£55k grant puts Maryhill barracks in the spotlight
THE military history of a Glasgow community is in the spotlight thanks to a new project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Wyndford estate was built on the site of the Maryhill Barracks, which was once home to the Highlands Light Infantry and the Royal Highland Fusiliers, and is still referred to as the Barracks locally.
It famously held Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command Rudolf Hess during World War II after his supposed “Peace” flight to the UK in 1941, at a time when it was used as a prisoner of war camp.
Now the history of the area is to be brought to life with a £55,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The project will explore the Maryhill Barracks from the 1890s to the 1960s, preserve the stories of the people who have lived and worked in the area and look at how the military past of the barracks shaped Maryhill.
The Victorian barracks were built in 1872, but were decommissioned in the 1960s when the site was given over to social housing, and is now owned by Cube Housing Association, part of Wheatley Group.
The Barracks’ original wall and gate are still in place and remain an integral part of the area and each of Wyndford’s multi-storey blocks bear the names of recipients of the Victoria Cross, who were once based at the Barracks.
Cube Housing Association will work with digital learning firm Immersive Minds on an interactive Minecraft-inspired game that recreates the site at various points in its history.
There will also be archaeological digs, a new museum collection about the Barracks at Maryhill Burgh Halls, and a brand new play written about the military history of the area written and performed by local schoolchildren.
Peter Kelly, chair of Cube HA said: “As we mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, it is really fitting and important to gather stories and memories about the regiments and soldiers who lived and worked here – as well as explore how the Barracks shaped this part of Glasgow.”