Parazone

jeanette posted on the 11/01/2021 5:48:39 AM

Can anyone tell me where the old Parazone works (makers of bleach I think) was situated. I'm not sure if it was in Dennistoun or Carntyne. My parents met there in the 1940's but there's no-one old enough left in the family to ask.



#1 - john ramage replied on the 12/01/2021 2:35:47 PM

Hi Jeanette,

if you look up the junction of Todd Street and Carntyne Road in google maps and look at the street view there used to be a railway bridge crossing Carntyne Road at that junction, coming out from the town after passing under the bridge and continuing up Carntyne Road the Parazone Works were on your left , I think it was a firm called Patterson that ran it, hope this iOS ops use to you .
Take Care John


#2 - jeanette replied on the 13/01/2021 10:18:57 PM

Thanks for that John. I've had a look online and see that it's very near where my mother would have lived on Carntyne Rd at the time. Do you know when the works closed down and were demolished? I don't think it was there in the 1950's.


#3 - john ramage replied on the 18/01/2021 9:49:49 AM

Hi Jeanette,
I was born 1947 and lived on Carntyne Road , up the top end , but passed the Paragon regularly on the 13 bus, mind you in my day there was precious little on that side of Carntyne Road below Glencorse Street apart from the Chapel and the Paragon Work s , I think there was a wee farm in behind the Paragon, it was still there to at least the mid 50;s as far as I can recall.
Mind youI hardly recognise anywhere these days and more than that I can hardly imagine how they got all those houses built because to my memory Hogarth Park was accessible from Edinburgh Road and it stood a lot higher than Carntyne Road , unless my memory is wrong,
The Railway line that crossed Carntyne Road was a coal line I think and I think art served Beardmores at Parkhead Forge , and that is another place in my childhood I could never imagine not being there , just like the Dog Track , the Admiralty Gunnery McKellar Watts and I could go on and on ,it is like you blink and the world you knew just disappears , hope these ramblings are a wee bit of use to you.

Take Care John


#4 - jeanette replied on the 20/01/2021 7:55:00 PM

Hello again John.
I enjoyed reading your post. I don't remember as much about the place as you do. I've lived in Australia for more than 40 years. What I do remember is a piece of waste ground between Carntyne and Parkhead that I used to cross with my mother on our way to Parkhead Cross. My grandmother lived in a flat at 280 Carntyne Rd so I'm thinking (from what you've previously said) that she would be on the opposite side of the road from the Parazone. The spare piece of ground had a little shed or hut that was a cobblers. Do you remember that? I thought the people (husband and wife I think) were related to me in some way---but I could be wrong about that. I would have been younger than school age at the time and the people were very friendly and obviously knew my mother quite well. I was born in 1949 so the shed/hut would have been there in the early 50's. I too used to pass on the bus on my way to work in the 60's and it wasn't there at that time---although the piece of spare ground was still there I think. I notice you call the Parazone works the Paragon. Was that a local nickname?


#5 - john ramage replied on the 21/01/2021 12:49:12 PM

Hi Jeannette,

sorry about the Paragon miss print ,it is this damned spell predictor or whatever it is , most annoying and I was not as vigilant checking last time it is a bad day when a geriatric has to double check all this technology ,I tell you it is handy at times but nothing beats a paper and pencil.
I think I know the waste ground you are talking about , but don't remember a cobblers, I did however use that shortcut as I attended Mr Green the Dentist at Parkhead Cross.
you are right where your grandmothers Flat would be positioned ,facing out from town the odd street numbers were on the right and even numbers were on the left and in Glasgow every street numbers run from George Square outwards , a relic of the days when we had a Post Office in George Square.
I don't know if you are a reader , but if you are I heartily recommend a book called,"Pies Were For Thursdays," by Dick Lynas, books about the East end are scarce and I thoroughly enjoyed this one and what is more it starts with his Grandmother living in I think Inverleith Cres, right behind where your Grandmother stayed, the family then moved to Greenfield and since .

I lived way up near Lightburn Hospital I recognised tons of the places discussed , but better than that was the insight into the way of life and attitudes at that time , I am sure you would enjoy it.
I remember just past the shops and South Carntyne Church there was a row of police houses, strange place for them but thee you are , anyway I had a boy in my class at primary and his dad was on a years exchange from Canada, he was a Mountie and I was pally with theboy and used to walk down in the morning meet him and we walked up Glencorse Street over Edinburgh Road up Linton Street to Carntyne Primary, I don't think kids could ,or indeed would do that these days. Good to talk to you.

