The City of Glasgow’s name comes from the Gaelic Glasgu, meaning dear green place – the dear green place in question was a beautiful wooded valley beside the Molendinar Burn where St. Mungo (also known as Kentigern) founded a church in the 6th Century.
The Molendinar Burn kept it’s importance in Glasgow’s history for a long time – the later cathedral was built approximately on the site of St. Mungo’s church, and a bridge (the Bridge of Sighs) was built over the burn to the Necropolis. The burn also marked the eastern border of the city, and later was used to power the first of the mills that sprung up in the city.
The city outgrew the burn, though, and in the 1870s it was culverted over and almost forgotten – Wishart Street now runs along it’s path next to the cathedral. It’s exposed at one small section next to the old Great Eastern Hotel, so I went for a look.
The exposed section:
The burn runs under Duke Street, and takes a sharp turn to the right:
It starts off stone-lined:
Turns to oval brick:
Then very low concrete:
Then steel pipe, which takes a sharp turn then carries on straight for a while:
Before turning into a lovely 7′ high brick tunnel:
This carries on for quite a while, past a blocked-off side flue:
Looking up at a manhole on Wishart Street (I think) – note the slates used as a platform:
And a more modern access shaft – I’m not sure why there are two ladders:
Then, stalactite city:
In places, it looked like a natural cave:
With only a little brick showing through:
And old pipes slowly filling up:
I met some of the locals:
It turned back into steel pipe:
Then what looks like an open channel that’s been concreted over:
A few more stalactites:
And a very low chamber with two inlets – I didn’t feel like crawling any further:
Returning to the start, I went downstream a bit:
Into the next tunnel:
And carried on for about 10 minutes before turning back – downstream is a mission for another day.
I’m not sure how far I got – it certainly felt quite far, I think I got all the way along Wishart Street to Alexandra Parade. Looking at some old maps, the burn split in two about there, which would make sense with what I saw.
Wonderful, thank you very much
Edwin Moore, once of Collins? How are you young man. Still getting the extra gigs – up till the world stopped? I have a copy of your interesting book on Scotland, for which many thanks. Paul
Wow that’s amazing , well done you
Oone side of this burn, as far as I know, ran out from Cardowan colliery and alongside the railway which currently has its first stop after Stepps as Springburn. Growing up in Cardowan our local big stops were Duke St, Parkhead, Alexandra Parade, St. Mungos in Glasgow and the toon. Which may fit in with the natural route of the burn, not to mention the natural animosity wae the Craigend gangs where I believe the burn also ran. Happy days, apart from the rats maybe, although the wee dug was fair happy wi them.
Thats amazing.
I think when you live in a place you become lazy about discovering your past .
These pics are great .
Im defo gna take a wee trip down their myself.
Really enjoyed your walk and pictures, I thought it ended up going under Turnbull street and under Glasgow Green then into the clyde?
Thank you for taking and posting these amazing photos. I’ve had a fascination for this wee burn the past decade or so.
Wonderful. I remember being taught about st mungo and the molendinar burn at school. Your photos would.Have made it so real. Thanks
We were the same at holyrood sec in first year history.
Superb – had done some research in the past and went to school next to open part of the burn in Duke St. Very clear and interesting pictures, dont think I would ever have been so brave to go so far in the tunnel, one last point – pleasantly surprised at how clean it appeared to be.
Was looking up the Molendinar just for some information on a project of my own. (Wanted to know more about Spoutmouth and the ‘four cisterns of fine sweet water’ that M’Ure wrote about in the 1700s and tried to find out a bit more about the burn while I was doing it.) Came across these spectacular and evocative pictures. They are wonderful – thank-you! Love your site.
I dont know if I’m correct but I understood that Tennents brewery used the water at some point from the Molendiner ? I was born in Duke street so find the subject fascinating
the lady well on the side of cemetery nearest the brewery theystopped the usage of the water from the well once they reliased that the cemetery was acting as a filter for the water.
another 2 parts can be seen up at hogganfield loch
Did some work for Scottish Water on the Molendinar Burn in about 2002. Youve probably got better information here than we had then.
A fascinating read and photos. Thank you so much.
Love the history behind the pictures . Amazing !!!!
Brilliant bit of history…. thank you.
Wonderful pics thanks for sharing!
Love reading about this stuff I’m a New Zealander with Scots heritage from my grgr grandparents who came out to NZ
Did the burn flow in the open at the side of Galloways general store between Edinburgh Rd. And Cartyne Rd.
That’s what I was saying that it came under the old canal then under cranhill park
That’s the Lightburn, which joins the Camlachie burn. The Camlachie joins the Molly around the Green.
