Glasgow
GLASGOW, a city,
the seat of a university, and
a sea-port, 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, 34 (N.E.by N.)
from Ayr, 43 (W. by S.) from
Edinburgh, 79 (N. N. W.)
from Dumfries, 144 (S. w.) from Aberdeen, 196 (N.N.E.)
from Dublin, 213 (N. W. by N.) from Manchester, and
396 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 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 | 478 |
| Events of the 15th Century | 479 |
| Of the 16th | 479 |
| Of the 17th | 480 |
| And of the 18th and 19th Centuries | 481 |
| — |
| General Description of the City | 483 |
| Lighting, Supply of Water, &c. | 484 |
| Libraries | 485 |
| Literary and Scientific Institutions | 485 |
| Places of Amusement | 486 |
| Trade and Commerce: origin and progress of the various kinds of Manufacture | 486 |
| Business of the Port: Shipping, Customs, Harbour, &c. | 487 |
| Steam Navigation | 488 |
| Forth and Clyde, Monkland, and Johnstone Canals | 488 |
| Edinburgh, Garnkirk, Ayr, and Greenock Railways | 489 |
| Public Buildings connected with Trade: the Exchange | 489 |
| Corn Exchange and other Markets | 490 |
| Municipal Affairs | 491 |
| Public Buildings connected with Municipal Affairs | 491 |
| Merchants' House, Trades' House, Prisons | 492 |
| Origin and progress of the University | 492 |
| Its Government; Professors, Bursaries, &c. | 493 |
| Buildings of the University | 494 |
| The Andersonian Institution | 494 |
| Ecclesiastical Affairs: Parishes, Churches, &c. | 494 |
| The Cathedral | 494 |
| Parishes in the City | 495 |
| Former Quoad Sacra Parishes | 496 |
| Barony Parish | 496 |
| Necropolis | 496 |
| — |
| Schools and Benevolent Institutions | 497 |
| The High School | 497 |
| The Royal Infirmary | 497 |
| Lunatic Asylum, Magdalen Asylum, Lock Hospital, and St. Nicholas' Hospital | 497 |
| Hutcheson's Hospital | 498 |
| Charitable Societies,and Bequests | 498 |
| The Town Hospital | 498 |

Seal and Arms.
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 Valentia, 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. According to others, the term signifies "a dark
glen," and arose from a secluded retreat occupied by
St. Kentigern, son of Thametes, daughter of Loth,
King of the Picts, who was born at Culross about the
year 516. St. Kentigeru 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 of Cumberland, who appointed
his tutor and chaplain, John Achaius, bishop of the
diocese; and on his accession to the throne, 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 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 Wallace, marched directly up the Highstreet 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 "Robertus, Dei Gratia Rex
Scotorum," and on the reverse, "Dominus Protector"
around the outer circle, and in an inner circle "Villa
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 of
those of her husband, the Duke of Albany; her father;
and three sons.
From 1450 to 1570.
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. At this time, 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 foundation of St. Nicholas' hospital and the
establishment of the university, 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 1488, the diocese of Glasgow
was erected into a metropolitan see, of which Robert
Blacadder became archbishop; and the temporalities
and privileges of the archdiocese were confirmed by
charter of James VI. After the martyrdom of Hamilton,
abbot of Ferme, 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 Grey 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 daughter,
Mary, Queen of Scots, embarked for 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 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, 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. The
regent 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 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 only of 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.
From 1570 to 1725.
When the doctrines of the Reformation had made
considerable progress, Archbishop James Beaton, nephew
of the cardinal, and the last of the Roman Catholic prelates of Glasgow, finding it hopeless to try to regain his
influence, removed the relics, plate, and ancient records,
with every thing of value, from the cathedral church
into his castle; and subsequently retired 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.
