The restaurant at 72 Nithsdale Road is, as of July 2018, currently undergoing another makeover, and will open as Niven’s by Cafe Source after refurbishment . It has previously operated as Cookie, The Salisbury Restaurant & Bar, and Kowloons in recent years. However it was not always a place for dining, and during its first such incarnation as Cookie, it still retained the original signage, H C Niven & Co, est 1929, Motor Engineers. The motor engineers tag, and its phone number, are still visible above the door, and it is good to see Cafe Source intend to revive the Niven name.

Cookie, with the original Niven sinage

So who was Bert Niven?

Carrick Watson, writing on PreWarCars.com , noted

This was the place to get your Vintage Bentley or Vauxhall 30-98 sorted out. It was run by Bert Niven, a real enthusiast who knew more than most about making proper cars go just that bit faster. Up till recently it was still run as a Garage by his son, the inside was just as I remember it in the 1950’s, full of interesting items and also photographs on the walls alongside bits and pieces for cars that were long gone. Alloy Conrods for a 30-98 ? – certainly !! Real pits to get under the cars with sleeper covers, (back to my own apprenticeship days…) Gasket sets for cars that were just memories, It is my understanding that his son when closing the business down offered the complete contents to Glasgow City Council for their New Motor Museum, but this was not taken up, such a pity.

Carrick Watson appears to have acquired the photos that hung on the wall of the garage, and a few are available on the PreWarCars website .

William Bennie

During the 2018 renovation and painting, another gem was uncovered. On the other side of the building, in Nithsdale Street, an even older shop sign was revealed.

William Bennie sign

William Bennie sign unveiled during renovation, July 2018

This was William Bennie & Son, Butchers. A check in the BygoneBungo database and Post Office Directories shows Bennie to have been in the premises from when it was built up to at least 1903.

William Bennie, 1877 PO Directory

William Bennie, 1877 PO Directory

The numbering in this entry is confusing. 8 Titwood Place is now 72 Nithsdale Road (the shop), and his flat further along at 19 Titwood Place is now numbered 50 Nithsdale Road. “19 Nithsdale Road” was not in common usage until much later, usually after it had been renumbered 50 in c.1894. In 1882 he had moved across the road to 2 Salisbury Crescent, and in 1895 he was at 67 Nithsdale Road, both addresses being effectively opposite his shop.

The shop was owned and used by Alexander B Robertson & Company as some sort of machine shop in 1925, and then by the Nivens from 1929.

The building itself, and the New Anand next door with its notable rotunda, was an integral part of the tenement, and built in 1876-77 by Robert Turnbull to a design by Alexander “Greek” Thomson. It was initially known as Titwood Place.

If anyone has any further information on the premises, let us know.

(This post has been edited, first published December 2016)

References

1.
Mystery Delage team photo. (Upd. Brooklands 1927) - PreWarCar [Internet]. [cited 2016 Dec 13]. Available from: https://www.prewarcar.com/where-is-this-delage-threesome-posing
1.
A Proper Bert Niven Mercedes (Upd. IX: ex-David Scott-Moncrieff) - PreWarCar [Internet]. [cited 2016 Dec 13]. Available from: https://www.prewarcar.com/a-proper-bert-niven-benz
1.
A Proper Garage - PreWarCar [Internet]. [cited 2016 Dec 13]. Available from: https://www.prewarcar.com/bert-nivens-workshop-
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CAFE Source Set To Create New Southside Cafe/Bar/Restaurant Niven’s [Internet]. reGlasgow. 2018 [cited 2018 Jul 26]. Available from: https://reglasgow.com/cafe-source-set-to-create-new-southside-cafe-bar-restaurant-nivens/