GLASGOW, a city and sea-port and seat of a university, having separate
jurisdiction, locally in the Lower ward of the county of Lanark, and situated in
longitude 4° 15' 51" (W.), and latitude 55° 52' 10" (N.), 23 miles (E. by S.) from
Greenock, 29 (S. W. by S.) from Stirling, 40 (N.E. by N.) from Ayr, 47 (W. by S.) from
Edinburgh, 79 (N. N. W.) from Dumfries, 144 (S. W.) from Aberdeen, 196 (N. N. E.)
from Dublin, 226 (N. W. by N.) from Manchester, and 407 (N. W. by N.) from London;
containing, in the year 1841, 120,183, and, with the suburbs of Barony and
Gorbals, 274,533 inhabitants. The following is a list of
the subjects comprised in the article, with the page in
which each head or division occurs:
Early History 496
Events of the 15th Century 496
Of the 16th 497
Of the 17th 498
And of the 18th and 19th
Centuries 498
General Description of the City 501
Lighting, Supply of Water, &c 602
Libraries 502
Literary and Scientific Institutions
Places of Amusement .... 503
Trade and Commerce: origin
and progress of the
various kinds of Manufacture
Business of the Port: Shipping,
Customs, Harbour, &c.
Steam Navigation 506
Forth and Clyde, Monkland, and Johnstone Canals . . . 506
Railways 606
Public Buildings connected
with Trade: the Exchange
Corn Exchange and other
Markets 507
Municipal Affairs 608
Public Buildings connected
with Municipal Affairs.
City and County Buildings,
Merchants' House,
Trades' House, Prisons
Origin and progress of the
University 510
Its Government; Professors,
Bursai'ies, &c 510
Buildings of the University 511
TheAndersonian Institution 511
Ecclesiastical Affairs, Parishes,
Churches, &c 512
The Cathedral 512
Parishes in the City 512
Former Quoad Sacra Parishes
Barony Parish 513
Necropolis 614
Schools and Benevolent Institutions
The High School 514
The Royal Infirmary 514
Lunatic Asylum, Magdalen
Asylum, Lock Hospital,
St. Nicholas' Hospital,
cSlc 615
Hutcheson's Hospital 515
Charitable Societies and Bequests
The Town Hospital 516
Glasgow is the largest and by far the most populous
city in Scotland. Its history first claims notice:
Historical Account.
This place, which appears to have been a Roman station
within the wall of Antoninus, and to have formed
part of the province of yalentia, is conjectured by some
authorities to derive its name, originally Glas- Achadh
said by them to denote in the Gaelic language " a green
field ", from a verdant piece of ground on the bank of
the Clyde, by which it is bounded on the south-east.
According to others, the term signifies " a dark glen",
and arose from a secluded retreat occupied by .St. Ken-
TiGERN, son of Thametes, daughter of Loth, King of
the Picts, who was born at Culross about the year 516.
St. Kentigern was educated under the care of St. Servanus,
Bishop of Orkney, by whom he was generally addressed
in the Norwegian term, Mon Gha, an epithet of
affectionate endearment, from which appellation he has
been also designated as St. Mungo. On the death of
Servanus, Kentigern, who had become celebrated for his
sanctity, retired into Wales, where he founded a monastery
which he afterwards resigned to St. Asaph; and
returning into Scotland, he fixed his abode in a narrow
glen near the site of the present cathedral. Here, after
living for some time'in a solitary cell, he in 560 laid the
foundation of a stately church, which was amply endowed
by Ryderick, or Roderick, King of the Scots, who
founded the see of Glasgow, of which he made Kentigern
the first bishop. St. Kentigern died in 610, and was
buried in the church he had founded, where his monument
is still preserved. He was succeeded in the diocese
by his disciple Baldred, who had instituted a religious
house at Inchinnan; and after Baldred's decease, the see
became successively a prey to the Picts, Scots, Saxons,
Britons, and Danes, by whom it was eventually so
reduced that little is known of its subsequent history for
a period of nearly 500 years. In 1115, the establishment
was refounded by David, Prince or Earl of Cumberland,
who appointed his tutor and chaplain, John
AcHAius, bishop of the diocese; and on his accession to
the throne of Scotland by the title of David I., he richly
endowed the see, and made the bishop chancellor of the
kingdom. This office, however, the bishop soon afterwards
resigned, devoting his attention solely to the duties
of his diocese; he rebuilt part of the cathedral in 1136,
and the edifice was consecrated in the presence of the
king, who, on the occasion, assigned to it the lands now
called Partick. In 1180, Josceline, who had succeeded
John Achaius, materially enlarged and beautified the
cathedral, and obtained from William the Lion a charter,
erecting the town which had risen up under the auspices
of the prelates into a free burgh, and granting an annual
fair for eight days. Consequently, the place appears to
have been, in 1268, governed by a provost and bailie,
appointed by the bishop, and who had the power to hold
courts of justice, and enjoyed various other privileges.
In 1300, Edward I. of England, having possessed
himself of all the fortresses in the country, appointed
Anthony Beck to the see of Glasgow; and his general.
Earl Percy, who had usurped the military government
of the western district of Scotland, seized on the episcopal
palace. Upon this, the town became the scene of a
sanguinary conflict between the troops of Edward and
the Scots under Sir William Wallace, who, assisted
by his relative^ Adam Wallace of Richardtown, the laird
of Auchinleck, and a few of his trusty adherents, marched
from Ayr during the night, and arriving the following
morning at the bridge of Glasgow, crossed the river,
and drew up his forces on the spot where Bridgegate
now stands. Forming his men into two divisions, one,
led by himself, marched directly up the High-street to
meet Percy's troops, consisting of 1000 men, and the
other division, led by the laird of Auchinleck, took a
circuitous route by Drygate. The action commenced
between Wallace's party and the earl, near the site of
the present college, and was continued for a time with
resolute valour on both sides; but while the victory was
still doubtful, the division under Auchinleck, attacking
the English in the rear, put them completely to the rout.
Percy was killed by Wallace, who, not thinking his victory
decisive, or deeming it unsafe to remain in his
present situation, advanced to Bothwell, and, assailing
a large body of Northumbrians, gained a second victory
over superior numbers. In the years 1350, 1380, and
1381 the plague committed great ravages in the town;
and in 1387, during the prelacy of Bishop Glendoning,
the spire of the cathedral was destroyed by lightning.
A mint was established in Drygate-street in the time of
Stuart, Earl of Carrick, afterwards Robert III.; and
coins were struck, having on the obverse the king's
crest and crown, without the sceptre, with the legend
" Bobertus, Dei Gratia Re.r Scotorum ", and on the reverse,
" Dominus Protector " around the outer circle, and
in an inner circle " I 'ilia de Glasgow". In 1431, Isabella,
cousin to James I., devised the lands of Ballagan
to the convent of the Grey Friars at Glasgow, for the
salvation of her soul, and the souls of her husband, the
Duke of Albany; her father; and three sons.
From 1450 to 1600.
In 1450, Bishop Turnbull obtained from James II.
a charter erecting Glasgow into a regality, and from
Pope Nicholas V. a bull for the foundation of a university,
which he amply endowed. This establishment
tended greatly to the increase and prosperity of the
town, which, prior to that event, had scarcely a population
of 1500 persons; but the privileges granted to
the new institution deprived the citizens, to a considerable
extent, of their political independence. The bishops,
also, a long time exercised the right of appointing the
provost and bailies of the regality; but it eventually
became vested in the Lennox family, who ultimately
resigned their power to the crown, and after 1621 the
election was vested in the magistrates and council of
the town. Before the middle of the fifteenth century,
the inhabitants resided chiefly in the vicinity of the cathedral,
and in that part of the High-street which was
bounded by the episcopal palace. After the establishment
of the university and the foundation of St. Nicholas'
hospital, however, the city began gradually to
extend to the present Cross, and eastward in the direction
of the Gallowgate. In 1484, the citizens erected
a collegiate church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, in a
right line westward from the Gallowgate, and the buildings
consequently stretched towards that edifice, now
the Tron church: the inhabitants being then chiefly
employed in the fishery of the Clyde, a street was also
formed, leading to the river, and which was called Fishergate,
and is now Bridgegate-street. By act of parliament,
in 14S8, the diocese of Glasgow was erected info
a metropolitan see, of which Robert Blackadder the
bishop became archbishop; and the temporalities and
privileges of the archdiocese were confirmed by charter
of James VI. After the martyrdom of Hamilton, abbot
of Fearn, who had imbibed the doctrines of the reformed
religion, and who was burnt at St. Andrew's in 1538, it
was thought expedient, for the suppression of heresy,
to make a public example in the city of Glasgow; and
as the then archbishop, Dunbar, was a man of extreme
benevolence and an enemy to persecution, some friars
were sent from St. Andrew's for the purpose. On this
occasion, Jeremiah Russell, of the (jrey Friars, at Glasgow,
and a young gentleman of Ayr, not more than
eighteen years of age, were condemned to be burnt at
the stake; and the sentence, notwithstanding the remonstrances
of the bishop, was soon afterwards executed.
On the death of James V., his infant daughter, Mary,
Queen of Scots, was sent to France; and Cardinal
Beaton, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, being appointed
regent, subsequently resigned that post to the Earl of
Arran, afterwards Duke of Chatelherault; but the earl
became so unpopular that the queen dowager and the
cardinal invited the Earl of Lennox, then in France, to
come over, and take upon himself the important office.
Arran, however, compromising his difference with the
queen and Beaton, was allowed nominally to retain the
regency, leaving the chief administration to the cardinal.
Lennox, exasperated by this insult, raised an army of
10,000 men, and marching from Glasgow to Leith,
offered the cardinal battle; but the latter, unprepared
to encounter so formidable a force, negotiated for a
truce, and the earl returned to Glasgow, and placing a
garrison in the bishop's castle, proceeded to Dumbarton
to hold a conference. The regent, having mustered an
army in the mean time, stormed the castle, and after
compelling the garrison to surrender upon terms, put
every man to the sword. Upon this, Lennox, resolved
on making a desperate effort to displace Arran, and
obtain the regency, in which he was assisted by the Earl
of Glencairn, attempted to march to Clydesdale to give
his opponents battle; and the regent, to prevent this
movement, endeavoured to take possession of Glasgow;
but Glencairn, with about 800 of his vassals, aided by
the citizens, attacked the troops of the regent at a place
called the Butts, and achieved a partial success, becoming
master of the artillery of his adversaries. Just on the
eve of victory, however, a small party of horse under
Robert Boyd coming to the succour of the regent, Glencairn,
apprehending that a greater force was in reserve,
fled with the utmost precipitation; and Arran, entering
the city, abandoned it to the mercy of his soldiers, by
whom it was plundered and nearly destroyed. In this
engagement two gallant sons of the Earl of Glencairn
were slain.
Henry, Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen
of Scots, after the celebration of the birth of a son, in
1566, arrived from Stirling on a visit to his father, who
resided at Limmerfield, near the Barony church, Glasgow,
where being taken ill, the queen came from Stirling,
and remained with him till he was sufficiently recovered
to be removed to Edinburgh. In 1568, the queen, who
had been kept prisoner in the castle of Lochleven, effecting
her escape, was joined by the Earls of Argyll, Eglinton,
Cassillis, and Rothes, and others, who assembled
an army to displace the Regent Murray, and raise her
to the throne. The regent, at that time employed in
holding a court in Glasgow, was taken by surprise; but
hastily raising what forces he could, and being joined
by the Earls of Montrose, Mar, and Monteith, the Lords
Temple, Home, and Lindsay, and a number of the citizens,
he advanced to intercept the queen's party on
their march to Dumbarton Castle, and crossing the
bridge, took up a position on a hill near the village of
Langside, about two miles from Glasgow. A battle
ensued, in which the regent's forces were completely
victorious, leaving 300 of the queen's army dead on the
field, and taking 400 prisoners. The queen, during the
whole of the engagement, stood on a hill; and when
she saw her troops defeated, mounted her horse, and
fled to the abbey of Dundrennan, in Galloway, a distance
of sixty miles, without taking any rest. Murray
returned to Glasgow, where he offered a public thanksgiving
for his victory, and was sumptuously entertained
by the magistrates and council, through whom he expressed
his obligation to the citizens for their bravery
and fidelity; and on a representation being made to
him by the dean of guild, that undue exactions were
practised at the Mill of Partick, then the property of
the crown, he granted it to the corporation, with the
lands appertaining to it. In 1570, the castle of Glasgow
was assaulted by the Hamiltons and their party; but,
though the governor was at that time absent, and the
garrison consisted of only twenty-four men, they defended
themselves with such resolution that the assailants
were repulsed with considerable loss; and two days
after the siege. Sir William Drury, arriving with a party
of English, advanced to Hamilton, took the castle there
by storm, and in retaliation of the aggression of its proprietors,
demolished it entirely.
When the doctrines of the Reformation had made
considerable progress, Archbishop James Beaton, nephew
of Cardinal Beaton, and the last of the Roman Catholic
prelates of Glasgow, finding it hopeless to try to regain
his influence, removed the relics, plate, and ancieut
records, with every thing of value, from the cathedral
church into his castle; and subsequently retired, in
1560, to France, taking with him the treasures he had
accumulated. After his departure, the Earl of Lennox
appointed a nominal archbishop, while he himself wielded
all the powers and appropriated all the revenues of the
see; and the people, having cast off the yoke of papal
tyranny, vented their fury on those sacred edifices which
they had previously regarded with so much veneration.
The cathedral was stripped of its leaden roof in 1573;
and in 1579, under the sanction of the legislature, the
magistrates, at the solicitation of Melville, principal of
the college, issued a warrant for its final destruction.
It was, however, preserved by the resolute conduct of
the incorporated trades, who, when the workmen, to the
number of several hundreds, were summoned by beat
of drum to commence the task of demolition, formed
themselves into a body, and threatened instant death to
the first man that should attempt to displace a single
stone. So highly, indeed, were the citizens incensed at
this attempt to destroy the proudest ornament of the
city, that, had not the magistrates restrained them, they
would have wreaked their vengeance upon Melville and
all his adherents. For this insurrection, the citizens
were summoned by the ministers to appear before the
council at Edinburgh, where, however, the king, at that
time not more than thirteen years of age, expressed his
approbation of their conduct, and commanded the ministers
to proceed no further in the affair, observing
that too many churches had already been destroyed, and
that he would not suffer any more abuses of the kind.
Some doubt, however, has been thrown upon this legendary
story of Melville's conduct with respect to the
cathedral, and of the exertions made by the honest craftsmen
of the city fur its preservation. It is said that
Melville may have urged that the large suras in which the
citizens taxed themselves for repairing their High Church,
might be better applied in building new churches on
the Genevan model; but it is not believed that he carried
the matter so far as has been pretended. In the
year 15S1, the First National Covenant, which was
subscribed by James VI. and his household, and afterwards
by all ranks in the kingdom, was subscribed by
2'250 persons in Glasgow.
From 1600 to 1725.
In 1603, the pestilence made great ravages in the
city. The prison of the Tolbooth was erected the same
year; and in the year following, some regulations respecting
precedency among the several trades were laid
down, which were confirmed by the king and parliament
in I6l2, under the designation of the letter of guildry.
