Lad o’ Pairts exhibition explores Glasgow southside history

Eastwood Leisure venue assistant Peter Wilson, from Pollok, and customer advisor Sandra Reid, from Erskine, check out the exhibition at Eastwood Park, where it is on display until Thursday, May 23, before moving to Giffnock Library.

East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure has lined up a National Trust for Scotland exhibition and event this month, exploring Glasgow southside’s local history.

The display shows the life and legacy of Glasgow south’s famous son, founding NTS member and ‘Lad o’Pairts’, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, and is exhibited in Giffnock for the month of May.

The end of the display will be marked with an accompanying talk by Lucy Donnell from the National Trust for Scotland, Pollok House, at Giffnock Library on Thursday, May 30.

Lucy said: “As part of the research carried out for the Lad o’ Pairts exhibition, accounts from people with memories of Sir John Stirling Maxwell and life on the estate were recorded.

“To complement the exhibition, I’d like to share some of the information and stories we have gathered. I hope to help paint a picture of what life was like for workers and their families living on the estate during Sir John’s lifetime.”

The exhibition is currently on display at Eastwood Park Theatre until Thursday, May 23 and will then move to Giffnock Library, where the talk by Lucy will be hosted on Thursday, May 30, from 3-4pm.

Local Studies Librarian, Amanda Robb from East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure, said: “Lad o’Pairts means a clever, successful young Scot.

“It’s a very fitting title for this exhibition, focused on the Southside’s own Sir John Stirling Maxwell, which we are delighted to welcome from the National Trust for Scotland: Pollok House. Sir John Stirling Maxwell was the last of the Maxwell family to bring about significant change to the lands that formed the Pollok Estate.

“He was a wealthy man who was well connected to local and national government and used his position to help ordinary people at a time of difficult social and economic change.

“He spoke out publicly to influence debate on a range of national issues, lent his assistance to many Scottish charitable organisations, and was a founding member of the National Trust for Scotland.”

Pollok House was once home to the Maxwell family, who lived on the site from the 13th Century.

The Maxwell family donated the house and estate to Glasgow in 1966, and today it is looked after by the National Trust for Scotland.

You can visit the free exhibition during regular venue opening hours at:

• Eastwood Park Theatre Gallery until Thursday, May 23;

• Giffnock Library: Saturday, May 25, until Saturday, June 1.

• The NTS talk is free but booking is essential. Tickets are available in person from Giffnock Library or from Eastwood Park Theatre box office on 0141 577 4956 or online at eastwood Park Theatre