Sitting between the 1950s Easterhouse housing estate and a large retail park is Auchinlea Park, and it is here that you will find Provan Hall.
Although the estate on which it stands is known to have been gifted to the church in the early 12th century, it is not certain when Provan Hall was built. It is thought to have originally been built as a country mansion in the 1460s for the Baillie family, who held the title Canon of Provan.
In 1599, the hall and estate were passed to the Hamilton family through marriage, who retained ownership until 1667, during which time the property was remodelled several times, including the construction of a second building and walls to create an enclosed courtyard between them. Glasgow Town Council bought the hall and leased it to tenants, before it was sold again in 1767.
With disrepair setting in, Provan Hall was subsequently bought and sold several times until it was secured by Dr. John Buchanan, a former ship's surgeon, in 1788. It was Dr. Buchanan's effort and investment that is widely thought to have saved the building, and it stayed under his descendant's care, and then the Mather family when ownership passed through marriage, for generations.
In 1934, with no direct descendants for the property to be passed to, it was again offered for sale and a private group of subscribers along with the National Trust successfully purchased it. A full and respectful renovation was carried out, before the National Trust for Scotland took over full responsibility for the upkeep.
Following a £3 million restoration project, the property is now under the custodianship of the Provan Hall Community Management Trust who seek to ensure the future of the property through the creation of a community facility promoting heritage learning, the arts, and recreation for both the local community and visitors from further afield.
Provan Hall has been associated with several tales of ghostly goings-on. Visitors regularly report seeing a man dressed in old-fashioned clothing standing in the newer wing of the house, known as Blochairn House. It is widely believed that this is the spirit of Reston Mather, the last private owner, whose sudden death left the building without an heir and resulted in it leaving the ownership of the family.
The ghost of Reston Mather is also associated with numerous inexplicable noises coming from empty areas of the building, such as furniture being moved, particularly in the dining hall. Staff who have heard these noises reported thinking the building had been broken into, yet when they investigated, they found that no one else was there. Phantom footsteps are also frequently heard throughout the house.
The older part of the building is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a mother and her young child, who are said to have been murdered in the main bedroom. The incident reputedly happened over two hundred years ago when a soldier who was staying at the house left his wife there for protection while he went on overseas duties. It was four years later when he finally returned to find his wife had a daughter who was two years of age. Realising that the young girl could not possibly be his daughter, the soldier murdered his wife and the child in a fit of rage. Ever since, the room has always felt cold and the figure of a frightened-looking woman has been seen. Some visitors have reported feeling an oppressive feeling in the room, while others are overcome with sadness and have to leave.
The courtyard between the two buildings is not without its own strange activities, with visitors reporting feeling as though they are being followed, hearing footsteps and even, on some occasions, being tapped on the shoulder only to find when they turn around that there is no one behind them.
More recently, while rehearsing a ghost tour of the property a REM pod continuously activated in the dining room, so much so that the hall manager went to switch it off, at which point it stopped as soon as she approached, leaving a strange feeling in the atmosphere. The fire alarm was also triggered for no obvious reason after the group had conducted a session in the attic and the sound of children laughing was heard from the dining room, at which point the REM pod again activated.
A man's voice has also been heard from the first floor when there are no men in the property, and no one on the first floor. The voice is heard coming from the office, where a man wearing a bowler hat has been witnessed. The sound of someone short of breath is also heard, leading to these incidents being attributed to the spirit of Reston Mather, mentioned earlier, who passed away from respiratory problems. [Photographs courtesy of Provan Hall Community Management Trust and cannot be reused without their permission.]
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