In 1613, regular bills of mortality were first ordered
to be kept. In 1622, the church of the Black Friars
was erected on ground given by the college, who assigned
their right of patronage to the magistrates and council;
and in 1636, the town-hall (adjoining the Tolbooth) and
the meal-market were built. A royal charter was obtained
this year for the appointment of a water-bailie,
with jurisdiction extending from Glasgow to the mouth
of the Clyde, about twenty-six miles below the town.
In 1638 assembled the famous synod which declared
episcopacy null and void. In 1649, Glasgow was visited
with pestilence and famine; and in 1652, a destructive
fire broke out on the east side of the High-street, which,
communicating with the Saltmarket, spread to the opposite
side of the street, and extending to the Trougate,
Gallowgate, and Bridgegate streets, destroyed nearly onethird
of the city, the loss being estimated at £100,000.
In 1650, Oliver Cromwell, having gained possession
of Edinburgh, advanced to Glasgow, and took up
his abode at Silver-Craigs House, on the east side of
the Saltmarket, where he held his levees. Understanding
that Patrick Gillespie, minister of the Outer High
church, had the chief influence in ecclesiastical afTairs,
he invited him to a conference; and on the following
Sunday, he went in state to the cathedral, when Mr.
James Durham, or, as some allege, the well-known Zachary
Boyd, being appointed to preach, took occasion in
his sermon to inveigh against the conduct of Cromwell
as an enemy to the true faith. In the same year the
presbytery of Glasgow issued an edict, requiring every
minister to appropriate a certain portion of his stipend
towards the raising and maintenance of a regiment of
horse, for the protection of the Church, and the defence
of the country from the invasion of the sectarians. The
regiment was well appointed, but was so governed as to
promote only the interests of Cromwell, who in 1658
addressed a letter to the provost, requesting that the
election of the magistrates might be deferred. In 1660,
the restoration of Charles II. was celebrated, agreeably
to the order of the session, by a public thanksgiving;
but on the attempt, soon afterwards, to introduce episcopacy
into Scotland, the citizens strenuously opposed
the king's mandate. On the refusal both of the clergy
and laity to comply, the Earl of Middleton, with a committee
of the privy council, came to Glasgow, and having
assembled in the college, the earl informed the committee
that the archbishop desired the royal order to be
enforced, to which the whole meeting acquiesced, with
the exception of Lord Lee, who declared that such a
course would desolate the country. It was, nevertheless,
carried into effect, and in one day 400 ministers were
expelled from their churches: the citizens of Glasgow,
who were chiefly Covenanters, suffered great persecution;
and in 1666 several of them were hanged in the
streets for refusing to embrace episcopacy. In 1677, a
second conflagration broke out, and destroyed 130 houses,
upon which occasion the citizens burst open the gaol,
and, on the alleged plea of preserving life, liberated the
prisoners, most of whom were confined on a charge of
nonconformity. Notwithstanding these severe calamities,
the city appears to have made a steady progress in importance,
and in 1695, under an act of general assessment,
was returned as the second place in Scotland in
point of wealth and prosperity. The election of the magistrates,
however, seems to have been completely under
the control of the government: in 1681, it was deferred
because the Duke of York had not decided with respect
to the individuals to be selected; and after he had left
the town, and an election had taken place which was
not conformable to his wishes, the privy council ordered
a new choice to be made, and many of the town councillors
were removed from office. In 1 689, the magistrates
and council were appointed by the concurrent
votes of all the burgesses; and in 1690, Glasgow was
created a free burgh by charter of William and Mary,
and invested with privileges equal to those of Edinburgh,
or any royal burgh within the kingdom, and which they
have ever since retained.
Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the
inhabitants began to display a spirit of active enterprise
in trade and commerce; and having a very insufficient
depth of water in their old port of Broomielaw, which
was accessible only to small craft, they took measures
for the construction of a new harbour, nearer the mouth
of the Clyde. For this purpose they proposed to form
a port at Dumbarton; but being opposed in their design
by the magistrates of that place, they fixed upon a
site on the opposite bank of the river, and in 1662 purchased
thirteen acres of land from Sir Robert Maxwell,
near the village of Newark, about nineteen miles below
Glasgow. Here, having laid out the plan of a town,
they constructed the first dry-dock in Scotland; and in
1714, having obtained from the presbytery a separation
of the lands from the parish of Kilmalcolm, they erected
them into the present parish of Port-Glasgow, of which
the patronage was vested in the City. On the union
of the two kingdoms in 1*07, the people of Glasgow
showed such hostility to the measure, and manifested
such a disposition to break out into open violence, that
the magistrates found it necessary to prohibit the meeting
of more than three persons tc%ether in the streets,
after sunset. The population at that time was about
14,000; trade and commerce were but in their infancy;
and so little affluence prevailed, even among the higher
classes of the citizens, that the members of parliament
received payment for attending the sessions. In 1712,
an inundation of the Clyde, during which the water rose
eighteen feet six inches above its ordinary level, did
much damage in the lower parts of the town. In 1*15,
when the rebellion under the Earl of Mar broke out,
the citizens, at their own expense, raised a regiment of
600 men, which, led by the provost, marched to Stirling,
and joined the king's forces; and in order to protect
themselves from the depredations of the rebels, the
inhabitants intrenched the town with a ditch, twelve
feet broad and six feet deep. An imposition of two pence
Scotch upon each pint of ale sold within the burgh was
granted to the magistrates by act of parliament, in
IXS'i, to enable them to improve and beautify the city;
and in 1724, the town was so much enlarged that an
additional place of worship was found necessary, and the
Ramshorn church was consequently erected in the northwest.
From 1725 to 1775.
In 1725, on the extension of the malt-tax to Scotland,
for which measure Mr. Campbell of Shawfield,
member for the city, had given his vote, the inhabitants
were highly exasperated; and on the 23rd June, the day
on which the act was to come into operation, a tumultuous
assembly collected in the streets, and violently obstructed
the excisemen in the discharge of their duty. To quell
this insurrection, two companies of Lord Deloraine's regiment
of foot, commanded by Captain Bushell, were sent
into the town, for whose accommodation the magistrates
ordered the guard-house to be prepared; but the
populace took forcible possession of it, and locking the
doors, and carrying off the keys, proceeded to Mr. Campbell's
house at Shawfield, and demolished it entirely.
On their return, the rioters broke open the town magazine,
and distributing the arms, formed themselves into
a body, and attacked the military, who, by the advice
of the provost, were leaving the city. After patiently
sustaining the assault of the rioters for some time. Captain
Bushell ordered his party to fire, when nine of the
citizens were killed, and seventeen wounded; and the
military, without further molestation, retired to Dumbarton
Castle. When this affair was reported to the
secretary of state. General Wade was despatched to
Glasgow with the remaining companies of Lord Deloraine's
regiment, six troops of dragoons, a troop of Lord
Stair's cavalry, and a company of Highlanders under
the command of Captain Campbell of Lochnell. These
having taken possession of the town, the lord advocate
investigated the matter, and committed nineteen of the
rioters to prison, to be conveyed on the following day
to Edinburgh by Captain Bushell, who had returned
with his two companies of foot from Dumbarton. It
appearing also, in the course of the inquiry, that the
magistrates had countenanced the rioters in the destruction
of Mr. Campbell's house, as well as in their
attack on the military, the provost and others were
committed to the Tolbooth; and the lord advocate refusing
to accept of bail, they were placed under a guard
of the Royal Scotch dragoons, and sent as prisoners to
Edinburgh Castle. Application, however, being made
to the lords justiciary to accept of bail, the provost and
the other magistrates were liberated on the 29th of July,
and, on their return to Glasgow, were met on the road
by '200 of the inhabitants on horseback, and brought
into the city in triumph. Captain Bushell was tried for
the "murder" of the nine citizens upon whom he ordered
his party to fire, and found guilty, but was afterwards
pardoned.
In the rebellion of 1745, the citizens showed their
attachment to the reigning family by raising two battalions,
of 600 men each, for the service of government,
one of which was engaged in the battle of Falkirk, and
signalized itself for its intrepidity. The rebels, exasperated
by this display of loyalty, resolved to retaliate
upon the citizens, by plundering and setting fire to the
town, from which they were diverted only by the influence
of Cameron of Lochiel, who threatened, if they
persisted in that determination, to withdraw his clan
from their party. On the 14th of September, the magistrates
received a letter from the Young Pretender,
demanding from the corporation the payment of £15,000
sterling, with all arrears of taxes that might be then
due to government, and a supply of arms and ammunition;
but expecting to be relieved by the forces of
Sir John Cope, then on their march to the north, the
magistrates refused compliance. After the unfavourable
result of Cope's expedition, however, they deemed it
prudent to comply with a second demand made by a
Mr. John Hay (attended by a company of horse and the
chief of the M'^Gregor clan), who, having authority to
mitigate the sum if he judged it expedient, effected a
compromise by receiving £5000 in money and £500 in
goods. On the return of the rebel army from England,
another claim was made for 12,000 linen shirts, 6000
cloth coats, 6000 pairs of shoes, 6OOO pairs of hose, and
6000 bonnets, to which the magistrates were compelled
to yield. These supplies, together with the previous
payments, and the expense of maintaining the two battalions
they had raised, cost the city £14,000, of which,
on application to the government, they received £10,000
in 1749.
In the course of the year 1749 the first local bank
was established in the city, under the title of the Ship
Banking Company; and in 1752, the first theatre was
built, in Castle-street. In 1755, the merchants of Glasgow,
with a view of extending their commerce, and
opening a more direct communication with the continent
of Europe, projected the construction of a canal from
the river Clyde to the river Forth, which was afterwards
carried into effect upon an enlarged scale, under an act
of parliament, by John Smeaton, the skilful engineer.
A collateral branch from the same to the city of Glasgow,
and also a cut. from the port of Borrowstounness to join
the canal near the Firth of Forth, were proposed about
the same time; but the latter of these was never completed.
An elegant bridge was erected over the Clyde,
near the old bridge built by Bishop Raye, which, since
the introduction of wheel-carriages, had been found
inconveniently narrow; and in 1770 an act of parliament
was obtained for deepening the river from Dumbuck
ford to Glasgow, by which an additional depth of
seven feet was gained at the quay of Broomielaw. A
navigable canal, also, was cut from the high ground
above the cathedral to the parish of Monkland, in order
to reduce the price of coal.
From ITTo to the present time.
The trade of the port, from the time of the Union, had
been making gradual but steady progress, and in 1775
imployed more than 60,000 tons of shipping in the importation
of merchandise, chiefly from America: in the
single article of tobacco, the annual import averaged
.T/.l'tS hogsheads. Upon the breaking out of the American
war, however, the trade of Glasgow received a
very severe check. On this occasion, the city raised a
corps of 1000 men, well appointed, for the service of
government; and the merchants at the same time fitted
out fourteen privateers, of twelve and twenty-two guns
and 1000 men, which, in the course of the war, were of
great service in driving off the privateers of the enemy,
and protecting the trade of the coast. In 1779, on a
motion being made for bringing into parliament a bill
to repeal the penal statutes against Roman Catholics,
about ^2,000 of the inhabitants formed themselves into
societies for opposing the contemplated measure. The
minds of the populace were so inflamed, indeed, that on
the ^'Znd of October, a mob assembled during divine
service, and proceeding to a Roman Catholic chapel in
High-street, scattered the congregation, destroyed the
paintings and ornaments round the altar, and svere
only restrained from the entire demolition of the building
by the arrival of the magistrates, with a competent
force, to disperse them. Meeting a second time, they
pulled down the warehouse of a Roman Catholic in
King-street, and on being compelled by the magistrates
and a party of the military to retire, they hastened to
his dwelling-house, which they burnt, with all the furniture.
The introduction of a bill into parliament,
soon afterwards, for taking the duty off French cambric,
also e.xcited great discontent; and a large body of
weavers in the town, and from the adjacent villages,
paraded the streets on horseback, with an effigy of the
minister who proposed the bill, which effigy they first
hanged, and afterwards burut in the market-place: the
bill was subsequently withdrawn. From the commencement
of the war with America, the attention of the citizens
had been more particularly directed to the increase
of manufactures; and the population having been consequently
augmented, the first stone of a new church,
St. Enoch's, was laid on the 12th of April, IfSO. In the
following year, the Tontine Buildings and Coffee-rooms
were erected, to the great ornament of the city.
In 17H2, another inundation of the Clyde took place
on the 11th and 12th of March, after an almost uninterrupted
fall of snow and rain for several days. The
waters, on the 11th, spread over the Green, stopped all
communication by the bridges, and flooded the Bridgegate-
street to the depth of several feet: during the
night, the flood increased, and after extinguishing the
fires on the ground floors of the houses, ascended to the
bedrooms of the inhabitants. On the following morning,
however, the waters began to decrease; and intercourse
with the houses was maintained by boats, which
supplied the inmates with food and other necessaries.
Upon the 1.3th, the river assumed the ordinary level.
So extensive was the inundation in the town and neighbourhood,
that the village of Gorbals appeared as an
island m the midst of the sea; and the rapidity of the
current was so great that apprehensions were entertained
for the safety of the bridges. This calamity was followed,
during the same year, by a general failure of the
crops, and a consequent dearth of provisions, under
which the sufferings of the inhabitants were alleviated
by the exertions of the magistrates, who offered a bounty
upon all provisions brought into the town; while various
wealthy individuals combined together, and purchasing
large quantities of supplies of every kind, sold
them at a very considerable rate below the prime cost.
In 17^7, a spirit of discontent, which had for some time
prevailed amon^ the journeymen weavers, broke out into
open violence; and a mob, assembling, and demanding
an increase of wages, which was not granted, proceeded
to cut down the webs from the looms of such as were
willing to work at the previous prices; destroyed the
property of the master weavers, cleared out the goods
from their warehouses, and burnt them in the streets.
To quell these outrages, the magistrates, with a party of
peace-officers, advanced to Calton; but they were overpowered,
and compelled to retire; and it was not till
they had obtained a detachment of the 39th regiment,
commanded by Lieut. -Col. Kellet, that they were enabled
to disperse the rioters. On approaching them for
this purpose, the military were assailed with stones,
brickbats, and other missiles; but after the magistrates
bad read the Riot act, and strenuously exhorted the
people to desist, the soldiers were ordered to fire, three
of the ringleaders were killed, and several of the rioters
wounded, upon which the mob thought proper to return
to their homes.
After the conclusion of the American war in 1783,
the merchants made every exertion to revive their trade,
and established a chamber of commerce and manufactures,
which was afterwards incorporated by royal charter.
