User:Tam Nugent/sandbox

Woodhall, Port Glasgow

Woodhall is a housing scheme in the lower east end of Port Glasgow, Inverclyde in Scotland. It stands on land once occupied by Woodhall mansion and estate. The mansion stood where St Martin's church now stands on Mansion Avenue. Woodhall is on a north facing slope, overlooking the River Clyde and is bounded on the north by the Glasgow to Gourock railway line (the Inverclyde Line), on the south by Parkhill Avenue, on the west by Port Glasgow cemetery and on the east by what is now the Castle View housing estate which is on the site of the former Broadfield Hospital.

Built in the 1930's as the town expanded eastwards, Woodhall was a thriving community centred on Woodhall Square and the adjoining Woodhall Terrace at the foot of the hill. Mansion Avenue and Heggies Avenue climb up the steep hill to opposite ends of Parkhill Avenue, whilst Brightside, Pleasantside and Sunnyside Avenues (plus a branch of Mansion Avenue) follow the contours of the hill and are therefore reasonably flat.

Woodhall Terrace consisted of fine red sandstone tenements along the south side of the A8 Glasgow Road. Woodhall Square was a major bus terminus, with a ten minute service to Gourock at peak times and hourly through services to Glasgow and Largs. Dino's Italian Cafe stood in the square and was popular with day-trippers heading for the bus to Gourock or those going by foot to picnic at nearby Parklea on the banks of the Clyde.

There was a busy Co-op grocery shop on Brightside Avenue at the junction with Mansion Avenue. Further up the hill, Parkhill Square was also a bus terminus until the late 1960s at which time the buses started to run on up the hill to Oronsay Avenue in Park Farm and Bardrainney.

All but one of the tenements on Woodhall Terrace were demolished in 2002, along with many of the houses on "the avenues" and all of the houses on and to the east of Parkhill Square, leaving the area with a forlorn, ghost-town look today. Dino has long gone, but the building survives and is occupied by a Post Office and licenced grocer. The Co-op building on Brightside has become Riverview Resource Centre. St Martin's Church and hall are still there, behind a stockade-like fence. Further along Mansion Avenue is Tree Tops Nursery, standing alone on a street where the houses have all been demolished.

‎

• Woodhall Photo Gallery
• 
  St Martin's Parish Church
• 
  Former Dino's Cafe
• 
  Woodhall from Kelburn Park
• 
  Pleasantside from Sunnyside
• 
  Former Brightside Co-op
• 
  The last remaining tenement on Woodhall Terrace

The area is served by Woodhall railway station which has a twice hourly service to and from Glasgow Central and Gourock.