Take Care John


#6 - jeanette replied on the 24/01/2021 7:21:55 AM

Hello again John.
If you're not fed up with me asking you questions I have another one for you. My father used to live on Whitburn St as teenager and into his early 20's. That's where my other grandmother lived. I know my dad was part of an amateur football team because I have photos---there's one with him holding a cup. Do you know the name of any football team in the area in the 1940's and maybe the 50's too? I know the Waverley has been mentioned on some posts but I don't think it's that one. Also, do you know if the men at that time played football (probably on a Sunday) on a piece of ground between Carntyne Rd and Inverleith Cres. One of the photos I've got looks like it's at the back of my grandmother's place on Carntyne Rd. I know you're too young to have a direct memory of this but I thought maybe some past family members might have spoken of a football team in the area as you were growing up.
Thank-you for the book recommendation. I do read a lot and I'll look out for this one. It's always nice to 'see' familiar places in print and it's a good jog to the memory.


#7 - john ramage replied on the 24/01/2021 10:19:36 AM

Hi Jeanette,
I remember Whitburn street very well as that is very near my hunting ground ,therefore i probably remember a bit more of that end than the bottom end of Carntyne Road .
I don't think it would have been Dennistoun Waverly the club you are looking for , because then as now all these areas were very teritorial and folks tended to gravitate to there own wee sections , also they was a great deal of pride in your area and the clubs or teams from it .
With that in mind I think where your dad was from he was more likely to have been drawn towards Shettleston Juniors , this was a big team then as now in fact , those days Cycling Clubs and in fact the other big East End sports club I remember was Shettleston Harriers, I would put my money on it Being Shettleston Juniors.
the piece of ground you refer to , well there were football pitches everywhere in this days , some ad hoc, and some in various semi organised to fully organised, I am not too familiar with that far down Carntyne , however I would suggest there were pitches behind Inverlieth Street and the Carntyne Industrial Estate and bordering onto Sir William Arrol's Works that might be a possibility and you could curt down from there to Old Shettleston Road and Parkhead Forge, in fact their main offices were just there complete with an Army Cadet Corps this later became Parkhead Broo ,or labour exchange.
There were also pitches behind Cardowan Road , Inveresk Street bordered by Carntyne Hall Road ,Duror Street and the railway Line very close to Shettleston Juniors ground this would also be a possibility as it is not far from Whitburn Street either.
I hope this is of some use to you and I hope you find the book I absolutely loved it and thought it a great insight into East end Life during that time , so different to today and stuff on the East end is hard to come by .
There was a great wee book done by a man from Shettleston through the history society and i had to laugh at a story in it about a boy brought up in Shettleston who's parents got a new house in Greenfield Scheme , now that is just over the pitches I am talking about he would have been able to see his old home ,however he didn't like the new house because it was in the country and he was firmly a city boy, that was very typical of life then .

Take Care John


#8 - jeanette replied on the 31/01/2021 8:37:20 AM

Thanks once again John for your thoughts regarding the football team. I've googled 'Shettleston juniors' and there are several photographs available from around that time so would have expected to see either my dad or someone else I recognise if that was the one my dad was affiliated with----but not the case. I think he was part of a smaller group. I should have listened more closely when I had the chance.
Cheers, Jeanette.


#9 - john ramage replied on the 31/01/2021 4:34:14 PM

Hi Jeanette,

none of us ever pays attention when we are young and invariably live to regret it, it was just a thought with Shettleston Juniors however at the times you are talking about there were several leagues playing and football was everywhere, the book I have recommended has a chapter in it that explains how the demise of all, or many of these smaller leagues came about, as I said it is a great snapshot of life around those times. If you google the title you will see a review of the book and you can geta feel for it from that , in fact scroll to the bottom of the review and there is an audio clip of the author reading a bit of it, the wee shop he discusses there was attached to a piggerey and there was a row of what looked like farm cottages ,the shop was part of that and if I remember correctly was run by a woman called Philomena Mc Taggart, how is that for useless information.
I was just thinking another book you might enjoy,if you have not read it is," Tales From The Backgreen," by Bill Patterson it is more about the Alexandra Parade and is hillarious I can remember a lot of the incidents mentioned in it, and I am sure you would enjoy that too.

I hope some of this is of interest to you and good luck with your quest for information.
Take Care John


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