Encouraged by the increasing prosperity, the magistrates
let out the Ramshoru lands, to the north of the
town, on building leases, binding the lessees to erect
their buildings according to an improved plan, laying
out the ground in regularly-formed streets and squares;
and consequently, upon a site of considerable extent,
formerly occupied as orchards and gardens, stately
ranges of buildings have been raised, which, in beauty
and magnificence of appearance, are almost unrivalled
by those of any city in the kingdom. In the year 1790,
the canal joining the Forth and Clyde, which had been
commenced in 1768, was completed; and on the 29th
of June, the communication was opened by Archibald
Speirs, Esq., of Elderslie, chairman of the committee of
management, who, with the assistance of the principal
engineer, poured a hogshead of water, brought from the
river Forth by the canal, into the Clyde, in commemoration
of the union of the eastern and western seas. In
1793, the Laigh or Tron church was destroyed by an
accidental fire, which broke out in the session-house adjoining;
and the records of the general session were all
burnt. In the following year, a scheme was projected
for letting the lands appertaining to Hutcheson's hospital
on building leases, and the plan of a village, to be
called Hutchesoiitun, was prepared: the foundation stone
of a new bridge was laid by the lord provost and magistrates;
and the Glasgow infirmary, the foundation of
which had been laid two years before, was opened for
the reception of patients. In 1795, the citizens, to
counteract the menaced attempts of the abettors of the
French revolution, enrolled themselves into two corps of
volunteers for the protection of the city, and the defence
of their coast, under the sanction of parliament. On
the 18th of November, 1795, a third inundation of the
Clyde did much damage to the lower parts of the town:
about the middle of the day, the current was so impetuous
that it shook the piers of the newly-erected bridge,
causing two of the arches to fall into the river; and in
the course of the afternoon, the three remaining arches
also fell. In 1797, the Royal Glasgow volunteers increased
their numbers to ten companies; and a second
battalion of 500 men was formed, whose services were
accepted by government, and who were placed under
the command of officers appointed by the lord lieutenant
of the county: two troops of volunteer cavalry were
also raised, for additional security. In August 1822,
when George IV. visited Scotland, the lord provost and
magistrates, vvith the corporation and deputations from
the merchants' and trades' houses, went in public procession
to Edinburgh, and presented loyal addresses to
His Majesty. In 1832, the cholera raged in the city,
with great violence, from the 12th of February till the
1 1th of November, during which period there were 6208
patients, of whom 3005 died.
One of the most interesting events of recent date, in
connexion with the city, was, the visit of Her present
Majesty to Glasgow, in 1849. After the Queen's visit
to her Irish dominions, the royal squadron crossed over
to the Scottish coast on the 12th of August, and anchored
for the night in Loch Ryan: the next day the
squadron proceeded to the Clyde, and on Tuesday morning,
August 14th, Her Majesty arrived at Glasgow a
little before noon, having been greeted in her passage up
the Clyde with the warmest demonstrations of hearty
and delighted loyalty. On the Queen's arrival, the lord
provost presented an address from the corporation, and
received on board the honour of knighthood. Deputations
from the county magistrates and other bodies were
severally introduced, for the purpose of presenting addresses;
and immediately afterwards Her Majesty, in
company with Prince Albert and the royal children, proceeded
to visit the cathedral and the college, receiving
in her progress through the vast and orderly assemblage
the most enthusiastic plaudits. Shortly after two o'clock,
the royal party arrived at the terminus of the Edinburgh
and Glasgow railway, where refreshments had
been provided for the distinguished visiters. A special
train then conveyed Her Majesty, the prince, and suite,
to Perth, where the royal party passed the night; and
on Wednesday, the 15th of August, Her Majesty arrived
at her Highland residence of Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire.
Description of the City.
Glasgow is built on the north bank of the river Clyde,
which in this part of its course flows nearly from east
to west, through a level tract of fertile land abounding
with mineral wealth. At some distance from the shore,
the ground has a gradual ascent for nearly half a mile,
terminating in a ridge of considerable elevation, on the
summit and declivities of which, towards the north-east,
the more ancient part of the town is chiefly situated.
Two extensive and spacious lines of street pass through
the whole of the city, intersecting each other at the
Cross. Of these, the principal line, consisting of the
Gallowgate, Trongate, and Argyll streets, reaches more
than a mile and a half in a direction from east to west,
and is about eighty-three feet in average breadth; while
the other, intersecting the city from north to south, and
comprising the High-street and the Saltmarket- street, is
above three-quarters of a mile in length and about fiftyfour
feet wide. Parallel with the former of the two
great lines are Bell, Wilson, Ingram, Cochrane, George,
Duke, and Clyde streets; and parallel with the latter of
the two lines are King, Candleriggs, Brunswick, Hutcheson,
Stockwell, Glassford, Dunlop, Miller, Queen, Buchanan,
Maxwell, and Jamaica streets, the last of which
is the great thoroughfare to the quays at the Broomielaw.
Near the southern extremity of the Saltmarket-street is
Bridgegate-street, diverging obliquely to the south-west,
and once forming the principal avenue from the old
bridge into the city. To the north-east of George and
Duke streets, and almost in a line with each other, are
Rotten-row and Drygate-street, the latter of which was
the chief street of the ancient town. North of Highstreet,
on a triangular plot of ground formerly the site
of the episcopal palace, is the Royal Infirmary, nearly
opposite to which, on the west, was the hospital of St.
Nicholas; and on the banks of the Molendinar rivulet,
to the east, stands the venerable cathedral. Eastward of
the Saltmarket-street is St. Andrew's street, conducting
into St. Andrew's square, a handsome range of buildings,
in the centre of which is the church dedicated to
that saint; and further to the north and east are Loudon
and Great Hamilton streets. South of Argyll-street
is St. Enoch's square, on the south side of which is the
church of St. Enoch, and on the east Surgeons' Hall;
and to the north-west of the same street is St. George's,
the most spacious square of the city, and in which the
houses are large and of elegant appearance. In the lastnamed
square are, a bronze statue of Lieutenant-General
Sir John Moore, who was a native of Glasgow, erected
at a cost of £4000; a statue, by Chantrey, of the great
improver of the steam-engine, James Watt; and a Doric
column to the memory of Sir Walter Scott. There are
some remains of ancient mansions identified with events
of importance in Scottish history, and of those which
are still entire the principal is the house near the
northern extremity of High-street, where Lord Daruley,
the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, resided during
his illness. Opposite the east end of Bridgegate-street,
in Saltmarket, till lately stood Silver-Craigs House,
where Oliver Cromwell took up his abode, and held his
levees, after the battle of Dunbar.
As viewed from the Cross, the city has a striking
character of magnificence and grandeur, combining views
of the Trongate, Argyll, and Gallowgate streets; the
Tontine-buildings, in front of which is an equestrian
statue, in bronze, of King William HI., presented by
James Macrae, Esq., in 1735; and part of the Highstreet,
on the east side of which are the stately edifice
of the university, and the elegant structure of the Hunterian
Museum. The houses are spacious and handsome,
built of freestone, and roofed with slate; and
those in the streets diverging from the Cross were once,
for some length, embellished with piazzas of the Doric
order. Many of the houses consist of tenements under
the same roof, called flats, each of which is inhabited by
a separate family; those built on the lands of Blythswood,
to the west of the city, are mostly constructed
upon a plan adapted for one family only. The streets
are all well paved, the carriage-ways with whinstone,
and the foot-paths with flags. The city is lighted with
GAS, partly from works erected by a company incorporated
by act of parliament in 1817, and whose capital,
originally £40,000, has been augmented to £150,000.
The company's works, which are upon a very extensive
scale, occupy an area 125 yards in length and nearly of
equal breadth; and connected with them are several
subsidiary establishments in different parts of the town.
The gas is purified with lime, and afterwards with a
solution of sulphate of iron. It is conducted to the
houses of the inhabitants by cast-iron pipes, laid under
the foot-paths on both sides of the street: the aggregate
length of the pipes is 110 miles; and in the production
of the gas requisite, not less than 9000 tons of
coal are annually consumed. In 1843 a new company
was established, called the City and Suburban Gas Company,
for the purpose of affording an additional supply
of gas, for the greatly extended and rapidly increasing
population and manufactures of the city. The works
are situated in the eastern district of the town; they
occupy five acres of ground, and contain 250 retorts,
twelve dry lime purifiers, and three large telescope gasholders,
capable of storing 800,000 cubic feet of gas.
Upwards of 110 miles of pipes, varying from one to
twenty-four inches in diameter, were laid down within
the city and suburbs, in the course of the two first years
of the company's existence. The capital of the company
is £150,000, divided into shares of £10 each. The inhabitants
are furnished with water by the united Glasgow
and Cranston-Hill Water Companies, of which the
former was incorporated in 1806, and the latter in
1808: the works were originally constructed at an expense
of £320,000, and have been since considerably
enlarged. Previously to its distribution to the houses,
the water is made to pass through a natural filter of
sand; and it is thence conveyed by pipes, laid under
the carriage-way of the streets. In 1846 an act was
passed to enable the company to introduce an additional
supply of water.
The public green, a beautiful and important appendage
to the city, to which it is conjectured to have imparted
its name, is situated to the south-east, on the
north bank of the Clyde, and comprises about 136 acres.
It has been greatly improved, at a cost of more than
£50,000, and laid out as a park, with pleasure-grounds,
and serpentine gravel-walks amidst shrubberies and
plantations embellished with stately timber. The whole
forms a delightful promenade for the inhabitants; and
there is a carriage drive, two miles and a half in extent,
through a rich variety of beautiful scenery, commanding
extensive and interesting views of the river, the city
with its cathedral and lofty spires, the suburbs, the adjacent
hills, and many other pleasing features. At the
western end of the High-green is a handsome obelisk,
erected by subscription of the citizens, at an expense of
£20*5, in honour of Lord Nelson; the first stone was
laid on the 1st of August, 1806, the anniversary of the
battle of the Nile. On the margin of the river, at the
southern extremity of the Green, is a lodge belonging
to the Royal Humane Society, replete with all the requisite
apparatus for the restoration of suspended animation
from drowning, and where officers are in constant
attendance. The suburbs are extensive: the ancient
Gorbals, now much enlarged, is situated upon the south
of the Clyde, communicating with the city by the old
bridge. On the same side of the river, to the west, are
Hutchesonton and Tradeston; the former connected
with the city by a stone bridge of five arches, erected in
1834, at an expense of £22,440; and the latter by the
Glasgow bridge, a handsome structure of granite, of
seven arches, 500 feet long and fifty feet wide within
the parapets, forming the chief entrance to the city
from the south: this bridge was completed by the late
Mr. Telford, in 1836, at a cost of £34,427. In 1845 an
act was passed for consolidating the management of the
bridges over the Clyde at Glasgow; for rebuilding the
old bridge; and for erecting an iron bridge for foot passengers,
on the wooden bridge opposite to Portlandstreet
of Laurieston being taken down. In 1848 an act
was obtained by the Caledonian railway company, for
the extension of their line across the river. North of
the Clyde are Bridgeton, Calton, Grahamston, Anderston,
and Finnieston, all of which are described under
their respective heads, as are also Gorbals, Hutchesonton,
Laurieston, &c. Near the east end of the Gallowgate-
street are the Infantry Barracks, erected in 1/95,
and inclosing a quadrangular area of about four acres,
of which three sides are occupied with buildings, and
the fourth by an iron palisade. The central range comprises
the officers' apartments and mess-room, and the
wings seventy- two apartments, each adapted for fourteen
men. The area affords an extensive ground for
parade, and contains a guard house, magazine, infirmary,
and other offices.
Literary and Scientific Institutions, and Places
OF Amusement.
The first circulating library was established by Mr.
John Smith, in 1753, and at present contains about
20,000 volumes. Another, founded in 1807, and purchased
in 1811 by Messrs. Potter and Company, has a
collection of nearly 18,000 volumes. The Public Subscription
Library was instituted in 1791, by Walter Stirling,
Esq., who bequeathed his mansion in Miller-street,
with the whole of his library, his share in the Tontine
Buildings, and £1000 in money, in trust to the lord provost,
and others chosen from the town council, the
merchants' house, the presbytery of Glasgow, and the
faculty of surgeons and physicians, for its establishment.
Though originally intended for the gratuitous use of the
citizens, it is supported, and has been greatly extended,
by subscriptions gradually augmented from three to ten
guineas, paid by each member on admission, and which
entitles Inim to the benefit of it for life. It contains
10,000 volumes, which are kept in the hall of Hutcheson's
hospital. The Glasgow Public Library was established
in 1804, by a society of gentlemen, who placed
it under the management of a committee, nine curators,
a treasurer, secretary, and librarian; it has a collection
of 4000 volumes, and is supported by an annual subscription
of ten shillings, and a payment of twelve shillings
on entrance.
Surgeons' Hall, on the east side of St. Enoch's square,
is a good building of the Ionic order, erected in 1/91,
for the use of the faculty of surgeons and physicians:
the front is decorated with a range of Ionic pilasters,
supporting an entablature and cornice, surmounted with
an attic and open balustrade. The interior contains tlie
hall for the faculty, which is a spacious room, adorned
with a painting of Hygeia the goddess of health, and
other allegorical devices; a library; committee-roonns;
and various oflices. In the lobby are several old portraits,
among which are those of Galen, Hippocrates, and other
fathers of medicine; and on the right hand is the entrance
into the library. Two societies hold their meetings
here, namely, the Glasgow Medical Society and the Medico-
Chirurgical Society, the former of which meets on the
first and third Tuesdays of every month from October
to May inclusive, when essays are read, confined to
medicine or one of the sciences immediately connected
with it. The object of the latter society is, to receive
communications on medicine and surgery, and the collateral
sciences, to converse on medical topics, and to promote
professional improvement. The Philosophical Society,
established in 1802, for the diffusion of knowledge
by reading essays on philosophical subjects, and exhibiting
models for the improvement of machinery, is
under the control of a president, vice-president, and
council of twelve, with a treasurer, secretary, and librarian;
and is supported by subscriptions of fifteen shillings
annually, and a payment of one guinea on admission.
The Mechanics' Institution was founded in 1823, for the
promotion of the arts and sciences, by the delivery of
lectures in natural philosophy, chemistry, and other
subjects; and in 1 83 1 a commodious building was erected
for that purpose in Hanover-street, on the pediment of
which is a colossal statue of James Watt. The edifice
contains apartments for the models and apparatus, a
theatre for the lectures, and a library consisting of more
than 3000 volumes. The funds arise from annual subscriptions
of the students, the average number of whom
is about 500. The Alheneum was recently established,
on the plan of that of Manchester. The Literary and
Commercial Society met in the college as early as 1795,
and is believed to have been founded by Dr. Adam Smith:
its meetings are now held in the Black Bull hotel. The
Maitland Club, similar in its design to the Bannatyne
Club of Edinburgh and the Roxburghe Club of London,
has been established within the last few years, for reprinting
scarce and valuable books, and printing curious
and important manuscripts, illustrative of the history,
literature, and antiquities of Scotland. There are also
one or two statistical societies.
The Assembly Rooms, in Ingram-street, were erected
in 1796, after a design by Messrs. Adam, by Tontine
subscription, in shares of £20 each. The building is an
elegant specimen of the Ionic order, rising from a rusticated
basement. It is divided in front, into three compartments,
by two boldly-projecting central portions,
between which is the central window, and two less prominent
projections at the extremities; and is embellished
with pillars supporting an entablature and cornice, surmounted
by an open balustrade. The interior contains
the assembly room, eighty feet long, thirty-five feet wide,
and twenty-seven feet high, elegantly fitted up, and
brilliantly lighted; a card room; retiring and supper
rooms of similar character; and various other apartments.
