The streets in this area of Kingston were laid out in the early 19th century. Kingston became a residential area and people wishing to move out of the busy city centre built their homes here. Later in the 19th century many industrial premises were also built here and the area took on an industrial character.
Kinning Street Engine Works
A small engine works existed on this site in the 19th century and first appears on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map. This was known as the Kinning Street or Kingston Engine Works. The Works was operated by a firm called Smith, Brothers & Co. The earliest reference to them operating from Kinning Street is in the 1857-8 Glasgow Post Office Directory. The address of the works was 32 Kinning Street, and they were advertised as ‘millwrights and agricultural machine makers, founders’. Prior to this they were based at 112 Stirling’s Road. In later Post Office Directories they are also described as ‘boiler-makers, smiths, weighing machine makers’. In 1866 the company moved to Park Street, near Paisley Road toll bar.
The engine works was one of the first industrial premises to be built in this area. We are trying to find out how the engine works operated so we can compare it to larger foundries and engine works also being investigated.
Kingston Biscuit Factory
The factory was established in the early 1880s. In the 1884-5 Glasgow Post Office Directory the factory address is listed as ‘G Herbert 58-74 Kinning Street Biscuit Manufacturers’. It is also mentioned in the 1887-8 Glasgow Post Office Directory as ‘Kingston Biscuit Factory, 58 to 74 Kinning Street’.
The factory is shown on the 1892-94 Ordnance Survey map.
The factory building was modified and expanded between 1892-94 and 1913. It is shown on the 1913OS map as a larger building and the 1913-4 Glasgow Post Office Directory has the factory address as ‘58 to 90 Kinning Street’.
The last reference to the Kingston Biscuit Factory is in the 1915-6 Glasgow Post Office Directory.
In the 1917-8 Glasgow Post Office Directory the factory is referred to as ‘Kingston Cake Bakery – special K.C.B high class biscuits and cakes, 58-90 Kinning Street’.
The last reference to the Kingston Cake Bakery occurs between 1927 and 1934, however the building is shown as a bakery on the 1952 OS map. It was demolished by 1960.
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