G and J Weir was formed in 1871 by the brothers, George and James. Insightful in commerce and exceptionally talented in marine engineering, the two brothers were quick to exploit the rapidly transforming face of British shipbuilding in the 1870s. The clock was ticking down on the lifespan of traditional sailing ships whose masts for centuries had supported the billowing sails that transported cargoes to and from the United Kingdom. The age of steam had arrived and savvy businessmen were keen to exploit the opportunities afforded by the transition to ships powered by boilers and steam. Few were more savvy than the Weir brothers. A series of successful patents and technological breakthroughs in pumps, condensing equipment and marine auxiliaries had seen the Weir business grow rapidly in the 1870s and early 1880s. By 1886 the brothers needed much more capacity and had acquired land next to the River Cart in what was still then the village of Cathcart - a popular weekend retreat for wealthy Glasgow merchants seeking relief from the bustle and grime of central Glasgow.

The site acquired at 149 Newlands Road would become known as the Holm Foundry. The business grew rapidly in the next decade as its reputation grew for innovative products with excellent design and reliability. The business would become the limited company of G & J Weir Ltd in 1895. The younger brother, James, was the dominant force in the partnership and George would eventually exit the business in 1895, selling his share in the business to James who would introduce his own son, William, to assist with the challenges of the rapidly expanding business. William's impact on the business was dramatic and he added outstanding commercial and organisational flair to his father's engineering talents.

By 1902 William would himself assume the role of Managing Director of the company and in the years leading up to the start of the First World War, would lead Weir to become a critically strategic supplier to the British Government in its attempts to outpace Germany in what had become the Naval armament race of the 20th century. As much as the company's reputation had grown in the early years of the century, so also had William's. As the inevitable war loomed, Weir products were in huge demand as the pace of rearmament accelerated. The government were keen to ensure companies like Weir and other critical senior personnel in the Admiralty and Government who sought assurances regarding Weir's ability to deliver goods and expand capacity when required.

William understood more than anyone how war would test the capacity of Britain's traditional arms manufacturers who would thus require the support of the rest of the UK's manufacturing resources to meet demand. William, outspoken in his views and critical of the readiness of the UK industry to meet looming challenges, came to the attention of Lloyd George who at the time was Minister of Munitions. Lloyd George was much impressed with this seemingly opinionated Glaswegian and in 1915 offered him a role as a temporary civil servant. William accepted and the left the business in early 1915 to organise all of munition manufacturing in Scotland, later assuming responsibility for the manufacture of aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps. In William's absence from the business, Weir's factories contributed hugely to the war effort by turning its manufacturing assets to the manufacture of shells, artillery, and aircraft. Weir's contribution to the war effort saw its manpower double to 6,0000 including 2,000 woman.

William Weir's own contribution to the war effort did not go unrecognised. In 1918 he was promoted to Secretary of State for Air and a member of the War Cabinet, overseeing the emergence of the Royal Air Force as a new branch of the Armed Services. Also, in 1918 he received life peerage; on his return to Cathcart at the end of the war, colleagues would now address him as "Lord Weir".

The guns of the Great War had fallen silent five months previously.

Families, with god fortune on their side, received back loved ones who had survived the many and assorted carnages of "the war to end all wars". Some ninety-one workers of Weir who had enlisted to fight in the cause, would not make the journey home. Later, their names would be remembered in a War Memorial which still sits today in the reception area of 149 Newlands Road.

Countless others would return to families from the battlefields, confused and debilitated. It would be decades later before their condition would be explained by clinicians as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In 1919, the label "shell-shocked" would have to suffice.

If during the summer of 1918, some hoped that a return to more normal life would arrive when the war stumbled to its conclusion, such hopes were soon dashed by the sudden and unexpected appearance of numerous cases of influenza. The "Spanish Flu" pandemic of 1918 started to claim lives in the early summer of that year and would continue to claim lives in the early months of 1919. By the time its grip had waned, up to 100 million people across the globe with the UK suffering a quarter of a million deaths and Scotland suffering proportionately.

Lord Weir and his fellows directors at Cathcart believed that physical healthy staff would for higher efficiency levels in the workplace but as importantly that staff morale needed a boost and promptly resolved to commit sufficient resources to enable the construction of a facility that would provide recreational opportunities for its workforce. With the majority of its workers residing within walking distance of the Cathcart site, the facility needed to be close to the factory. Space was a t a premium within the factory but fortunately a solution was found close by in the shape of a former dairy farm located only two hundred yards along the River Cart from the factory.

Paper making had been a feature of Cathcart's early industries from the 17th century. In the 1680s a Frenchman, Nicholas Deschamps, moved from Edinburgh to establish the Newlands Paper Mill along the banks of the River Cart. His son-in-law would later set up a second mill upriver at Netherlee. Both mills continued to produce paper until circa 1730 when manufacture was transferred to to the newly created Millholm Paper Mill which would survive for almost two centuries.

The Newlands Mill however was given over to farming and would later become Paper Mill Farm with its farmhouse located at 15 Earlspark Avenue, opposite Langside Rail Station.

Its owner, the Pollok Estate, received an offer from Weir to acquire its 0 acres of farmland. This offer was accepted and after an inaugural meeting that took place in the Holm Foundry canteen on 4 April 1919, those assembled agreed to willingly accept and support the Company's offer to fund the creation of an outdoor recreation facility.