Theatrical performances, previously to the erection
of a theatre, took place, under the Edinburgh company,
in a temporary booth near the bishop's palace: in
1764, a regular theatre was built, and opened by Mr.
Bellamy, on the west side and near the south end of
Alston-street; but on the first night, some disorderly
persons set fire to the scenery and machinery. The
stage was refitted; but the subsequent performances
never received any adequate patronage, and in 1782 the
structure ceased to be used as a theatre. In that year,
a theatre which had been erected in Dunlop-street was
opened by Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Jordan, and others; and
the taste for the drama began to increase, which, in
1805, led to the erection of a splendid building in Queenstreet,
at an expense of £18,500 raised by subscription.
This edifice, however, was burnt down in 1829; and the
former building in Dunlop-street was consequently enlarged
and embellished by Mr. Alexander, and continued
to be used until 1839, when it was pulled down, and a
larger and more elegant structure erected in its stead,
which was burnt down in November 1845. The Adelphi
theatre, on the Green, was built in 1844, and destroyed
by fire in November 1848: it was the first erected in
Scotland after the passing of the new licensing act, and
accommodated nearly 2000 persons. The (old) Botanic
Gardens originated in the want of such an appendage to
the university, and were formed in 1830, by a proprietary
of £10 shareholders, incorporated under the designation
of the Botanic Garden Institution, who purchased for
that purpose eight acres of ground near the reservoir of
the Cranston-hill water-works. In consideration of the
viniversity having bought shares to the amount of £2000,
their professor of botany was invested with the exclusive
privilege of delivering lectures in the hall of the institution.
This land near the reservoir, however, has been
sold, and a new garden of twenty-one acres formed on
the banks of the Kelvin, two miles off. It occupies a
fine elevated situation, sloping down on the north to the
waters of the Kelvin, whilst, on the south, the New
Observatory stands out a conspicuous object, on a green
swelling elevation of considerable height. The stock of
the society exceeds £10,000; and the gardens, which
contain a very extensive assortment of rare and valuable
plants from almost every part of the world, are under
the direction of a president, vice-president, and a committee
of nine of the proprietors. The Public Baths were
erected in 1800, by Mr. William Harley, in Bath-street,
at the eastern extremity of Nile-street; they comprise
hot and cold baths, with dressing-rooms and every requisite.
The Victoria Baths, in West Nile-street, are of
recent erection, and well conducted by a joint-stock company.
Trade and Commerce.
The first branch of trade pursued by the inhabitants
was the curing of salmon taken in the Clyde, of which
they exported great quantities to France and Holland,
receiving thence in return brandy, wines, and salt; and
towards the commencement of the seventeenth century,
they embarked largely in the herring-fisheries, in which
they carried on a very extensive trade, in vessels of their
own, and for the protection of which, in the reign of
Charles II., they fitted out a privateer of considerable
force. About this time, likewise, they imported much
iron from the Baltic; and after the union of the two
kingdoms, which opened to them the markets of America
and the West Indies, they appear to have imbibed such
a spirit of commercial enterprize as laid the foundation
of their future wealth. They exported, in English vessels,
various goods for the supply of those colonies, from
which they obtained in return large quantities of tobacco.
The increasing success with which this traffic was carried
on, soon enabled them to build and maintain vessels
of their own; and in 1718, the first of these ships left
Glasgow for America. So very great, indeed, was the
prosperity attending their colonial relations, that it at
length excited the jealousy of the English merchants;
and after numerous vexatious obstructions opposed by
Bristol, London, Whitehaven, and other rival ports, the
trade gradually diminished, and in 1/35 almost declined.
It, however, revived soon after, though not to its former
extent, and continued by degrees, and slowly, to augment,
till the breaking out of the American war, which involved
many of the principal merchants in ruinous losses. But
the spirit of enterprise which had been so powerfully
e.xcited, though damped by these disasters, was not extinguished;
the people of Glasgow found other sources
of trade in the West Indies, and on the continent of
Europe; and in 1*90, there were 4*6 ships, of the
aggregate burthen of 46,581 tons, employed in the business
of the port. Owing to the shallowness of water in
the Clyde, however, these ships sailed from Port-Glasgow
and Greenock, the goods being transmitted to and from
Glasgow by small craft.
The introduction of manufactures has afforded to
the inhabitants of Glasgow a permanent source of increasing
prosperity. Of these, the earliest appear to
have been those of plaiding, soap, ropes, and the refining
of sugar, of which, however, the first only was carried on
to any considerable extent: the tanning of leather has
been pursued from an early date; and the Glasgow
Tan-work Company, founded soon after the Union, had
very extensive premises at the head of the Gallowgate.
Breweries, too, on a large scale, were established by
several companies at a distant period. The manufacture
of linen, lawns, cambrics, and similar articles, was begun
about 1/25, and continued for some time to be the staple
trade of the city and neighbourhood; and though
almost superseded by the cotton manufacture, it is still
pursued to a tolerable extent. The weaving of inkle
was established in 1*32, by Mr. Alexander Harvie, of
Glasgow, who, at imminent risk, brought over the first
loom for that purpose from Haerlera, together with
some workmen, and opened a factory here: this branch
of manufacture was subsequently introduced into Manchester
and other towns in England, but it is yet
carried on here upon a large scale. The manufacture
of delft-ware in imitation of the Dutch, in which many
improvements have been made, and of the various
kinds of pottery and earthenware, is also considerable;
and the snuff manufacture, which, while the tobacco
trade with America lasted, was very extensive, is still
successfully prosecuted. The founding of types, and
the art of printing, have been brought to great perfection;
and handsome editions of the Greek and Roman
classics, and other standard works, have issued from the
press of Glasgow. The manufacture of green and flint
glass ware has made considerable progress; and large ale
and porter breweries have been established.
The COTTON manufacture, which is the staple trade
of the town and its vicinity, was introduced at no distant
period, and has been extremely rapid in its advance.
Several large factories, bleaching-grounds, and
printfields, for which the situation of Glasgow, the purity
of the water of the Clyde, and the abundant supply of
coal in the immediate neighbourhood, rendered the place
highly favourable, were soon established; and in 1791,
not less than 15,000 looms, each employing nine persons,
were in active operation. The introduction of this
manufacture and the several trades connected with it,
gave rise to the invention of machinery of all kinds; and
the improvements in the construction of the steamengine,
which appear to have been carried to their height
under the direction of the celebrated Mr. Watt, of this
place, and subsequently of the Soho works, near Birmingham,
have increased this important branch of trade
to an extent almost incredible. There are at present in
Glasgow and its suburbs as many as fifty cotton-mills,
in which are more than 500,000 spindles; two of these
mills are fire-proof, and the cost of their erection and
machinery exceeded £32,000 each. The number of
looms is 47,127, of which 15,127 are steam-looms, 18,537
hand-looms in the city and suburbs, and the rest handlooms
in other parts for the Glasgow manufacturers. If
the whole cotton-factories in the immediate neighbourhood
of Glasgow are included, the number of spindles
now at work amounts to 784,756; the estimated value
of the factories is £784,756, the number of workers
employed 7847, and taking the wages at from eight to
nine shiUings a week, which is the average, the sum paid
to these workers weekly amounts to from £3138 to
£3531. Within the same limits, the number of steamlooms
amounts to 17,620; the estimated value of the
factories, to 264,300; and the number of persons employed,
to 11,200: the average wages being from eight
to nine shillings per week, the amount paid to these
steam-loom workers weekly is from £4480 to £5040.
The steam-engines employed for working the foregoing
machinery are nominally equal to 3705-horse power,
but their real working power is considerably greater.
Besides the spinning and weaving of cotton, the staple
manufactures of Glasgow, silk has also become an extensive
article of commerce and manufacture: this material,
and various rich foreign wools, are now woven into cotton
fabrics with the most complete success.
The printing of calico, in which considerable improvement
has been made by the use of the cylinder, is carried
on very extensively; and the art of dyeing Turkey red,
which was introduced about the beginning of the present
century by M. Papillon, in conjunction with Mr.
George Macintosh, who first erected works for that
object, has been practised with increased advantage.
The printing of Bandana handkerchiefs, begun by Messrs.
Monteith and Company, has been also brought to great
perfection. The weaving of Cashmere shawls has been
much improved by Messrs. Houldsworth and Sons, of
this place, who, having purchased from Captain Cochrane
his patent for the spinning of Cashmere wool, the
secret of which had been discovered in France, established
a factory here for that purpose with the greatest
success. This firm likewise directed its attention to
the art of spinning Merino yarn, also discovered by
Captain Cochrane, and for which the Board of Arts
awarded him a premium of £300; and the merinos
produced in the factory of Messrs. Houldsworth are
equal in softness and quality to those of France. The
woollen manufacture is almost confined to the coarser
kinds of cloth, and carpets and blankets, made from
native wool, which is not adapted for articles of finer
texture. The manufacture of steam-engines, and of the
various kinds of machinery, is carried on to a very great
extent: there are not less than fourteen establishments,
in one of which, alone, about 1000 persons are constantly
employed. Another great source of employment is the
coal trade, which is carried on to an enormous extent
in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, chiefly for home consumption,
though a considerable exportation takes place:
in 1S31, about .560,000 tons passed into and through
the city, whereof 124,000 were exported, principally
coastwise; since which there has been a very large increase.
The number of steam-engines in the different
factories of the city and suburbs is estimated at more
than 350, including those in the collieries and similar
works.
From the peculiarly advantageous situation of Glasgow
on the Clyde, and in a spacious district abounding
with coal and ironstone of rich quality, the iron manufacture
has naturally become an important source
of wealth. In the works for this purpose, material
improvement has been affected, both in the quality of
the iron and in the facility of obtaining it, by the use
of the patent "hot blast", invented by Mr. Neilson in
1824, and which, by conveying a stream of hot air to
the blast furnaces, has been found to increase the intensity
of heat in the fires to an extraordinary degree.
And not merely is a greater quantity of iron of better
quality thus produced, in less time; but also, by allowing
of the substitution of coal in the place of coke,
previously used, the amount of fuel has been reduced to
three-sevenths of what was necessary by the cold blast
process. Nor is it only in the making of iron that this
invention has proved profitable: in the foundry and in
the forge, the, advantage of its adoption is likewise strikingly
apparent. There are now nine iron-foundries in
the city and suburbs. In the Clyde works, which consist
of four furnaces, about 20,000 tons of iron are produced
annually, on an average. In the Govan works,
to the south and in the immediate neighbourhood of
Glasgow, are five furnaces in blast, producing rather
more than 26,000 tons of pig-iron annually.
Extensive chemical- works were established in the
district of St. Rollox, in 1800, by Messrs. Tennant, Knox,
and Company, for the manufacture of sulphuric acid,
chloride of lime, soda, and other articles. The buildings
of this concern occupy an area of nearly 28,000 square
yards, and contain more than 100 furnaces, retorts, and
other apparatus; the vessels of platina alone are valued
at £7000, and in the various processes 600 tons of coal
are consumed weekly. Among the numerous chimneys
of the establishment is one ,500 feet in height from its
base. The manufacture of acetate of lead, previously
imported from Holland, and of which large quantities
are used in calico-printing, was established at Glasgow
in 1786, by Mr. Charles Macintosh, and carried on to
such an extent that great quantities of it were exported to
the very place from which the mode of preparing it had
been originally obtained. Mr. Macintosh also effected
improvements in the dyeing of fancy muslins, and the preparation
of chloride of lime, in powder, for the purpose
of bleaching. In 1808, he established extensive alumworks
at Hurlet and Campsie; commenced the manufacture
of Prussian blue, and the triple prussiate of potash
as a substitute for indigo; and introduced the process
of rendering silk and woollen stuff's waterproof by the
insertion, between two surfaces, of a layer of caoutchouc,
made liquid by solution in naphtha. The same gentleman
invented a process for converting iron into steel, by inclosing
it in air-tight vessels, and subjecting it to the
action of rarburetted hydrogen gas. For these inventions
and discoveries he was, in 1823, elected a fellow of
the Royal Society of London. The distilling of whisky
is comparatively of recent introduction; the first establishment
of any magnitude was in the year 1786, and
since that period no very great increase seems to have
taken place.
The trade of the port is principally with America,
the West Indies, and the continent of Europe; also to
the East Indies, and China, the Mediterranean, Australia,
and, in short, to all places of any consequence in
the known world. In the year 1814, the quantity of
sugar imported into the ports of the Clyde from the
West Indies, was 540,198 cwt, of rum 1,251,092 gallons,
and of cotton wool 6,530,177 lb.; exclusively of large
quantities of grain, hemp, tallow, and timber from the
Baltic. The exports, chiefly manufactured goods, during
the same year, amounted to £4,016,181. The number
of ships that entered inwards was 448, of the aggregate
burthen of 72,219 tons; and the number that cleared
outwards, during that year, was 592, of 94,350 tons.
Since this time, the Clyde trustees have been most successful
in improving the navigation of the river; and
instead of the coal gabberts of from 20 to 50 tons' burthen,
the largest vessels that could visit Glasgow at the
beginning of the present century, vessels of above 700
tons are now at the harbour, drawing seventeen feet
water, besides many more of from 300 to 500 tons.
Among the numerous steam- vessels which regularly
visit the harbour, may be mentioned the .-^(/miru/ steamship,
built at Port-Glasgow in 1840, of 930 tons (total
tonnage), drawing 11 feet water; and the Achilles, of
992 tons, the length of this latter vessel over all being
220 feet. There are 61 steam-vessels belonging to capitalists
in Glasgow, registering 11,016 tons, exclusive of
space occupied by the engines, and propelled by 8704-
horse power. Several of these vessels register above 600
tons, use engines of above 400-horse power, and are
capable of being armed with one long gun of the longest
calibre, and fourteen 24-pound carronades. A very
considerable trade is carried on at Glasgow in timber;
the firm of Messrs. Pollock, Gilmour, and Company hold
thirty-nine ships, registering 26,980 tons, navigated by
1300 seamen, and chiefly employed in importing wood.
The first ship engaged in the China free trade was consigned
to Mr. William Mathieson, of this city; and her
cargo of teas was disposed of in the sale-room of the
Royal Exchange, at a remunerating price, on the 14th
of November, 1834.
In 1840 the number of vessels that entered the port
of Glasgow was 16,486, of the aggregate burthen of
1,166,329 tons: the vessels employed in foreign trade,
direct to Glasgow, amounted in the year 1844 to 316,
registering 58,816 tons; while the vessels that cleared
out for foreign ports amounted to 442, registering 83,621
tons. The number of registered vessels belonging to the
port, in 1847, was 519, of 137,533 aggregate tonnage.
