in Places & People

Glasgow Slums: 50+ Harrowing Pictures Documenting Everyday Life Of Poor Families From 1970s

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These historical photographs show families living in slum areas of Glasgow without basic facilities like power and water. Some families lived in one room without a room surrounded by vermin. These photographs were displayed in a free open-air exhibition in Edinburg after a restriction on displaying them was lifted. Demolished buildings, litter doorways, children playing in the trash; these photographs depict poverty that is hard to comprehend in modern Scotland. Nick Hedges captured these photographs when a housing charity shelter hired him to travel around England and Scotland to document the lives of families living in a slum.

#4 Family living in an overcrowded tenement flat Glasgow 1971

Family living in an overcrowded tenement flat Glasgow 1971

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#5 Child on a tenement staircase, Glasgow 1971

Child on a tenement staircase, Glasgow 1971

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#6 Child in damp semi derelict tenement flat Glasgow 1970

Child in damp semi derelict tenement flat Glasgow 1970

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#7 Glasgow, 1970 Sisters sharing a chair in a Gorbals slum tenement

Glasgow, 1970 Sisters sharing a chair in a Gorbals slum tenement

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#8 Two children play with their doll as they pose for the camera

Two children play with their doll as they pose for the camera

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#9 Two boys walking along a street in the run-down Gorbals

Two boys walking along a street in the run-down Gorbals

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#10 One of the main nightspots in the Gorbals was the Diamond Dancing Hall

One of the main nightspots in the Gorbals was the Diamond Dancing Hall

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#11 A West Indian family pack into their tiny dining room in the Gorbals

A West Indian family pack into their tiny dining room in the Gorbals

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#12 Barmen serve thirsty customers at one of the 174 pubs surrounding the Gorbals area

Barmen serve thirsty customers at one of the 174 pubs surrounding the Gorbals area

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#13 At the kitchen sink in a tenement flat Glasgow 1970

At the kitchen sink in a tenement flat Glasgow 1970

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#14 Mother living with her children in an overcrowded single end tenement flat Glasgow 1971

Mother living with her children in an overcrowded single end tenement flat Glasgow 1971

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#15 Mother and sleeping child, single end tenement flat, Glasgow Maryhill 1971

Mother and sleeping child, single end tenement flat, Glasgow Maryhill 1971

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#16 Baby sleeping by the drains in a tenement courtyard Glasgow Maryhill 1971

Baby sleeping by the drains in a tenement courtyard Glasgow Maryhill 1971

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#18 Mother and child living in a damp and semi derelict tenement, Glasgow 1971

Mother and child living in a damp and semi derelict tenement, Glasgow 1971

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#19 Child waiting for his parents to come home Glasgow tenement 1971

Child waiting for his parents to come home Glasgow tenement 1971

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#20 Child crosses a Glasgow tenement courtyard 197

Child crosses a Glasgow tenement courtyard 197

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#21 Unemployed colliery worker, Glasgow tenement 1971

Unemployed colliery worker, Glasgow tenement 1971

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#23 Children playing in a Glasgow tenement courtyard 1971

Children playing in a Glasgow tenement courtyard 1971

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#25 Child eat their breakfast in one of the overcrowded tenement flats, that would sometimes see up to 30 people have to share one toilet

Child eat their breakfast in one of the overcrowded tenement flats, that would sometimes see up to 30 people have to share one toilet

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#26 Without many toys to play with, two young lads decide to play a game on a heap of rubbish

Without many toys to play with, two young lads decide to play a game on a heap of rubbish

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#27 Children entertain themselves by playing in dirty puddle water in the slums

Children entertain themselves by playing in dirty puddle water in the slums

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#28 Two little boys in shorts and long socks play in the street

Two little boys in shorts and long socks play in the street

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#29 A woman carrying her shopping basket stands at the bottom of a destroyed flight of stairs

A woman carrying her shopping basket stands at the bottom of a destroyed flight of stairs

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#30 Two young boys link arms as they walk down the street in the Gorbals

Two young boys link arms as they walk down the street in the Gorbals

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#31 A group of young children on a street in the Gorbals.

