IN 1911 Agnes Toward and her daughter - also Agnes -moved into their new first floor tenement flat in the city centre.

By the standards of the day their new home on Buccleuch Street in Garnethill was luxurious with an indoor toilet and gas lighting.

Mrs Toward was a dressmaker who had shops on Allison Street and Sauchiehall Street while her daughter worked as a shorthand typist.

In 1907 she started work with shipping firm Miller and Richards where she remained for the next seven years.

When it was announced in 1914 that the firm was moving to London, Agnes got a job with Prentice, Service and Henderson on West George Street on the understanding she would have to give it up when the men returned from the war.

That didn't happen and she continued working until the grand old age of 73 when she finally retired.

After her mother's death at home in 1939 at the age of 81, Agnes lived alone in the red sandstone tenement flat.

However in 1965 she was suffering from dementia and was no longer able to look after herself so was admitted to hospital where she remained for the next decade.

During that time, the flat lay empty but the family lawyer followed her instruction to continue paying the rent.

Agnes eventually died in August 1975 and as there was no family to clear the property, her lawyer and his niece Anna Davidson decided to take on the job.

What they encountered was a property which offered a window to a bygone world.

Anna, who was an actress, realised the importance of the discovery and decided it should become a museum.

She contacted museums of the area to find there was no interest so bought the property herself.

The flat and its contents were left as Anna had found them and in 1982 it went into the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

It was opened to the public the following year as the Tenement House Museum and is now a worldwide draw for people of all ages.

Ana Sanchez is a senior assistant at the museum and delights in telling visitors the history of the unassuming property.

She said: "It is one of the first properties the National Trust for Scotland acquired with a focus on social history.

"When people think about the National Trust they think about grand properties like Pollok House but this museum was a middle-class property for two women and visitors love that.

"The tenement flat is like a time capsule and all the objects are preserved as Miss Toward left them.

"As well as having two shops, her mother worked from home and we have her sewing machine so you can picture her sewing under gas lamps which wouldn't have been easy.

"Sometimes they took in lodgers for extra money but when the mother passed away it wasn't acceptable for a single woman to do that.

"The Tenement House offers a uniquely detailed insight into everyday life in the first half of the 20th century in Glasgow and is typical of the type of tenement so many middle class people used to live in.

"While the city outside has changed and evolved, this building has remained with the tenement flat on the first floor hardly touched by modern influences.

"The contents of the Tenement House belong to the property. With the exception of a few items which have been introduced, the entire collection belongs to Miss Toward.

"Because of her habit of keeping everyday objects, letters, receipts and bills that most of us would throw away, the flat is full of insights into a way of life which once was common and now has largely disappeared.

"These personal items and insights are a huge part of the Tenement House. Miss Toward's letters, photographs, recipes and clothes bring to life this fascinating period in global events spanning two world wars and beyond."

The museum, which has features including a bed recess, kitchen range and coal bunker, is the only example of its kind in Scotland.

As a result, the interiors were given a B Category listing by Historic Scotland in 2015 highlighting the importance of one woman life.