In 1812, the customs yielded only £3124; in 1814,
£7420; in 1817, £8290; in 1820, £11,000; in 1.S22,
£16,148; in 1824, £29,926; in 1825, £41,154; in 1828,
£74,255; in 1833, £97,042; in 1834, £166,913; in
1 835, £2/0,667; in 1837, £389,702; in 1S44, £551,851;
in 1847, £659,835; and in 1850, £640,568. From this
statement, some notion may be gained as to the great
and progressive advances of the commerce of this city;
but it must be observed that the increase is not solely
to be attributed to an augmented trade, but partly to
the circumstance of numbers of ships now being able,
from a greater depth of water, to proceed to the Broomielaw
at Glasgow and pay duties there, instead of at
Greenock on the Firth of Clyde. The tonnage and harbour
dues have also progressively increased: in 1771,
they amounted to £1071; in 1791, to £2145; in 1804,
to £4760; in 1825, to £8480; in 1826, to £16,200; in
1835, to £31,900; in 1841, to about £48,000; and in
1850, to £64,243.
The HARBOUR, as already stated, has been greatly
improved and extended, and, by the deepening of the
river, been rendered accessible to vessels of more than
700 tons: the quay reaches for upwards of 3000 yards
in length on the north, and upvvards of 2000 yards on
the south, side of the river; while the width of the harbour,
at Glasgow bridge, is 440 feet. There are spacious
warehouses for the reception of merchandise, with every
requisite for facilitating the trade of the port. Six
dredging-machines, with powerful steam apparatus and
two diving-bells, are kept for clearing the river from
obstructions; and si.\ powerful cranes have been erected,
one of which, constructed by Messrs. Claud Girwood and
Company, is capable of raising a weight of thirty-two
tons, while another, on the south side of the river, made
by Mr. Caird of Greenock, can raise forty-five tons at a
time. In 1846 an act was passed authorizing the construction
of a wet-dock or tidal basin, with additional
wharfs and other works. Since the deepening of the
Clyde, ship-building has been introduced, and is nowcarried
on with success; yards for that purpose have
been constructed, and vessels of 1000 tons' measurement
are now built here, both for the royal navy and for the
merchants' service.
The art of propelling vessels by steam appears to
have been first brought into actual use at this place, by
Mr. Henry Bell, who, having constructed a steam-engine
of three-horse power, employed Messrs. Wood and Company,
of Port-Glasgow, to built a boat for him, which
was the first steamer that sailed on any navigable river
in Europe. This vessel, which was called the Comet,
began to ply on the 18th of January, 1812, between
Glasgow and Greenock, performing the voyage at the
rate of five miles per hour, which was subsequently increased,
the vessel being altered and enlarged. Since
that time, steam navigation has of course been much
encouraged. The number of steamers employed at the
port, in a late year, was sixty-seven, of which eighteen
plied between this place and the ports of Liverpool,
Belfast, Dublin, and Londonderry, and eleven between
Stranraer and the Western Highlands, for goods and
passengers; twenty-six for passengers only, in the river
and Firth of Clyde; eight for luggage; and four for
towing vessels. At the present time the number of
steamers is still larger. The boats of more recent construction
are elegantly fitted up for passengers, and their
speed is greatly increased. A fine iron-built screw
steam-ship, called the City of Glasgow, and intended to ply
between Glasgow and New York, was launched in the
year 1850.
Canals and Railways.
The Forth and Clyde Canal, already referred to, and
which, for want of funds, had been suspended in 1775,
was resumed in 1784, when government granted £50,000
from the forfeited estates, towards its completion, which
was effected in 1790. This important work is nearly
thirty-five miles in length, of which sixteen miles are on
the summit level, having an elevation of 156 feet above
the sea: the ascent to this level, from the eastern sea,
is obtained by twenty, and from the western sea by
nineteen, locks. The average width of the canal is
fitty-six feet on the surface, and twenty-eight at the
bed; and the average depth ten feet. By the opening
of this line of navigation, the distance by water is diminished
800 or 1000 nautical miles, and the passage
rendered vastly more safe. In its progress the canal
crosses the rivers Luggie and Kelvin, and is conveyed
over the latter, and the valley in which the river flows,
by a bridge of four lofty arches, erected at an expense
of £8509. It is supplied by eight capacious reservoirs,
covering more than 720 acres of ground. Several iron
steam tug boats, and swift passage boats drawn by
horses, leave Port-Dundas at Glasgow, and return, daily;
the concern is in a very flourishing state, and in 1844
as many as 598,333 tons of goods were carried. During
the suspension of this undertaking, the city completed
a collateral cut to Hamilton hill, about a mile to the
north of Glasgow, which was subsequently extended to
Port-Dundas, and which, affording a more ready communication
than was previously possessed, greatly increased
the facilities of commerce. In 1845 an act was
passed for forming a junction between the Forth and
Clyde navigation and the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union
Canal. The Monkland Canal, begun in 1770, and connecting
the town with the collieries in the parishes of
Old and New Monkland, is about twelve miles in length,
thirty-five feet wide at the surface and twenty-four at
its bed, and about five feet in average depth. It attains
its summit level at Blackhill, and is thence continued to
Sheepford, where are two locks, by means of which it
communicates wMth the river Calder. An act was passed
in 1846 authorizing the sale of this canal to the proprietors
of the Forth and Clyde navigation. The Glasgoiv.
Paisley, and Ardrossan Canal was commenced in
1807, and the part between Glasgow and Johnstone was
opened in 181 1. The projected line, from Port-Eglinton
to the harbour at Ardrossan, was thirty-five miles and
three-quarters; but nothing has been done since the
completion of the Johnstone portion, and the distance
does not, therefore, exceed eleven miles. The canal is
thirty feet wide at the surface and eighteen feet at the
bed, and the average depth four feet six inches; near
Johnstone it has eight locks, and there are numerous
boats employed in carrying heavy goods, but now no
passage boats.
Great facility of intercourse in every direction is
afforded by the lines of the Caledonian, the Edinburgh
and Glasgow, and the Glasgow and Ayrshire railway
companies, which are three of the six principal railway
companies in Scotland. The acts of parliament, however,
that have been obtained by these companies are so
numerous, and the arrangements successively made are
now of so little general interest, that it may sufiice to
state in few words the means of communication which
each company affords, in respect to Glasgow. The Catc-
(tonkin Railwaij connects the city with the counties of
Lanark and Dumfries, through which it passes to Carhsle
in England; being a means of uniting the two
countries, like the North-British railway from Edinburgh
to Berwick-upon-Tweed, which runs along the east
coast. With the Caledonian railway are amalgamated
the Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock railway, and other
lines. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway connects the
two cities from which it takes its name. It passes
through the counties of Lanark, Dumbarton, Stirling,
Linlithgow, and Edinburgh; and at Castlecary, fifteen
miles and a half distant from Glasgow, forms a junction
with the Scottish Central railway to Perth, from which
city there is railway communication to Dundee, Arbroath,
Montrose, and Aberdeen. By the Glasgow and AyrsluTe
Railway, facility of intercourse is maintained with Paisley,
Kilmarnock, Ayr, and other places; and at Kilmarnock
commences the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle line of
railway, now in progress in connexion with the Glasgow
and Ayrshire railway company, and part of which is
already opened. To each of these three great railways
there belong various subordinate lines, either by purchase
or lease. The railway stations in the city form one of the
most remarkable features of recent date in Glasgow.
Public Buildings connected with Trade, &c.
The Town-hall and old Royal Exchange, in Trongatestreet,
erected in 1636, and greatly improved in 1740,
for the accommodation of the merchants of the city, is
an elegant structure, with a piazza of the Doric order
facing Trongate, having the keystones of the arches ornamented
with grotesque heads well sculptured. Above the
piazza rises the chief story, embellished with pillars of
the Ionic order, supporting a handsome entablature and
cornice surmounted by an open balustrade enriched with
pilasters crowned by vases. The principal, or Town,
hall, which is used for public meetings of the inhabitants
under the sanction of the magistrates, is fifty-four feet
in length and twenty-seven feet wide, with a coved ceiling
twenty- four feet high. Its walls are decorated with
trophies, and full-length portraits of James VI., Charles
I. and II., James II., William III. and his queen Mary,
Queen Anne, George I., II., and III., and of Archibald,
Duke of Argyll, in his robes as lord justice-general:
over the mantel- piece is a bust, in bronze, of George III.;
and at the east end of the hall, a statue, in marble, of
William Pitt, by Flaxman. To the west of the old
Exchange, in the same building, were the old assemblyrooms,
a handsome suite, elegantly fitted up. The chief
room is forty-seven feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and
twenty-four feet high; and its walls are adorned with
fluted Corinthian colun^.ns, sustaining an enriched ceiling,
from which are suspended three brilliant chandeliers
of cut glass. This room is now the principal hall
of the Tontine hotel.
The New Exchange, a spacious edifice at the west end
of the old part of the city, was erected about twenty
years ago, and for the beauty of its design is not surpassed
l)y any structure in the kingdom: on each side,
also, lofty and handsome buildings have been raised to
form a suitable square. This su|)erb pile, which cost
£60,000, is wholly in the Grecian style of architecture,
and is entered by a noble portico, surmounted by a
lantern tower. The great room measures 130 feet in
length, sixty feet in breadth, and thirty feet in height in
the centre, and is supported on each side by pillars of
the Corinthian order. Close to the New Exchange, and
in the eastern part of the square, is an equestrian statue
of the Duke of Wellington, the inauguration of which
took place on October 8th, 1844; it was raised by the
munificence of the inhabitants, and forms a noble monument
of the skill of Marochetti the sculptor. On one
side of the pedestal is represented, in bas-relief, the
victory of Assaye; on the opposite side is depicted that
of Waterloo; and the two remaining sides are occupied
by representations of the Soldier's Return and the peaceful
pursuits of Agriculture. The Custom- House, formerly
in St. Enoch's square, is now at the west end of Great
Clyde-street, in the immediate neighbourhood of the
harbour: the building was erected by the crown in 1839,
at an expense of about £13,000, and is in the Grecian-
Doric style of architecture.
The Tontine Coffee-rooms and Hotel form a handsome
edifice, erected in 1781. Of these buildings, the
coffee-room is seventy-four feet long, and of proportionate
width and height: at the north end, which is
circular, is a spacious window, divided by Doric columns
into compartments, within which are seats for the subscribers;
and the room, which is amply supplied with
Scotch, English, and Irish newspapers, and periodical
publications of every kind, is lighted by richly-cut glass
chandeliers. The principal entrance, which is from the
piazza, leads into a vestibule whose lofty roof is sustained
by pillars of the Doric order, with corresponding
pilasters in the walls. The reading-room is supported
by an annual subscription of £1. 1'2., but is open to
strangers gratuitously for a limited time. In the hotel are
numerous suites of apartments, elegantly furnished, and
replete with every accommodation. There are various
banking establishments, of which the principal are,
branches of the Bank of Scotland, the British Linen
Company, and the Commercial, National, and Royal
Banks of Scotland; the City of Glasgow Bank; and the
Clydesdale, Glasgow Joint- Stock, and Glasgow Union
Companies. Some of the buildings for these banks are
of very handsome design. The Post-office is in Glassfordstreet,
where a building formerly occupied as warehouses
is fitted up for the accommodation of the public.
The market, which is abundantly supplied with provisions
of all kinds, is on Wednesday. Fairs are held
annually on the second Wednesday in January, the
Thursday before Easter, the ^6th of May or on the
Monday following, the first Monday after Whitsunday,
the second Monday in July, and on the Wednesday
after Martinmas. The Corn Exchange, in Hopestreet,
was completed and opened for the use of the
corn merchants in November 184'2. It is a handsome
quadrangular structure of stone, erected under the
superintendence of Messrs. Brown and Carrick, by a
proprietary of £U0 shareholders. The exterior is relieved
by a range of circular-headed windows: in the
centre of the principal front, at the entrance from Hopestreet,
is a beautiful portico of Corinthian columns,
twenty-five feet high, supporting an entablature and
pediment; and the walls all round are crowned with an
open balustrade. The interior contains a hall for the
meeting of the merchants, eighty feet in length and fifty-
seven wide, lighted by cupolas formed in the compartments
of the ceiling, which is twenty-two feet high, and
by a magnificent lantern in the centre, fifty feet long
and thirty feet wide, sustained on eight fluted columns
of the Corinthian order. Around the hall are ranged
thirty-six stalls, let to tenants at a rent of £10 per annum,
and so contrived as to aiford every facility of carrying
on the business of the market: imdcrneath the hall is a
store, capable of containing SOO tons of grain.
There are markets for butchers' meat and fish in Kingstreet,
the former 112 feet long and fifty-seven feet
wide, and the latter 173 feet by forty-six: the area,
which is inclosed with walls, and has several handsome
entrance-gateways, is subdivided into stalls, and paved
with freestone; the benches for the fish are covered with
lead, and each stall has a separate water-pipe. The
market for beef, in Bell-street, is of plainer character.
Although these markets are still continued, butchers'
meat and fish are chiefly sold in shops in various parts
of the town. The vegetable and green market formerly
occupied the site of the ancient Wynd church; the
butter, cheese, poultry, and egg market, once in Montrose-
street, has been removed to the Bowling-green
(now the Bazaar) in Candleriggs-street, covering 2411
square yards. To the south of Bridgegate-street is the
slaughter-house, a large building, erected in 1810, and
occupying 4/36 square yards; it contains seventy-seven
separate killing-rooms, two cattle-yards, and two alleys
leading to the killing-rooms, along the whole of which
are placed pipes for conveying water, with copious sewers
to carry off the offensive matter. The cattle-market,
erected in 1818, between the roads leading to Edinburgh
by the Gallowgate and Duke streets, is a spacious area
containing 29,560 square yards, paved with stone, and
inclosed with walls. It has a good inn, with stabling,
and affords accommodation for the display of 120 o.xen
and nearly 10,000 sheep; the market is well attended by
dealers from distant places, and occasionally cattle and
pigs are sent from Ireland for sale. At the east end of
Ingram-street is the Tron or weigh house, a large building
which is also used as a storehouse. An act of parliament
entitled '" Glasgow markets and slaughter-houses"
was passed in the session of 1850.
Municipal Affairs.
The city of Glasgow, though declared to be a free
burgh by charter of William the Lion, still exercised the
privileges conferred upon it solely under the influence
and control of the bishops and archbishops of the see,
in favour of whom, indeed, the charter was especially
granted. Even after it was erected into a burgh of regality
by James II., the citizens continued to be governed
by bailies appointed by the bishops, who generally selected
the most powerful among the nobility of the kingdom
to fill that office, which eventually became hereditary
in the family of the Dukes of Lennox. After the resignation
of this power by one of the dukes, the choice of
the magistrates was regularly made by the crown till the
year I6ll,when, by an ample charter bestowed by James
VI., confirming all former gifts, the burgesses were vested
with the liberty of electing their own magistrates. This
charter was ratified and extended by Charles I., and
afterwards confirmed by charter of Charles II.; and in
1690, by charter of William III., the citizens received all
the privileges of a royal burgh, with rights and immunities
as full and free as those of Edinburgh. L'nder
this charter, as subsequently explained by usage since
the Union, and as lately modified by the Municipal Reform
act, the government of the city is vested in a lord
provost, five bailies, a bailie of the river Clyde, a treasurer,
a dean of guild elected by the Merchants' House,
a deacon-convener elected by the Trades' House, and
twenty-two other councillors; assisted by assessors and
town-clerks, a chamberlain and superintendent of works,
and other officers. The council consists altogether of
thirty-two members. It was formerly chosen by the
corporation, but, since the passing of the Municipal act,
has been chosen by the £10 householders within the
burgh. Both the provost and treasurer continue in office
for three years, and the third of the council who have
been longest in office retire annually, in November: the
chamberlain is appointed by the magistrates and council
during pleasure, but is generally continued for life; the
town-clerks, also, hold their office ad vitam aut culpam.
