As a solution to the density of urban living, tenements are ancient. In Rome and the great cities of the ancient world, multi-occupancy in buildings of several storeys was common. In industrialising England, the term soon acquired a pejorative gloss since it meant overcrowding and slum conditions, but in Scotland tenement life could be very attractive to working people. Even though shared toilets on the stair-heid were the norm, and the drying green and entrance were communal, the neighbourliness and mutual support, especially in hard times, usually more than compensated. Densely packed communities produced their own entertainment and social and sporting clubs thrived. As did political discourse. One of the greatest products of the Paisley tenements was Willie Gallacher, a founder of the Communist Party of Great Britain who was MP for West Fife between 1935 and 1950. In the slum clearances of the 1960s and 70s tenements were demolished and replaced with tower blocks. Which in turn were demolished and replaced with – tenements. This time with their own toilets.
Panel stitched by:
Paisley Patter
Marie Connelly
Gladys Connolly
Carla Corneli
Natalie Elliott
Liz Gardiner
Christine Gilmour
Irene Harvey
Lesley King
Aga Kulet
Catherine Lappin
Morven McAlister
Margaret McBride
Paula McKeown
Margaret Muir
Anne Ross
Grant Scott
Jan Walker
Rita Winters
Michaela Wright
Stitched in:
Paisley, Elderslie, Greenock, Glasgow