Re : Jack’s comment – There was a burn at the store, Haddows it was when I was young, but I dont think it was the Molendinar, more likely the Lightburn given the name of the area. Still visible on Google maps.
Can you tell me if the burn runs under zena crescent barmulloch my house since. Think it does
If you go on to the national library of Scotland naps website, you can do a layover of old and modern maps and that will tell you loads about your local area.
I actually thought it ran under the old monkland canal now the m.8.and underneath cranhill and cranhill park as you can still see a wee bit of it next to the undertaker on the Edinburgh rd
Thank you I never knew that and would never have seen it in my lifetime
Never knew about this but there must be so many burns in & around Scotland for all to see
Thank you for exploration and photos
I have an old print of a rural section of theMolendinar burn from way back It is a memento from my youth in Glasgow at the Old Royal Infirmary and Duke St Hospital No idea where I got it from, but treasured in my now home in far NSW
Will endeavour to photograph it and put it up
Signature looks like Jas Faulds.
Described as A bit of the Molendinar Burn’
The Cathedral is in the far background with some y’all trees and some ancient dwellingswith a smokeychimney
Any info on this gratefully teceived
Attributed also to a sketch taken about 1883 by mr RL Sutherland
Great to see this. There’s just something about the Molendinar, isn’t there? Thanks for doing this safari along it.
I went to St Mungos school in Duke Street around 1970, I remember we accessed the burn one day with torches , can remember how far we went though. Great photos.
Very interesting would love to go and find out more and where it all ends up.
Fantastic pics. I love seeing anything about our Dear Green Place. Keep up your brilliant and interesting escapades!! Take care.
Always had a fascination with the history of glasgow. Grew up in dennistoun so was aware of the exposed part at the great eastern hotel. The pictures are amazing. Would love to see more especially if you decide to venture further.
https://maps.nls.uk/towns/glasgow.html
Had a look at some old maps of glasgow to see where exactly the burn flows after Frankfield and hogganfield lochs. Hope others may find this useful???
Whilst working in WD&HO Wills Factory on Alexandra Parade the Burn fan under the Basement
Some times water would come up and occasionally
There would be a stinky smell
Thanks for this and all your research. I’m a Renfrew girl who went to school in Paisley. A treat was tram to Govan Cross and subway to town.
Fab photos. I work at Strathclyde University and an academic at my work once told me how Glasgow is built over a network of underground waterways, so much so that when the building occupied by Debenhams (if my memory serves me correctly or was it TJ Hughes?) was getting built the work got halted as a body was found in the ground
. After examination it turned out it was a poor soul from the Ramshorn Cemetery that had been washed downstream to argyle street out of their grave
Was brought up in Duke St Dennistoun and was always interested in the canal.
Used to go to the open part near Alexandra Parade where I went to primary school and always wanted to clear the rubbish out of it but was too small to do it!
Amazing history!!!!
The Molly doesn’t run through Barmulloch. It’s over in Provanmill, at the school, where it’s actually exposed, for the last time until that wee bit at Duke st. It exits huggy, and runs along the graveyard. After Provanmill it runs roughly same path as M80 but underground , then through Ally park. There’s a plaque on Alexandra park at to mark it’s course. Through the Milnbank area of Dennistoun to Wishart street.
Fantastic pictures, I would love to travel along these tunnels . So much history and love the fact you don’t know what or where is above you! Also the fact that travelling along wishart street a lot of people don’t know what’s beneath them.
The molindiner burn runs through blackhill and provanmill,it runs through molindiner park ,well worth looking into it had a waterfall that run into the burn.
Absolutely amazing. Thanks
Absolutely fantastic
I salute your courage in unfolding this tunnel. How beautify Engineering has hold this tight.
Ohhh would be great to explore these tunnels..
Thanks for sharing. I’d never heard of the burn until I started work at Seven Lochs Wetland Park. Love a bit of tunnel exploration.
Interesting and fascinating that beneath the city exists history from the past in many forms . Where does the burn enter the Clyde?
Would love find source of Tollcross park burn to where it starts and ends
I lived in Ballindalloch Drive and at the back of our home was a spare stretch of ground that backed up to the Monkland canal , now M8 in between was a stretch of burn that went from the end of Roebank st and flowed parallel with the canal, we used to catch tadpoles in it and get stuck with leeches, this was part of the Molindinar burn I’m talking rhe 1950’s
Glasghu is actually Brythonic (Old Welsh) as are most places in Southern Scotland before the arrival of Anglians and Scots.
It’s a school day every day, thanks for sharing.