The corporation are patrons of all the parish churches
within the royalty, except the Inner High church; they
have also the patronage of the Grammar or High School,
and the right of presentation to several bursaries, or
scholarships, in the university. The jurisdiction of the
magistrates extends over the ancient royalty, the lands
of Ramshorn, with other parts of the Barony parish, and
the lands of Blythswood; they are also superiors of
Gorbals.
The city is divided into five wards, each of which
chooses six of the town-councillors; and the inhabitants
have the power, on certain payments, of joining either
of two classes, the merchants and the tradesmen. Each
of these has a separate House, and their interests are
respectively under the superintendence of a dean of guild
and a deacon-convener, who, as has been already stated,
are both members of the town council. There are fourteen
minor incorporations of trades, which, as settled
by the letter of guildry, take precedence as follows: the
hammermen, tailors, cordiners, maltmen, weavers, baxters,
skinners, wrights, coopers, fleshers, masons, gardeners,
barbers, and bonnet-makers. These minor incorporations
constitute the Trades' House. The origin
of the Merchants' House is involved in some obscurity:
it appears, prior to 174", to have consisted wholly of the
burgesses who followed the occupation of merchants;
but by an act of the House in that year, the corporation
was thrown open to all traders within the city, whether
natives or foreigners, wholesale or retail dealers, of fair
character, who should pay a subscription of four shillings
annually, and a fine of five shillings on admission,
which latter sum has been subsequently raised to ten
guineas. This House is under the superintendence of
the dean of guild, who has power to compel such of the
iuhabitants as are not freemen, and exercise the privileges
of the city, to enter themselves as burgesses, and to pay
the fine or entrance money. Most of the minor incorporations
are possessed of property to a considerable
amount, and contribute largely to the support of charitable
institutions. The town-corporation revenue, in
1848- 9, was £20,247.
The magistrates exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction
within the burgh, the former to an unlimited
amount in personal actions, and the latter extending to
all offences not capital, or punishable by transportation.
A court is held every other Thursday before the dean of
guild and his council, consisting of eight members, four
from the Merchants' and four from the Trades' House.
It grants warrants for the erection or repair of buildings
in the public thoroughfares, which cannot be commenced
without its order; also for the removal of obstructions
and nuisances; and in this court, prosecutions are instituted
against such as trade in the city without having
obtained their freedom. The business is conducted by
the town-clerks, who act as assessors. The Water-
Bailie's court is held on stated days, for civil and criminal
business; and in all cases above the amount of ten
shillings, the proceedings are in writing; the causes are
decided by the town-clerks, as assessors; and the jurisdiction
of the court extends from the port to the Cloch
lighthouse, about twenty-five miles below Glasgow, for all
oflFences committed on the river or in the harbour. The
Police establishment is managed, in a very effective manner,
by a board elected from the wards into which the
city is divided, the magistrates being members of the
board ex officio.
Among the edifices connected with municipal affairs,
one of the most prominent is that designated the City
and County Buildings, a structure in the Ionic style,
erected in 1843, in Wilson-street, extending a considerable
way up Brunswick-street on the east, and Hutcheson-
street on the west. An elegant hall is fitted up in
that portion of the building fronting Wilson-street, for
the meetings of the town-council; and fronting Hutcheson-
street is the burgh court hall, in which the dean-ofguild
court and the small-debt court are held: the offices
of the city chamberlain and town-clerks are also on this
side of the building, and that portion of it fronting
Brunswick-street is occupied by the sheriff's chambers,
and various offices connected with the county.
The old Merchants' House, on the south side of Bridgegate-
street, was erected in 1659. Its lofty tower, of
three stages rising from each other in diminished proportions,
terminates in a pyramidal spire, surmounted
by a vane representing a ship in full sail, and having an
elevation of 164 feet from the base. The interior of the
building contained a spacious hall, eighty feet in length
and thirty wide, the walls of which were hung with wellpainted
portraits of the most munificent benefactors to
the poor members of the company: there were also various
other apartments. This Hall, from its situation
and want of proper accommodation, having become unfit
for the business of the institution, was sold, and a
commodious building erected in Hutcheson-street, to the
north of and in connexion with the City and County
Buildings. Six columns and four pilasters in the Grecian
style of architecture adorn the front, extending two
stories above the first or basement story, and surmounted
by a sculptured frieze and a parapet with vases. The
edifice was completed in 1843, and contains an elegant
hall seventy-five feet by thirty-five feet, with a coved ceiling
twenty-seven feet in height, embellished with Grecian
ornamental work: there is also a room for the directors,
and other apartments are occupied by persons engaged
in the general business of the Merchants' House. The
Trades' House, on the west side of Glassford-street, was
erected on the site of a former building, after a design
by Messrs. Robert and James Adam. It is a handsome
structure of stone, consisting of a central range and two
slightly-projecting wings, rising from a rusticated base-
ment. Over the entrance, in the centre of the edifice, is
a boldly-projecting portico of two duplicated columns of
the Ionic order, supporting an enriched entablature and
cornice, surmounted by a triangular pediment, above
which is an attic, with an open balustrade, having in
the centre a shield bearing the city arms, supported by
two female figures in a reclining attitude, well sculptured.
The whole is crowned by a spacious dome, rising
from the roof, and terminating in a cupola and lantern.
The hall, which is seventy feet in length, thirty-five feet
wide, and twenty-four feet high, is lighted in front by
three large Venetian windows, between which are other
windows of smaller dimensions, and by the lantern of
the dome, the interior of which is richly embellished.
Its walls are ornamented with pilasters of the Doric
order, supporting an entablature and cornice, and are
hung with portraits of the principal benefactors, and the
armorial bearings of the fourteen companies.
The old Tolbooth, to the east of the town-hall, an
ancient building containing the courts of justice for the
city and county, and also the prison for debtors and
malefactors, was five stories in height. It had square
turrets at the angles, and on the south side a boldlyprojecting
and embattled porch, forming the principal
entrance, with a square tower surmounted by a spire,
rising from the battlements, and strengthened by flying
buttresses resembling an imperial crown, together XIQ
feet in height. In the tower, which is still preserved, is
an excellent clock, whereby the other clocks in the town
are regulated; also a remarkably fine set of musical
chimes. This prison, situated in the centre of the city,
without court-yards, chapel, or infirmary, not containing
sufficient accommodation for holding the courts, and
having only thirty-two apartments for prisoners of every
description, was abandoned by the corporation, and, with
the exception of the tower, sold to Mr. Cleland for £8000,
in 1807.
The Jail and Court-Houses, erected instead of the Tolbooth,
in 1811, at the west end of the public green, form
a spacious building in the Grecian-Doric style of architecture,
with a magnificent portico. At the time the
edifice was raised, the hall and other apartments in its
western division were considered amply sufficient for the
civil and criminal establishments. From the rapid increase
of population, however, it was found that the
business of the justiciary circuit courts was much obstructed
for want of proper space, and the whole of this
portion of the building is now fitted up in a superior
manner for their better accommodation. There are 122
apartments for prisoners; the prison admits of efficient
classification, and is furnished with water and every requisite
for cleanliness and health. Two cells, parted
from the rest of the jail, and so constructed as to dispense
with the use of irons, are reserved for prisoners
under sentence of death. The governor's house commands
a view of the several airing-yards; the chapel is
seated for 200 persons, and there is an infirmary, well
ventilated, for the reception of the sick. The old Bridewell,
in Duke-street, opened in 1/98, though ill adapted
for classification, answered the purpose for which it was
erected till, from the great increase of population, it became
too small, when the authorities resolved to erect a
bridewell capacious enough to receive the prisoners both
of the city and the county, for which purpose, having
procured an act of parliament, they erected the present
structure, which was opened in 1824. This building,
adjoining the former, is not only sufficiently ample and
spacious, but combines all the advantages of complete
classification, seclusion, and security. Tlie Police Buildings,
erected at an expense of £14,000, and finished in
January 1S26, are of a superior kind, and embrace every
requisite accommodation, including a court-room, numerous
cells, &c. The House of Refuge, for the reclamation
of juvenile offenders, was erected by subscriptions exceeding
£10,000, on a site comprising four acres of
ground on the lands of White Hill; the institution is
also opened to the reception of orphan boys and others
whose parents abandon them to vagrancy, and is conducted
on a plan combining every thing requisite for the
restoration of the depraved to habits of order and virtuous
industry. A similar institution, for the reception of
destitute young females, has also been recently erected.
Previously to the Reform act, Glasgow was united
with the burghs of Ruthcrglen, Renfrew, and Dumbarton,
in returning one member to the imperial parliament,
who was elected by the burgesses; but, since the passing
of that act, the city of itself has returned two members,
and the right of election has been in the £ 10 householders.
The University.
The University was originally founded in 1451, by
Bishop TurnbuU, who, under the sanction of James II.,
procured for that purpose a bull from Pope Nicholas V.,
and was appointed the first regent or chancellor. With
the assistance of his chapter, the bishop prepared a body
of statutes for the government of the institution,
which was placed under the
superintendence of a chancellor, rector, doctors, and
masters of the four faculties of theology, canon law, civil
law, and the arts, as enumerated in the papal bull, and
the several professors of which had taken their degrees
in other universities. To encourage the professors, in
1453, the bishop obtained for every beneficed clergyman
belonging to the college, exemption from all taxes and
public burdens, and from residence in their respective
cures, provided they took care to have the religious duties
regularly performed. The rector was sole judge in
all civil and criminal causes in which any member of the
university was a party; and the whole of the privileges
and exemptions were confirmed by an act of James II.,
and renewed by succeeding sovereigns. The institution,
however, had no endowment; it was supported solely
by the small perquisites and fees paid into the common
fund on the conferring of degrees, and the patronage of
two or three small chapelries. Moreover, there was at
first no building appropriated for its use, and the officers
held their meetings either in the chapter-house of the
Black Friars', or in the cathedral, till the year 1459,
when James, first Lord Hamilton, gave to the principal
and the regent of the college of arts a spacious mansion
in the High-street, and four acres of laud on Dow Hill.
On the Reformation, Archbishop James Beaton, who
was then chancellor, withdrew to France, taking with
him the plate of the cathedral, and the bulls, charters
and other records, both of the see and of the university
which he deposited partly in the convent of the Carthusian
monks, and partly in the Scotch college, at
Paris, to be preserved till the restoration of papacy. At
this period, with the exception of the college of arts,
which was still maintained by the contributions of the
students, the university appears to have fallen to decay.
In this depressed state of its finances, Mary, Queen of
Scots, in 1560 granted to the college of arts the kirk
and manse of the Friars " Preedicatores ", with thirteen
acres of land, and the rents and annuities belonging to
that fraternity, for the foundation of five bursaries for
poor students; and in 15*2, the corporation of Glasgow
gave for the support of the university all the lands, tenements,
and other profits and emoluments of the several
chapels, altarages, and prebends in the churches of the
city. In 1577, James VI., a minor, with consent of the
Earl of Morton, then regent, granted the rectory and
vicarage of the kirk of Govan; and conferred also upon
the university a new charter of foundation, which in its
most essential points is still in force. From that time
the institution has continued to flourish. Charles I.
bestowed upon it all the temporalities of the bishopric of
Galloway; and William III. granted £300 from the exchequer,
payable annually, for its support. In 1~02
the number of students amounted to 402. Queen Anne,
in 1708, assigned £210 per annum towards the maintenance
of a professor of anatomy and botany; and
succeeding sovereigns have been liberal benefactors.
Alexander Macfarlane, of Jamaica, who had built an
observatory there, at his death bequeathed the whole of
his astronomical apparatus to the college, on condition
that they should erect an observatory; and in 1*60, a
royal grant of £50 per annum was made in aid of the
support of a professor of astronomy. The university has
been also patronised by many distinguished individuals,
among whom was the late Dr. William Hunter of London,
who bequeathed to it the whole of his valuable collection
of specimens illustrative of natural history, medals,
anatomical preparations, books, and manuscripts, with
£8000 to erect a museum for their reception.
The affairs of the university, as at present constituted,
are conducted by three distinct bodies, the senate, the
comitia, and the faculty. The members of the senate
are the rector, the dean of faculties, and the professors,
of whom the rector is president, or, in affairs for which
he is competent, the dean. They hold their meetings
for the election and admission of the chancellor, and
dean of faculty, the vice-chancellor, and vice-rector; for
the election of a representative in the General Assembly;
for the conferring of degrees, the management of the
library, and other matters belonging to the university.
The comitia consists of the rector, the dean, the principal,
the professors, and the matriculated students, of whom
the rector, or the vice-rector, is president. The}' meet
for the election and admission of the rector; for hearing
public disputations in the several faculties, previously to
the conferring of degrees; for hearing the inaugural discourses
of the principal and professors, before admission
to their respective offices; and for the promulgation of
the laws of the university, and other acts of the university
and college courts. The faculty consists of the
principal, and the thirteen professors of divinity, church
history, the oriental languages, natural philosophy, moral
philosophy, the mathematics, logic, Greek, humanity,
civil law, medicine, anatomy, and practical astronomy,
being those of the old foundation: the principal is president,
and has a casting, but not a deliberative, vote.
The members of faculty have the administration of the
college revenues, with the exception of a few particular
bequests in which the rector or other officers are expressly
named; also the patronage of eight professorships,
of several bursaries, and of the parish church of Govan.
Of the officers of the university the principal are the
chancellor, vice-chancellor, rector, dean of faculties, principal,
the keeper of the museum, librarian, and sublibrarian.
The chancellor, who holds office for life, has
the sole privilege of conferring degrees on persons found
qualified by the senatus academicus. The rector is
elected annually, and exercises academical jurisdiction
among the students, and also magisterial jurisdiction in
matters between the students and the citizens. The
dean of faculty, who holds office for two years, regulates
the course of studies in the several faculties, and, together
with the rector, principal, and professors, decides upon
the qualification of the candidates for degrees. The
principal is appointed by the crown; he is primarius
professor of divinity, and superintends the deportment
of the members of the college. There are twenty-two
professors in the four faculties of arts, theology, law,
and medicine. In the first of these are the professorships
of humanity, Greek, logic, moral philosophy,
natural philosophy, mathematics, practical astronomy,
civil-engineering, and natural history: in theology are
the professorships of divinity, church history, and the
oriental languages; in law, the single professorship of
civil law; and in the faculty of medicine, the professorships
of anatomy, the theory and practice of medicine,
surgery, midwifery, chemistry, botany, materia raedica,
the institutes of medicine, and forensic medicine. The
chairs of divinity, natural philosophy, moral philosophy,
logic, Greek, humanity, mathematics, and oriental languages
are in the gift of the faculty, rector, and dean;
the rest are presented to by the crown. There is also
the Waltonian lectureship of the structure, functions,
and diseases of the eye. Attached to the college are
sixty-nine bursaries, varying from £5 to £40 per annum,
tenable for from four to six years; and some valuable
exhibitions. Of the latter the chief were founded in
1688, by Mr. John Snell, for the support of episcopacy
in Scotland, for which purpose he devised an estate near
Leamington in the county of Warwick, now producing
a rental of £1300 per annum, which is appropriated to
the education of ten students from Glasgow at Baliol
College, Oxford. The other exhibitions were founded by
John Warner, Bishop of Rochester, who assigned £20
per annum to be paid to each of four Scotch students at
the same college; and this endowment is received by
four of the above exhibitioners, who have an income of
£1.50 each, instead of £130, tenable, like the other six
exhibitions, which remain at £130, for ten years.
