Some newspaper articles from 1869/ 1870 which suggest that the first Queen Margaret Bridge and the retaining wall where part of a single co-ordinated civil engineering project for Mr John Ewing Walker in preparation for laying out his new suburb North Kelvinside, initially known as “Kelvinside”.
The articles also suggest that the “formidable stone dyke” or “dead wall” was erected as an unnecessary obstruction designed to prevent vehicular access to the bridge from a rival development.
Further historical references regarding the structures at this location can be found at an updated version of http://www.scotcities.com/westend/north_kelvinside.htm which also features old-and-new photographs of stonework of the retaining wall and the surviving supporting piers of the original bridge, which are all remarkably similar, being part of the same construction project.
The common attribution of Alexander Thomson as being the designer of the retaining wall and associated staircase in 1872, in a separate undertaking from the earlier complex civil engineering works at this location, seems to be at odds with the contemporary published sources.