A group of young children on a street in the Gorbals.

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#33 A Glaswegian woman peers out of the window as she pets her cat

A Glaswegian woman peers out of the window as she pets her cat

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#34 Without proper balls, children had to use whatever they could to enjoy a game of football

Without proper balls, children had to use whatever they could to enjoy a game of football

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#35 Youngsters play with toy guns around the streets of the huge neighbourhood of tenements

Youngsters play with toy guns around the streets of the huge neighbourhood of tenements

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#37 A young boy sits on a stone and attempts to blow up his balloon in the Gorbals

A young boy sits on a stone and attempts to blow up his balloon in the Gorbals

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#38 Two young boys walk their dogs around the streets of the Gorbals

Two young boys walk their dogs around the streets of the Gorbals

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#39 The children of the Gorbals pack together to pose for the camera

The children of the Gorbals pack together to pose for the camera

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#40 Barmen work hard to serve all their customers at one of the 174 pubs near the Gorbals

Barmen work hard to serve all their customers at one of the 174 pubs near the Gorbals

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#41 View from kitchen window of Maryhill tenements, 1970

View from kitchen window of Maryhill tenements, 1970

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#43 Teenage girls waiting in backyard of tenement block Maryhill 1971

Teenage girls waiting in backyard of tenement block Maryhill 1971

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#45 Glasgow, 1970 A mother takes her baby inside her condemned tenement block in the Gorbals

Glasgow, 1970 A mother takes her baby inside her condemned tenement block in the Gorbals

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#46 Men from the Gorbals meet in the local pub for a friendly smoke

Men from the Gorbals meet in the local pub for a friendly smoke

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#48 Mother and her baby on the staircase of her condemned Gorbals tenement 1970

Mother and her baby on the staircase of her condemned Gorbals tenement 1970

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#49 Married couple in their tenement flat Maryhill 1971

Married couple in their tenement flat Maryhill 1971

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#50 Father and children Gorbals tenement 1970

Father and children Gorbals tenement 1970

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#53 Mother takes her baby inside her condemned tenement block Gorbals 1970

Mother takes her baby inside her condemned tenement block Gorbals 1970

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#54 Children playing in a Gorbals tenement courtyard 1970

Children playing in a Gorbals tenement courtyard 1970

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#55 Boys delivering newspapers Maryhill tenement back 1971

Boys delivering newspapers Maryhill tenement back 1971

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#56 Teenage girls waiting in backyard of tenement block Maryhill 1971

Teenage girls waiting in backyard of tenement block Maryhill 1971

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#57 Mother and baby in Gorbals tenement courtyard 1970

Mother and baby in Gorbals tenement courtyard 1970

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#60 Boy negotiating flooded entry in tenement block Maryhill 1971

Boy negotiating flooded entry in tenement block Maryhill 1971

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#61 Children playing in an abandoned tenement Maryhill 1971

Children playing in an abandoned tenement Maryhill 1971

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8 Comments

  1. I can’t help but feel like pictures like these really do put the present day state of the city into perspective. However much we might complain about the current epidemic of littering and fly-tipping (and rightfully so), it’s nothing compared to the squalor of 50 years ago.

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    • Some of the things my Grandad tells me about growing up in Glasgow in the 50s are even wilder. They were up in Dennistoun and my if my Grandma had to go somewhere that involved going down certain specific streets, my Grandad would escort her there and back with a hand in his pocket on a knuckleduster he’d made himself.

      Eventually they moved out to Fife because the air quality in Glasgow was so bad for my Grandma’s asthma that a doctor told her she’d be dead inside five years if they stayed.

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    • So, obviously this wouldn’t account for everything but my back court is unusual (not important) and a while back I said to one of my neighbours who’s lived here forever that i really like it . She said that the council was giving out grants to do them up in the 80s and our street got one so totally redesigned it. I wonder how many of those grants got given out (and so plants got planted)

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