The library of the university was founded in the
fifteenth century, and forms a very extensive collection,
in which are many beautiful editions of the classics.
Altogether it numbers about .58,000 volumes. The collection
is increased by donations, and by the purchase
of works with a sum granted in lieu of the privilege of
receiving a copy of every book published in the kingdom,
and with fees from the students, who are entitled to admission
to the library. The botanic garden, adjoining
the college, was prepared for the use of the botanical
professor, in 1753; but being from various causes inadequate,
the botanic gardens opened of late, as previously
noticed, were rendered available to the purposes
of the university. The Hunterian Museum, consisting
of books, coins, paintings, anatomical preparations, &c.,
was founded by the celebrated William Hunter, in the
year 1781. It is placed in an elegant structure of stone,
erected from a design by Mr. William Stark, after the
model of a Roman temple of the Doric order, and so
contrived that from every point of view the edifice presents
an appearance of simple magnificence. The whole
collection is valued at above £100,000; the number of
volumes in the library is about 1 '2,000. In the building
is a fine statue of the distinguished James Watt, in marble,
by Chantrey.
The BUILDINGS of the university are situated on the
east side of High-street, towards which is the principal
front, 305 feet in length; and they extend 282 feet in
depth, inclosing an area of 9556 square yards, divided
into four courts, of which three are quadrangular ranges
three stories in height, and relieved with turrets and
other ornaments: on the east side of the western quadrangle
is a lofty tower. The erections in the eastern
division, which had stood for more than two centuries,
and had become dilapidated, were partially taken down
and rebuilt in 1811. In the principal front are three
entrances, the central of which is adorned with rusticated
masonry; and the gateway, over which are the
royal arms in basso-relievo, gilt, is surmounted by a balcony
supported on corbels. The east front is divided
into three compartments, of which the central projects,
and is embellished with a lofty portico of four
massive columns of the Doric order, sustaining an entablature
and cornice, with a triangular pediment; the
receding compartments have corresponding pilasters,
with entablature and cornice, crowned with an open
balustrade. This range contains the common hall, the
anatomical theatre, and the halls of the professors of
humanity, Greek, logic, chemistry, mathematics, and
medicine. At the southern extremity is the college
library, a handsome building, the front of which is enriched
with Corinthian pilasters, supporting an angular
pediment, with niches on each side: the new library, to
the south of the anatomical theatre, is a building of
plainer character. The great hall, and the halls for the
several faculties, fronting the High-street, are spacious j
the walls are decorated with pilasters, sustaining an enriched
entablature and cornice, and are hung with portraits
of eminent professors and other literary characters.
There is a chapel, in which the professors and students
attend divine service, fitted up with great taste, and containing
990 sittings. The college gardens, inclosed with
a high stone wall, are laid out in gravel-walks, parterres,
and shrubberies; and at the extremity is Macfarlane's
observatory. An act was passed in 1846, enabling the
college to effect an exchange of the lands and buildings
occupied by it, for other lands and buildings more advantageously
situated.
The Andersonian University.
This institution was founded in 1795, by Mr. John
Anderson, professor of natural philosophy in the university
of Glasgow, who endowed it with a valuable library,
museum, and philosophical apparatus. It is placed under
the direction of eighty-one trustees, elected by ballot
from the several classes of tradesmen, agriculturists,
manufacturers, artists, physicians and surgeons, lawyers,
and divines; and nine managers are annually chosen,
with a president, treasurer, and secretary. The trustees
appointed Dr. Garnet, professor of natural philosophy
and chemistry in the Royal Institution of London, as
principal lecturer; and he was succeeded in 1/99, by
the late Dr. Birkbeck, who introduced a familiar course
of instruction, demonstrated by experiments. In 1S2S,
the trustees purchased the buildings of the old city grammar
school, fronting George-street, for the permanent
use of the institution, and these were enlarged and
adapted to the purpose. They contain various classrooms,
a library, museum, and a hall for the delivery of
lectures on the different branches of popular science,
natural philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, mathematics,
modern and oriental languages, painting, drawing, medicine,
chemistry, anatomy, surgery, and midwifery, which
are well attended by the respective classes.
Ecclesiastical Arrangements, Churches, &c.
The ancient see of Glasgow, after the abdication of
Archbishop Beaton in 1560, was governed by prelates
appointed, at first by the Earl of Lennox, in whose
family the temporalities were vested, and subsequently
by the crown; and from the time of the Reformation to
the Revolution, it was under the superintendence of
fourteen Protestant archbishops, of whom the last, John
Paterson, was consecrated in 168". There were anciently
thirty-nine prebendaries belonging to the cathedral,
all of whom had residences in its immediate vicinity;
but their houses were given to various noblemen and
gentlemen who had influence at court, and the venerable
cathedral itself is said to have been preserved from
destruction only by the spirited resistance of the citizens,
already referred to. The cathedral, thus preserved at
the Reformation as one of the proudest ornaments of
the city, is a stately cruciform structure in the early
English style of architecture, 319 feet in length, and
sixty-three feet in width, with a square tower rising from
the intersection of the nave and transepts, surmounted
by a lofty spire, and with a tower also at the west end
of the north aisle. The nave, part of which was till
lately appropriated as the Outer High church, is ninety
feet in height, and is divided from the aisles by noble
ranges of clustered columns that support the roof: the
choir, which has been appropriated as the Inner Hit'h
church, is eighty-five feet in height, and of richer detail
than the nave, the columns that sustain the roof being
embellished with flowered capitals. The entrance into
the choir is through a fine screen of the later English
style; and the west doorway into the nave, which until
recently was stopped up, is adorned with canopied
niches. Indeed, all the details of this interesting structure
are in the best character of the pointed style. In
the south aisle of the nave is a sepulchral brass, the
only example of that kind of memorial hitherto noticed
in Scotland: on the stone to which the plate is attached,
is inscribed the date 1605. The crypt, which was for
more than two centuries used as the church of the
Barony parish, is unrivalled in elegance of design by
that of any other cathedral in the kingdom j it is
well lighted, from the abrupt slope of the ground, and is
perhaps one of the richest specimens of the early English
style in existence. The piers are of beautiful character,
and the groinings, which are elaborately intricate,
are enriched with bosses and other ornaments; the capitals
of the piers are embellished with flowers, and the
doors with foliage. This portion of the ancient structure
has been carefully cleared from the rubbish that
had been suffered to accumulate; and since the completion
of a new church in High John-street, by the corporation,
in lieu of the Outer High church in the cathedral,
which had been pronounced to be deeply infected with
the dry rot, and consequently unsafe, the whole of the
nave, containing many interesting monuments and other
taluable details in a ruinous state from neglect, and
other parts of the edifice, have, under the superintendence
of an architect appointed by government, been renovated
and restored to their pristine beauty.
The city is the seat of a presbytery, including the ten
parishes in Glasgow, and the twelve surrounding parishes
of Barony, Gorbals, Rutherglen, Cumbernauld, Carmunnock,
Cadder, Campsie, Govan, Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth,
Cathcart, and Eaglesham. The parish of the Inner High
church, originally the parish of Glasgow, but now only
about 1000 acres in extent, is principally occupied by
buildings, the rural districts not containing more than
100 persons out of a population of 15,444. The minister's
stipend is about £350, with a glebe which is
let for building, and produces a net rental of £138. 5.
per annum; patron, the Crown. The church, as already
stated, is the choir of the cathedral; it was repaired in
1805, and contains 1143 sittings. A room was fitted
up in the Caledonian pottery for divine service, which
was regularly performed by a minister of the Establishment
from 1S35 until 1838; and a missionary also officiated
at two preaching stations within the parish. The
parish of the Outer High church, or the parish of St. Paul,
containing a population of 9583, was erected in 164S,
out of the original parish of Glasgow. Its minister is
appointed by the corporation, who are the patrons also of
the parishes of Blackfriars, Trou, St. David, St. George,
St. Andrew, St. Enoch, St. John, and St. James, to the
minister of each of which, as well as to the minister of
St. Paul's, they pay a stipend of £425. The present
church was erected by the corporation, and dedicated to
St. Paul, in 1836; it is a handsome structure, and contains
1I9S sittings. There are places of worship for
members of the Free Church, Glassites, Old Scotch Independents,
Baptists, Scottish Baptists, the Society of
Friends, and most other denominations. The parish of
the College, or Blackfriars, is a town parish, within which
the buildings of the university are situated; and is densely
populous, numbering 10,574 persons. The church, nearly
in the centre of the parish, was built in 1699, by private
subscription, and has been occasionally repaired, and
lately reseated; it is a plain edifice containing 1307
sittings. There are places of worship for members of
the United Presbyterian Church and others. The parish
of the Tron church was formed out of the old parish of
Glasgow in 1602, and includes a portion of the city,
containing 9990 persons. Its church, situated near the
north-eastern extremity of the parish, was erected in
1794, and within the last twenty or thirty years has
undergone some internal alterations and repairs; it contains
1366 sittings. Dr. Chalmers, the late distinguished
preacher, was minister of this parish before his presentation
to St. John's. The members of the Free Church
have a place of worship. St. David's parish, which contains
a population of 9764, was divided from the older
city parishes in 1720, by the presbytery and the court
of Teinds: the church, erected in 18'25, from designs
by Mr. Rickman, is a handsome structure containing
1 148 sittings. There are places of worship for members
of the Free Church, the United Presbyterian Church, Independents,
S wedenborgians, Hebrews, Bereans, Wesleyans,
and a congregation simply calling themselves Christians.
St. George's parish, the population of which is 20,370, was
disjoined from the Old Wynd parishbythe court of Teinds,
in 1687, and consists of three separate districts which are
intersected by parts of the Barony parish. The church
was built in 1807, from the city funds, and has not been
altered since its erection; it is a handsome edifice containing
1317 sittings. A church, dedicated to St. Peter,
was erected by the Church-Building Society, at an expense
of about £3200, including the site; and a portion
of the parish, comprising 4366 persons, was for a time
annexed to it as an ecclesiastical district. There are
also places of worship for members of the Free Church,
Baptists, Independents, and Original Seceders. St. Andrew's
parish, which is entirely a town parish, and has a
population of "317. was founded in 1765, and is about
half a mile in length, and of nearly equal breadth. The
church was finished in 1756, out of the funds of the city,
and was reseated in 1833: it has a lofty tower surmounted
by a spire, and a noble portico of six Corinthian
columns, supporting an entablature and cornice, with a
triangular pediment; it is situated in the centre of St.
Andrew's square, and contains 1210 sittings. There are
places of worship for members of the Free Church,
Church Presbyterians, and an episcopal chapel. St.
Enoch's parish was formed by the court of Teinds, in
1782, and is about half a mile in length and a quarter
of a mile in breadth, containing 8877 persons. The
church, originally erected from the city funds in 1782,
and rebuilt, with the exception of the steeple, in 1828,
is a stately structure with a lofty tower of several stages,
terminating in a pyramidal spire surmounted by a vane;
it is finely situated on the south side of St. Enoch's
square, and contains 1224 sittings. There is a place of
worship for members of the Free Church; and the Roman
Catholics have two chapels, one a spacious edifice
in the later English style, erected in 1816, at an expense,
including the residence for the priest, of £17,000, and the
other a smaller building, purchased in 1S24, at a cost of
£500. St. John's parish, formed out of three contiguous
parishes by the court of Teinds in 1819, is about threequarters
of a mile in length, and one-quarter of a mile
in breadth, and contains a population of 16,228: the
church, which is situated near the western extremity of
the parish, was built in 1819, from the city funds, and
has undergone no alteration; it has a prominent tower,
and contains 1636 sittings. The late distinguished Dr.
Chalmers was for several years incumbent of this parish.
There are places of worship for members of the Free
Church, the United Presbyterian Church, and United
Original Seceders, with an episcopal chapel. St. James's
parish was erected by the court of Teinds in 1819, and
is about one mile in length and half a mile in breadth:
it comprehends nearly the whole of the Green, and
comprises about 115 acres, and 11,216 persons. The
church was built in 1812 as a meetinghouse by the
Wesleyans, from whom it was purchased by the corporation
in 1819, and erected into a parish church; it is a
neat structure, and contains 1371 sittings. There are
places of worship for members of the Free Church, the
United Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Presbyterians.
The parish of Gorbals is described under its own head.
Among the quoad sacra parishes which were created
out of the ten parishes just noticed, and for a time existed
in the city, was that of Albion, formed in 1834 out
of the parishes of the Outer High church and St. David,
and having a population of 4792: the church had been
built in 1768, and enlarged in 1823, and is a handsome
structure, containing 1800 sittings. St. George's in the
Fields quoad sacra parish was separated from the parish
of St. George, and was about half a mile in length and
less than a quarter of a mile in breadth, containing 4745
persons. The church was built in 1824, as a chapel of
ease, partly by donations, and partly by funds borrowed
for the purpose, at an expense of £2350; it is a neat
edifice, and has 1226 sittings. St. Thomas's parish was
formed from St. John's; it was wholly a town parish,
about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in
breadth, with a population of 3762. The church was
erected in 1823, as a chapel of ease, chiefly under the
auspices of the late Rev. Dr. Chalmers, at a cost of £3320,
raised by donations, and by subscription of twenty-one
shareholders of £100 each; it contains 1398 sittings.
St. Ann's was formed from the parishes of St. Andrew
and St. James, and was of moderate extent: the church,
originally built by the Wesleyans in 1819, was bought
for the use of the Establishment in 1831, at a cost, including
repairs, of £1500; it has accommodation for 776
persons. Bridgegate, having a population of 5396, was
formed from the parish of St. James: this church, also,
was recently purchased from the Wesleyans, at a cost,
including repairs, of £2300; it is a neat building, and
contains 890 sittings. All these quoad sacra parishes,
formed in, or subsequently to, the year 1834, were afterwards abolished.
The BARONY civil and ecclesiastical parish was separated
in 1595 from the burgh of Glasgow, which previously
formed the only parish, including both the royalty
and the barony. It contains a great portion of the
suburbs and parliamentary borough, with a wide rural
district, and is eight miles and a half in length and four
and a half in breadth, comprising nearly 14,000 acres,
and having a population of 106,0*5. The minister of
the parish receives a stipend of about £310, with an
allowance for a manse, and a glebe of considerable value.
Previously to 1800, the crypt of the cathedral was appropriated
as the place of worship of this parish, but in that
year the present church was erected, and in 1830 it was
repaired and enlarged; it is situated about a mile from
the nearest, and five miles from the farthest, boundary
of the parish, and contains 1403 sittings. There are
numerous places of worship for dissenters, comprising
members of the Free Church, the United Presbyterian
Church, Episcopalians, Baptists, Burghers, independents.
