On the corner of the building was a pub called the Toll Bar,,and above it lived old Nellie Lees who owned the building. Above her lived my family, my father John Dougall, my mum Chrissie (Guy), my brother Adam, sister Christine, me Jean, and younger brother Robert. We lived in a two room and kitchen the same as old Nellie which was great as all the other tenements were either single ends or room and kitchens.
The only down side of living above the owner of the building was that we children had to make sure we did not make a lot of noise or woe betide us if Nellie started banging on the ceiling. Just to keep in with old Nellie (who wore a Grannies Much Dust Cap) I used to empty her pail of ashes for her round the back at the middens which were a great playground for us kids. There was only one toilet on each landing in the closes which was shared by at least 4 families.
Round the back there were 3 wash houses, one for each close and rows of coal cellars. I remember the wash houses with the big stone boilers, which had to have a fire lit under them to heat the water to do the washing.
We were quite self-contained as the wee shop sold everything we needed and I am sure the pub kept the men happy. I well remember getting up early on a Saturday morning and going down to the close to collect any empty beer bottles that had been left in the close by the drunks the night before. I would take them into the Off License when it opened to get the money back on them.
As kids we had great fun playing round the back green and as there were so many of us we were never short of a pal or two. The attached photo shows a crowd of us about l949/50 .We played great games of kick the can, Bedlam, Hide and seek, Giant steps and Baby Steps and Aunts and Uncles. (My sister Christine and I often won that game as our mum was one of 13 children and our dad one of 5, so we had lots of aunts and uncles)
Our Dad, Jock Dougall was a bit of a football player and played for Cambuslang Rangers at some time and our Uncle Adam Dougall was Scottish Single-Handed bowling champion twice in the 40’s. (He played bowls at Kirkhill Bowls Club).
My mother’s father had a bake house and Bakers shop in Park Street. He and my granny lived in a lovely little bungalow, which they had built on the corner of Croft Road and Johnson Drive.
Most of the children from Lees’s building including us Dougalls went to Gateside School or to St. Brides. Those of us still at primary at Gateside had to change to Busheyhill when the primary closed in l956. I left Lee’s building in l957 after the death of both of my parents and went to Cairns School in Halfway. After that I went to Rutherglen Academy.
On leaving school in l963 I worked in the office of Campbell the Factor at the corner of Main Street and Greenlees Road. We used to factor all the tenement properties in Cambuslang and also all the Stewart and Lloyds properties at Newton and Hallside. After leaving there I worked for Lanarkshire County Council Public Health Dept and I used to come to the Clinic on Johnson Drive to weigh the babies and sell the National Dried Milk and Orange Juice.
Most of the Guy and Dougall families have moved away from Cambuslang now but I do know that my sister Christine and I visit it when we can and it hold many happy memories for us. I would love to hear from anyone who remembers us from Lees’s Building.
My e-mail address is
