IN THE middle of a busy south side roundabout stands a little building with a curious past.

Drivers hurrying past Pollokshaws Round Toll, or the Old Toll House, may not be aware of its history, nor even really notice it in the buzz of rush hour comings and goings.

Some records state it was built around 1800, although others claim it was constructed as early as 1750.

It collected tolls from the newly built Pollokshaws and Barrhead roads, which had been created to avoid the steep hills to the north and south of the area and to bypass the congested village centre.

But since its early days as a tollbooth, this building has also been used as a pub, a carriage hire shop and even a house.

Muir Smith, who is now 83, grew up in Pollokshaws and recalls the building always being a source of interest for locals.

He has a personal connection to the place too.

“I was a plumber before I retired and I put a bathroom suite in the toll house in 1975,” he laughs.

“It was getting done up and turned into a house so a caretaker could live in it, I believe, and I remember the job being a bit tricky.”

He smiles: “We had to get a special bath, because the building was round….”

In the early 1800s, the traffic passing by the Round Toll mainly consisted of farmers and cattle on their way to Glasgow from Ayrshire. Later, it was a regular stopping place for the Royal Sovereign stagecoach from Irvine and the Levern Trader from Barrhead.

A tollkeeper took the cash through a window, and he found a way to increase his own income by getting the building licensed as a hostel.

Business thrived, especially on the days of the annual Pollokshaws Race, held during Pollokshaws Fair.

The event took place on the last Friday of May until 1837 when it was changed to coincide with Glasgow’s Fair Fortnight.

The race was run along Barrhead Road, now Cowglen Road, from Green Knowe to near Kennishead.

But not everyone approved.

An Eastwood minister in the late 1830s or early 1840s said it was an excuse for “a gathering of idle people and promoting the sale of whisky.”

For Muir Smith, The Round Toll, like the area’s other remaining landmarks such as the Clock Tower and Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, is a fascinating reminder of its rich history.

“I loved growing up in Pollokshaws, it was a great part of the city,” he says. “No airs and graces, very down to earth.

“I went to Sir John Maxwell School, and I remember it as a happy time.”

Muir and his five brothers and three sisters were brought up by his dad, Jock, who worked in Brown and Adams dye house, and mum Rosie.

“I remember my mum taking us to the steamie, where she’d do her washing, and the baths,” he smiles.

“My dad worked in the dye house – everyone did at the time, it was a big employer for the area.”

Muir and his late wife Irene, a home help who died 18 years ago, moved to Ayrshire many years ago with their son and three daughters.

But he still travels regularly to Glasgow to catch up with old friends.

“I pass the old Toll House every day,” he smiles. “I love coming up to Glasgow – I used to live in Crookston too, in the gatehouse that was then sold to the hospital next door.

“I did my plumbing apprenticeship in 1951 and met my wife at a party – that was the best day of my life.”

He laughs: “Pollokshaws has changed a lot – no more outside toilets! But I will always have happy memories of living here.”

*Do you have happy memories of living or working in Pollokshaws? Please send your stories and pictures to ann.fotheringham@heraldandtimes.co.uk