.

The refurbishment of the stables acted as a catalyst for economic and environmental regeneration for the area, which has brought new services, training, employment and recreation opportunities for the community. The trust has won more than 10 regeneration awards since 2007, which shows that close work with others to regenerate communities and properly utilise historic artefacts can be achieved and can be far more beneficial to communities than the unfortunate acts of cultural vandalism of many local authorities over the decades.

Cassiltoun Trust’s work can serve as a blueprint for how local buildings can best be utilised by the community in a way that ensures that our historic heritage remains strong. The approach is perfectly encapsulated in the strategy; we just need to ensure that implementation is not ad hoc.

Of course, the creation of our heritage is on-going. The buildings and environment of today will be the historic heritage of tomorrow. We need to ensure that we leave a heritage of which we can be proud, by ensuring that when planning permission is sought the area’s heritage and future plans are in sync and that appropriate care and consideration are given to the historic environment, to ensure that future generations can enjoy it.

I am passionate about Cathcart’s local history and about the heritage of the city of Glasgow, particularly the south side—that is why I was so disappointed to hear the cabinet secretary say that she is giving money to Kelvin; so much good work could have been done on the south side. Members should not tell Sandra White that I said that.

I am working closely with local representatives and organisations from the south side to see whether we can put together a plan for an extension of tourist trips to that part of the city, so that the tourists who contribute so hugely to Scotland’s economy can have easy access to the many attractions in the south side—in my constituency alone we have Holmwood house, the Burrell collection, Hampden Park and Pollok house, to name but a few, and there are countless other attractions throughout the south side, in Govan, Pollok and elsewhere.

I look forward to working closely with all sectors to help to enhance and promote everything that the south side of Glasgow’s extraordinary historic heritage has to offer. The motion will help us to do that.

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