Cowcaddens

Cowcaddens (Scots: Coocaddens, Scottish Gaelic: Coille Challtainn) is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is virtually in the city centre and is bordered by the areas of Garnethill to the south and Townhead to the east.

Cowcaddens was originally a village but was incorporated in the boundaries of the City of Glasgow in 1846. By the 1880s the area had become a slum district with the highest level of infant mortality (190 per thousand births) in the city, a figure which was three times that of the West End.

The southern fringes of Cowcaddens have historically housed one of Glasgow's premier entertainment districts, with the Theatre Royal at the upper end of Hope Street, the massive Cineworld multi-storey cinema complex and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall taking place at the top of West Nile Street. From 1957 to 2003, the headquarters of STV were located there - having since relocated to Pacific Quay. Two former theatres, the Royalty Theatre and the Glasgow Apollo (now occupied by the Cineworld complex) used to stand in the area.

The former Cowcaddens Free Church now houses the National Piping Centre.

Housing in the area is primarily ex-council housing (there are no council houses in Glasgow since their transfer to the Glasgow Housing Association).

Glasgow Caledonian University is nearby. Cowcaddens is served by Cowcaddens subway station on the Glasgow Subway system.

The socialist politician Edward Hunter, who was instrumental in helping build the left in New Zealand, was a Labour councillor for Cowcaddens from 1937 until 1959.

In 2007 the Cowcaddens pedestrian underpass was decorated with 15 screen prints by artist Ruth Barker.