Provan Hall (also known over time as Provanhall, Hall of Provan and Hall Mailings) is a historic place composed of two buildings built about the 15th century and situated in Auchinlea Park,

Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the Glasgow city centre, city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the Ri ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. It is owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

and leased by

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

.Provan Hall Heritage Trail
from

official siteProvanhall Heritage Group website
/ref> The two parallel buildings, enclosing a courtyard, are protected as a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The building has recently been renovated and now operates as a small museum. It is managed by Provan Hall Community Management Trust. It has been used as a set for filming ‘Outlander’.

Location

Provan Hall is located in the Auchinlea Park adjacent to the

Glasgow Fort Glasgow Fort is a large Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping and leisure park in Glasgow, Scotland, just off Junction 10 of the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway which runs to the south, surrounded by the re ...

retail centre.Auchinlea Park
from

official site

Naming

The name "Hall of Provan" was used in early records. Today, the use of the name "Provan Hall" is used to refer to the buildings collectively.

Residents

After the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

, Provan Hall became a residence of the lawyer and President of Session, William Baillie (died 1593) and his wife Elizabeth Durham. In 1566 he was collector of the

teind In Scotland a teind () was a tithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy. It is also an old lowland term for a tribute due to be paid by the fairies to the devil every seven years. Found in the story of Tam Lin as ...

s or tithes known as the "Thirds of Benefices" for the parsonage of Glasgow. As a judge, he was known as Lord Provand. He was called the "Prebend of Barlanerk ''alias'' Provan", and in November 1592

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

confirmed his ownership of the mill and meadow of Provan. His daughter the heiress of Provan, Elizabeth Baillie (died 1609), married Robert Hamilton (died 1642), a son of Andrew Hamilton of Goslington and Silvertonhill. They gave the house and lands to their eldest son, Francis Hamilton, on 31 October 1599. James VI confirmed Elizabeth Baillie's gift of Provan to her son on 15 November 1600. Francis Hamilton of Silvertonhill (died 1645) married Agnes Hamilton, a daughter of the Laird of

Innerwick Innerwick () is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh. Name The name Innerwick is of Anglo-saxon origin and means inland farm or dwelling place. It was ...

and a niece of the lawyer Thomas Hamilton. He was known as poet and published verses in praise of the late

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

in 1626, dedicated to the Marquess of Hamilton and the

Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally titled Lord High Chancellor, was an Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. The Lord Chancellor was the principal Great Officer of State, the presiding officer of the Parliament of Scotland, the K ...

, George Hay of Kinnoull. In later life, Francis Hamilton claimed he had been the victim of witchcraft practiced against him before his marriage by Isabel Boyd, Lady Blair, a daughter of

Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd (''c''. 1547–1611) was a Scottish noble and politician. Biography Thomas Boyd, with his father, Robert Boyd, 5th Lord Boyd, fought at the battle of Langside on 13 May 1568, for Mary, Queen of Scots. He inherited the ...

. She had been contracted to marry him in 1607, and Francis Hamilton may have come to blame his misfortunes in life on her. He sold the lands to his brother Edward Hamilton and ownership of Provan descended in the Hamilton of Silvertonhill family. Above the arched entrance to the courtyard, a carved stone includes the initials "R.H" for Robert Hamilton, and the date 1647. In 1667, Robert Hamilton sold the property to

. The council created the office of "

Bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

of Provan" to manage the estate. In 1729 the burgh council sold the house and remaining lands to Robert Lang. Although all the lands were sold by 1767, the council appointment of a Bailie of Provan continued. In the 1950s,

Harold Bride Harold Sydney Bride (11 January 1890 – 29 April 1956) was a British merchant seaman and the junior wireless operator on the ocean liner during her ill-fated maiden voyage. After the ''Titanic'' struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm 14 April 1912, B ...

, who was the junior

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

operator on the 's ill fated maiden voyage, lived in the hall as it's caretaker on the behalf of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, maintaining and giving tours of the building.

Textiles and Elizabeth Durham, Lady Provan

The will of Elizabeth Durham, Lady Provan (or Lady Provand), who died at Provan Hall on 11 December 1585 gives some details of the farmstock at Provan and her textile craftwork. She was also a fashion leader, in November 1578

Margaret Kennedy, Countess of Cassilis Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Old Iranian. It has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages. It became le ...

wrote to her daughter Katherine Kennedy, Lady Barnbarroch, about having a cloak made from the same sort of black fabric as one of Lady Provan's skirts. Elizabeth Durham was probably a relation of the courtier Sandy Durham of Duntarvie and the main branch of her family lived at the Grange of

Monifieth Monifieth () is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast. In , the population of Monifieth was estimated at , making it the fifth largest town ...

. Elizabeth Durham's will includes money owed for buying linen and harding (a coarser linen fabric) from two men from Provan, William Watson and John MacNair. They were workers on the estate and administrators known as the Officers of Provan. It is likely that the linen cloth was made from local flax spun by women on the Provan estate and woven in Glasgow by professional weavers. Elizabeth Durham had an account with an Edinburgh textile merchant Mungo Russell (died 1591), who sold a wide variety of textiles and thread, mostly imported from Flanders. Russell had sold cloth to

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. Elizabeth Durham owed £11 Scots to another merchant in Edinburgh for "ribbons, silk and small gear" for her own textile work. She also had an account with a merchant in Stirling, John Willesone (died 1593), owing him £11. Willesone sold velvets and silk fabrics for women's clothes, and also pepper and ginger, oak galls and alum for dying, soap, sugar, and confections in boxes. Elizabeth had borrowed money by pledging her gold chains. One lender was Jonet Gilbert, a daughter of the goldsmith

Michael Gilbert Michael Francis Gilbert (17 July 1912 – 8 February 2006) was an English solicitor and author of crime fiction. Early life and education Gilbert was born on 17 July 1912 in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England, to Bernard Samuel Gilbert, a writ ...

and wife of the

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Nicol Uddert. Elizabeth Durham left 13 shillings to the old nurse, Isobel Adamson, who had looked after her children. In her last illness, Elizabeth Durham was looked after by Marion Bartilmo, a servant who had worked for the family for at least 13 years, but had not yet received her wages and hiring bounty payment.

In Recent Times

Provan Hall is currently managed by the charity Provan Hall Community Management Trust. Provan Hall reopened to the public in September 2023, after extensive renovations. Visitors are welcome. Unusually, for a visitor attraction, Provan Hall is also a community hub. Free and low-cost clubs and events are frequently held.

Gallery

References

External links

Provan Hall Community Management Trust
{{Parks and gardens in Glasgow Houses completed in the 15th century Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Country houses in Glasgow National Trust for Scotland properties 15th-century establishments in Scotland