Glasgow is decked in red and blonde sandstone-bricked tenement buildings, having been built in the thousands to help tackle the city’s housing crisis back in the Victorian era (and with absolutely no sound isolation, might we add). While a lot of them have now been demolished to allow space for more modern housing, plenty still remain, with dwellers having renovated their flats to accommodate modern living. However, there is still one building that remains as it was back in the day: The Tenement House offers a “time capsule” to a Victorian flat, left just as it was.
The Tenement House on Buccleuch Street is owned by the National Trust For Scotland and provides a unique glimpse into the life of early 20th-century Glasgow. The flat was inhabited by Miss Agnes Toward between 1911 and 1965, who was a shorthand typist.
As visitors walk in, they are faced with a different era, with Agnes’s personal items, furniture and even things like soap that has now turned black due to years of use. The Tenement House is a noteworthy attraction for both adults and children, as there are quizzes for guessing common household items of the era and what they were used for.
The four-room flat with its own toilet has been carefully preserved and restored, with original fixtures and fittings, as well as horsehair reclining chairs, a scrubbed kitchen range, box beds, a working doorbell, working gaslights and even household medicines. As Miss Toward made her own jams, there is still a large jam collection left in the flat.
However, the Buccleuch Street home was considered a more lavish home for the time, and even more so being inhabited by an independent woman and her mother. Agnes started working as a shorthand typist during the war due to the men being away, yet she managed to keep her job even after their return up until retirement.
Agnes’s flat has its own toilet, gas lighting and boasts plenty of space, yet other dwellings in the area were not so lucky. People living in tenement buildings normally had to share toilet and washroom facilities within the building, resulting in unsanitary conditions which led to the buildings being demolished.
So, The Tenement House is a unique museum cared for by The National Trust for Scotland, offering a journey back in time. No bookings are required to visit, so you can pop on by!