(Excerpt 1) – “Windswept and interesting” – Restructure

My life began at a block of flats right in the middle of Glasgow, 65 Dover Street, Anderston.

Tenement flats were everywhere in the city at that time, having become the most popular type of housing since the turn of the century. Solid sandstone apartment buildings with four levels and stairs up the middle.

They had a small hallway that led to a small courtyard at the back where people did their washing. There were some tenements that were considered quite well-to-do, but the ones on my street were overcrowded and falling to bits to such an extent that they almost qualified as slums.

I started life in a tenement building almost slap bang in the middle of Glasgow. My address was 65 Dover St in Anderston.

Tenement blocks were the main housing on offer – they were everywhere at the time! Not since the 19th century had any other housing been so popular. Made of solid sandstone with four storeys and a set of stairs in the centre, they had a narrow close (entranceway) leading to the small courtyard at the back where people did their washing. Some tenements were considered a bit fancier and a better class than others. The tenements on my street were heaving with people and had fallen into such ruin that they were practically slums.

The beginning of my life was in tenement housing very close to the centre of Glasgow in Anderston. I lived at 65 Dover Street.

Since the end of the nineteenth century, tenement housing had becoming the most popular form of residence – they were ubiquitous in the city.

The apartment buildings were constructed from solid sandstone. They were four storeys high, with stairs down the middle. The small entryway led to a courtyard at the back that was also small. It was here that people did their washing. Although some tenements in Glasgow were looked upon as being pretty swanky, the tenements on our street were the pits. They were run down and overflowing with people.

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