the whitehouse
The oldest building in Maryhill, now in the care of Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust.
Photo by Alasdair Watson
The Whitehouse, at 1641 Maryhill Road, is the oldest building in Maryhill and it's now part of the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust family. Like the Halls, it's a space that's genuinely welcoming to everyone. But it has its own character: smaller, cosier, and a bit more informal. A different kind of home for the same spirit of community.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
If you want to get involved, use the space or for more information, please email
Some History…
This building has stood at Lock 21 of the Forth and Clyde Canal since around 1790, making it the oldest building still standing in Maryhill. It was one of the very first things built here, put up to serve the boatmen and dock workers passing through the lock, and for most of its history, it operated as a pub or inn.
It's also tied to how Maryhill got its name. The land it stands on belonged to Mary Hill of Gairbraid, and when the canal company began buying up plots nearby, the deeds carried a clause that changed everything: the new settlement would be ‘in all times called the town of Maryhill.’ Mary's name was fixed, by law, to the place growing up around this building.
Back when it was built, the canal was the busy route and Maryhill Road little more than a track, so the building's front door and steps faced the water, not the road. Only later, as the canal quietened and the road grew busier, did it effectively turn around: what was once the back became the front. Next time you walk in, you're walking through what used to be the quiet side.
Photos by Alasdair Watson