Last Remaining Villa St George’s Rd

In the early 19th century when St George’s Rd was still a rural thoroughfare,  a number of villas were built along both sides of the road.  This is the last one remaining and gives an indication as to what was originally intended for the area,  before it became necessary to provide working-class accommodation for the  workers drawn in by the many employment opportunities.

The building has a Greek Doric colonnade supporting a cast iron balcony under the first floor windows. A cobbled path leads into the courtyard and the stables,  a reminder of the time when horse-drawn carriages rattled along the streets.

In the 1870’s it was the home of John Kay, Manager of the nearby Phoenix Foundry.  After his early death in 1878, his widow Jane Cairns continued to live in the house until her own death in 1913 at the age of 91. In later years she  employed a ladies companion, a cook and a housemaid as live-in servants,

The house was then sold to the Bogie family and it was the family home until the 1980‘s.  Richard Bogie was the son of a gardener in Fife,  arriving  in Glasgow in the 1890’s and serving his apprenticeship as a stonemason.  He set up in business with his brother, Alexander, and in 1915 the brothers had alterations carried out to the house in order to accommodate business premises as well as a family residence.

Richard died in 1920 and his brother appears to have returned to Fife, leaving Richard’s widow and daughters in sole occupancy. The last surviving daughter, Jemima, lived in the house until her death in the 1980’s, after which time  the house was  sold and divided into flats.