Reformed Presbyterians, and Unitarians. The quoad
sacra parish of St. Mark, separated from the parish in
1835, was wholly a town parish, about 400 yards in
length, and 200 yards in breadth, having a population of
3315: the church was originally built by dissenters,
from whom it was purchased in 1835, by the Church-
Building Society, at a cost, including repairs, of £1260;
it contains 1032 sittings. The quoad sacra parish of
St. Stephen, containing 39/5 persons, was formed in
1836: the church had been built in 1S35, at an expense
of nearly £3000, and is a handsome edifice with 1156
sittings. From the Barony parish were also separated,
for ecclesiastical purposes, the parishes of Anderston,
Middle Calton, Camlachie, Maryhill, Shettleston, Bridgeton,
St. Luke, St. Matthew, Renfield, &c., most of which
are fully described under their own heads. But all these
quoad sacra divisions, like those referred to in the preceding
paragraph, were afterwards abrogated.
Within the royalty and barony are likewise the
churches or chapels of Duke-street, St. Cnlumba, and
Hope-street, established for the accommodation of the
Gaelic population of the city and suburbs. Of these, the
Duke-street place of worship, then a chapel of ease, was
erected into a parish church under act of the General Assembly
in 1834, and so continued for a short time, though,
from the scattered dwellings of the congregation, it was
impossible to assign to it any particular district. The
church was built in 1*98, at an expense of £2400, raised
by subscription, and was repaired in 1S14 and 1820, at a
cost of £600; it is a neat structure, and contains 12*7
sittings. The church of St. Columba, formerly in Ingramstreet,
but at present situated in Hope-street, was also
for a time a parochial church; it is in connexion with
the Established Church, and the minister is appointed
by the Gaelic Society. The West Gaelic chapel of Hopestreet
was likewise made a parish church, in 1835, under
act of the General Assembly, and continued such for
some years: it was built in 1824, at an expense of
£4826, of which £300 were raised by subscriptions and
donations, and the remainder by loan; the church is a
handsome structure, and contains 1435 sittings.
The various burying-grounds in the city and suburbs
have, from the great increase of building, been almost
surrounded with houses; and several that were originally
in retired situations are now inclosed in the very
heart of the city. To remedy this inconvenience, a spacious
public cemetery has been formed by the Merchants'
House, who in 1830 appropriated a portion of their park,
adjoining the cathedral, to the purpose. This ground,
which is called the Necropolis, is laid out with much
taste, and the requisite buildings are of a character harmonizing
with the solemnity of the use to which they
are applied. The situation of the cemetery is highly
picturesque, overlooking the venerable cathedral and the
old surrounding burying-ground; the several walks and
drives are beautiful and varied; and the plants and
shrubberies, with the various ornaments in a diversity
of styles, render the whole exceedingly interesting and
attractive. In the cemetery are, a lofty pillar surmounted
with a statue, by Forrest, of John Knox, and
a handsome monument with a statue, by the same artist,
of William Mc Gavin; besides many other memorials:
the monument of the Reformer is seen for many miles
eastward of the city.
Schools and Benevolent Institutions.
The Grammar or High School is of great antiquity,
and appears to have been originally founded as an
appendage to the cathedral, and under the immediate
superintendence of the chancellor of the diocese, by
whom the masters were appointed. After the foundation
of the university it continued as a distinct establishment,
though the masters were frequently among the
number of those who elected the regents of the university,
and examined the candidates for degrees. In 1595,
John Blackburn, who was master of the grammar school,
was also lord rector of the university: at that period,
the scholars commenced their studies at five o'clock in
the morning; and this practice appears to have lasted
during the government of Blackburn, who, on his appointment
to the ministry of the Barony church, in
I6l5, resigned the mastership. From 1/00, the school
was occasionally under the control of a rector. This
office was abolished in 1830; and from that time there
were four masters, each of whom had the entire charge
of his own class for the whole period of its continuance
in the school, which was generally for the term of four
years. In 1834, a material change was made in the
condition of the seminary. Two of the four masterships
for Greek and Latin were suppressed, and in their place
were substituted teachers of English grammar, the
French, Italian, and German languages, writing, geography,
and the mathematics. Its designation was altered
to that of the High School, and its affairs placed under
the superintendence of a committee of the town-council,
assisted by the clergy of the city, and the professors of
the university. The classical masters, who are appointed
by the town-council, have each a salary of £50,
paid from the funds of the corporation; and they receive,
in addition, a fee of 13s. 6d. quarterly from each
of the scholars, who number about 300 on the average.
The buildings of the school, situated in Grey Friars'
Wynd, becoming insufficient for the purpose, were abandoned
in the year 1*88, and a handsome structure
erected for its use on the north side of George-street;
but this edifice was disposed of in 1828 to the Andersonian
Institution, and new schoolrooms were raised in John-street.
A school is supported by the Fleshers' Company, who
pay the master a salary of £80 per annum, for the
gratuitous education of the children attending it. There
are also schools for the clothing and instruction of children,
in connexion with some of the charitable foundations
of the city; and in the several parishes are parochial
and other schools, affording education, either
gratuitously or on very moderate terms, to nearly 9000
children of both sexes; more than 100 Sabbath schools,
in which 5000 children receive religious instruction;
and ten or twelve infant schools, one of them a model
school, all of which are well attended. The salaries of
the parochial schoolmasters vary from £25 to £35, and
the amount of fees from £30 to £80 per annum, the
quarterly payments of the scholars being from two to
fifteen shillings each. A Normal seminary was erected
in 1837, by the Glasgow Education Society, for preparing
teachers to practise the system of moral, intellectual,
and physical training pursued by the society.
The Royal Infirmary was established in 1792, and
is supported by voluntary subscriptions, and the fees
of students attending it as a school of medicine and
surgery. It has a permanent fund of about"£ 16,000
from accumulated donations and bequests, and is under
the superintendence of twenty-five directors, consisting
of the lord provost, the members of parliament for the
city, the dean of guild and the convener, the professors
of medicine and anatomy in the university, and members
of the town-council, the Merchants' and Trades'
Houses, and the faculty of physicians and surgeons,
with ten others chosen by ballot at the general meeting.
The internal arrangements are under the management
of two physicians, four surgeons, an apothecary, chaplain,
matron, and other officers. Its general disbursements
are about £3600 per annum. The buildings,
erected in 179'2, partly on the site of the archbishop's
palace, form a handsome structure designed by Messrs.
Robert and James Adam, of quadrangular form, consisting
of a centre and two boldly-projecting wings. In
the centre is a stately portico of Corinthian columns,
supporting an enriched entablature and cornice, surmounted
by a triangular pediment, in the tympanum of
which are the royal arms in alto-relievo. The building
is four stories high, and is crowned in the middle with
a spacious dome, and a lantern which gives light to the
hall of operations. It originally contained only eight
wards, affording accommodation to 136 in-patients; but
being found inadequate to the wants of the increased
population, it was enlarged by the addition of four
wards, erected in the rear of the building, at an expense
of £4000; and it is now adapted for the reception of 2W patients.
The Lunatic Asylum was established in 1810, and
is under a committee of management, of which the lord
provost is president. It is supported partly by subscription
and donations, but chiefly by the payments for
the several patients, which vary from eight shillings to
half a guinea per week for paupers, according to the
contribution towards its erection made by the parishes
from which they are sent; and from that amount to
three guineas, weekly, for other patients, according to
their rank. The internal arrangements are superintended
by a physician and other medical officers, a
housekeeper, and requisite attendants. The original
buildings, lately sold to the directors of the Town's
hospital, were erected in 1810, at an expense, including
the site, of £18,359, after a design by Mr. William
Stark; they were not sufficiently private, and new buildings
were therefore erected a few years ago, about three
miles west of Glasgow. The dining-rooms, parlours, and
bed-rooms for patients of a higher class are spacious
and well furnished; and the institution is conducted with
minute regard to the health, comfort, and recreation of
all the inmates.
Tlie Magdalene Asylum was originally projected by a
society of gentlemen who purchased a site for its erection
belijnd the cathedral; but some difficulties arising,
the design was not carried into effect till 1812, when a
more commodious site was obtained, and the asylum
erected. This benevolent institution is supported by
.subscription, and the annual disbursements average
£600; the inmates are employed in tambouring, knitting,
sewing, making clothes for the establishment, and
in other useful works suited to their capacity. The
building, situated eastward of the old lunatic asylum,
is of neat appearance, consisting of a centre with projecting
wings; it is three stories in height, and comprises
a handsome committee-room, apartments for
the matron and for thirty-four inmates, and a chapel
containing 150 sittings. The whole is surrounded with
a high wall, inclosing an area of about an acre, laid
down in grass for the purpose of bleaching linen, in
which some of the inmates are employed. The Lock
Hospital was founded in 1805, and is maintained by
subscription: the buildings, on the south side of Rotten-
row, comprise a committee-room, with rooms for
the housekeeper and surgeon, and apartments for the
patients. The Deaf arid Dumb Institution, and the Asylumfor
the Blind, may also be mentioned. St. Nicholas'
Hospital was founded in the reign of James III., by
Bishop Muirhead, who amply endowed it for a priest
and twelve aged laymen. From causes not known, the
endowment has been greatly diminished, and at present
produces only about £30 per annum, which sum is
distributed, in pensions of £3 each, to ten aged men by
the magistrates and town-council. The buildings, which
had become a ruin, were removed to make room for a street.
Hutcheson's Hospital was founded in the year 1641,
by George and Thomas Hutcheson, brothers, who bequeathed
certain lands and money for its endowment.
The money was invested by the corporation, in conjunction
with the other trustees, in the purchase of land
in the barony of Gorbals, on which the suburb of
Hutchesonton was built; and the original endowment has
been augmented by benefactions, the principal of which
have been 10,000 merks by Mr. James Blair, £2700 by
Mr. Daniel Baxter, and the half of his heritable and
personal property by Mr. John Snow. The income now
amounts to about £3000 per annum. Part of it is distributed
in life pensions to decayed burgesses of three
years' standing, and fifty years of age; and the widows
and daughters of burgesses are also admitted as pensioners.
The Hospital is under the control of the
magistrates and council, and the ministers of the city
churches. Connected with the institution, and supported
from its funds, is a school of eighty boys, sons
of burgesses, who have been previously for six months
in an English school, and are above seven years of age;
they are clothed, instructed, and placed out as apprentices
with premiums. The buildings of the Hospital are
situated in Ingram-street, and consist of a handsome
range, rising from a rusticated basement, and ornamented
with Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature
and cornice, and surmounted by an enriched
attic. On the sides of the central entrance are niches
containing statues of the founders; and from the rear
of the edifice rises a tower, 156 feet in height, crowned
by a pyramidal spire. The great hall and committeerooms
are elegantly fitted up, for the accommodation of
the patrons and managers. In 1778, Mr. George Wilson,
merchant of London, a native of this city, bequeathed
to the magistrates and council, in trust, £3000 for the
clothing and education of poor boys, to which have
been added subsequent donations; and from these funds,
forty-eight boys are clothed and instructed in the school
established for that purpose. A bequest of lands by Sir
John Scott, for the apprenticing of boys, has, since the
improved state of trade rendered the payment of premiums
unnecessary, been appropriated by the magistrates
and council to the placing of twelve additional scholars
in the school founded by Mr. 'Wilson, and also in the
school of Hutcheson's Hospital.
The Highland Society was established by a few gentlemen
of the Highlands, for clothing, educating, and
apprenticing indigent sons of Highlanders; and is supported
by the payment of £'2. '2. by each member on
admission, and by annual subscriptions and donations.
There are about sixty boys on the funds, who are clothed,
instructed, and apprenticed, and to each of whom, on
the expiration of his indentures with credit, is given a
silver medal. The Marine Society, for the encourEigement
of mariners, and the support of the widows and children
of seamen, was founded in 1758, and maintained by a
payment of fourpence on each ton of merchandise
shipped from the Clyde, a contribution of fourpence per
month from the wages of each seaman, and occasional
donations and bequests. It distributed about £150 annually,
in pensions of £3 to the widow of a master, £2
to the widow of a mate, and £1. 10. to the widow of a
common seaman. This society is now discontinued, and
the funds are transferred to the Merchants' Seamen's
fund for the united ports of Glasgow, Greenock, and
Port-Glasgow. The Society of the Sons of the Clergy was
instituted in 1790, by several ministers of the Established
Church, for the relief of the widows and children
of clergymen in indigent circumstances; and is supported
by payment of £5. 5. by each of the members on
admission, by annual collections in the churches, and
by donations and bequests: the society distributes annually
about £200. Buchanan's Society was established
in 1725, for the relief of indigent persons of that name,
or of others descended from or connected with the
clan. It is supported by payments of £5 by members
on admission, the produce of some land and houses,
and by donations and bequests. The society in 1815
founded a bursary of £25 per annum, tenable for four
years, in the university of Glasgow, and which was first
held by a youth of the name, a descendant of the
founder. Mr. William Mitchel in 1729 bequeathed
£3000, the interest to be divided among decayed burgesses
and their families; and in 1741 Mr. Robert Tennent
bequeathed 21,000 merks, of which he appropriated
5000 to the support of two schools, 6000 to the maintenance
of three widows, and 10,000 to be lent in small
sums to poor tradesmen, for five years, without interest.
In 1788, Mr. James Coulter bequeathed £1200 to the lord
provost and magistrates in trust, to be distributed among
deserving persons in indigent circumstances, in life pensions
of not less than £4 and not more than £10 per
annum. There are numerous other charitable bequests,
friendly societies, institutions for the rehef of sick strangers,
and for various pious purposes.
The Town Hospital was originally established in 1733,
in a building which, though sufficiently capacious and in
an airy situation at that time, became, from the increase
of the population, quite inadequate for the purpose, and
was soon, from the extent of building subsequently
erected, closely surrounded. The directors consequently
purchased a spot of land in a more eligible situation,
comprising 12,000 square yards, for which they paid
£3000, and then erected a new hospital and workhouse
at a cost of £10,000. This building, however, proving
inadequate like the former, the directors in 1840 purchased
the buildings and part of the grounds of the old
lunatic asylum, as already mentioned in the account of
that institution. A majestic dome crowns the central
range of the structure. The hospital is supported by
donations from the public bodies and individuals of the
city and suburbs, and by an assessment; and is under
the management of a preceptor, vice-preceptor, and
forty-eight directors, of whom twelve are chosen from
each of the four bodies of the town-council, the Merchants'
House, Trades' House, and the General Session,
and who hold quarterly meetings, at which they elect
the various officers. The internal superintendence is
conducted by a committee of eight members, two each
from the four bodies. There are generally about 500
poor in the house, and 600 out-pensioners; and the annual
assessment averages £10,000. In 1817, which was
a year of peculiar distress, in addition to the usual funds
for the relief of the poor, a subscription was raised,
which amounted to £12,871; and there were in that
year 5140 families upon the books of the establishment.
Glasgow confers the title of Earl on the family of Boyle.