The confession of faith, which had been subscribed by
James VI. and his household, and afterwards by all ranks
in the kingdom, was subscribed in 1581 by 2250 persons
in Glasgow. In 1603, the pestilence made great ravages
in the city. The prison of the Tolbooth was erected in
the same year; and in the year following, some regulations respecting precedency among the several trading
companies were laid down, which were confirmed by the
king and parliament in 1612, 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 in the course of this year
for the appointment of a water-bailie, with maritime,
civil, and criminal jurisdiction extending from the bridge
of Glasgow to the Clough, at the mouth of the Clyde,
about twenty-six miles below the town. 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 Salt-market, spread to the opposite side of the street, and
extending to the Trongate, Gallowgate, and Bridgegate
streets, destroyed nearly one-third of the city, and property to the amount of £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 Salt-market, where he held his levees. Understanding that Patrick Gillespie, minister of the Outer High
church, had the chief influence in ecclesiastical affairs,
he invited him to a conference; and on the following
Sunday, he went in state to the cathedral, when Mr.
Zachary Boyd, being appointed to preach, took occasion in
his sermon to inveigh against the conduct of the usurper.
In 1650, also, the presbytery of Glasgow issued an edict,
requiring every minister to appropriate a certain portion of his stipend to 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 controul 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 1689, 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 finding 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 1707, 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 together 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
to the height of eighteen feet six inches above its ordinary level, did much damage in the lower parts of the
town. In 1715, 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 by act of parliament, in
1722, to the magistrates, 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 north-west.
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, carried off the keys, and, proceeding to Mr.
Campbell's house at Shawfield, 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 dispatched 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, with his two
companies of foot, had returned 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,
of which one 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 Pretender's son,
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 by Sir John
Hay in person, attended by a company of horse, and
Glengyle, chief of the Mc 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, Sir John Hay made another claim
for 12,000 linen shirts, 6000 cloth coats, 6000 pairs of
shoes, 6000 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 this year 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 Castlestreet. 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 Frith 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.
From 1775 to the present time.
The trade of the port had been, from the time of the
Union, making gradual but steady progress, and in 1775
employed 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
57,143 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 12,000 of the citizens formed themselves into
societies for opposing the contemplated measure. The
minds of the populace were so inflamed, indeed, that on
the 22nd 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 were
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 to retire by the
magistrates and a party of the military, they hastened to
his dwelling-house, which they burnt, with all the furniture. The introduction of a bill into parliament, soon
afterwards, for taking off the duty upon French cambric, also excited 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 burnt 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,
dedicated to St. Enoch, was laid on the 12th of April,
1780; and in the following year, the Tontine-buildings
and coffee-rooms were erected, to the great ornament of
the city.
In 1782, 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
bed rooms 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 13th, 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 in the midst of the sea; and the rapidity of the
current was so strong that the greatest 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, and by various wealthy individuals, who combined
together, and, purchasing large quantities of supplies of
every kind, sold them at a very considerable rate below
the prime cost. In 1787, a spirit of discontent, which
had for some time prevailed among 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 had read the Riot act, and strenuously exhorted the people to desist, the soldiers were
ordered to fire, and 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 commerce, and established a chamber of commerce and
manufactures, which was afterwards incorporated by
royal charter. Encouraged by the increasing prosperity of the town, the magistrates let out, on building
leases, the Ramshorn lands, to the north of the town,
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 have been raised, which,
in beauty and magnificence of appearance, are almost
unrivalled by those of any city in the kingdom. In
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 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 Hutchesonton, was prepared: the foundation
stone of a new bridge was laid by the lord provost and
magistrates; and the Glasgow infirmary, of which the
foundation 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, 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; and two troops of volunteer cavalry
were also raised, for additional security. In August,
1822, when George IV. visited Scotland, the lord provost and magistrates, with 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 11th of November, during which period there
were 6208 patients, of whom 3005 died.
Description of the City.
The city 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. From the river, the ground has,
at some distance from the shore, 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 for something more than a mile and a
half, in a direction from east to west, and is about
eighty three feet in average breadth; and 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 fifty-four
feet wide. Parallel with the former of the two great
lines, are Bell, Wilson, Ingram, Cochrane, George, Duke,
and Clyde streets; entering which, at right angles, are
King, Candleriggs, Brunswick, Hutcheson, Stockwell,
Dunlop, Glassford, Miller, Queen, Buchanan, Jamaica,
and Maxwell streets. 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; and south of
Argyll street are many streets leading to Clyde-street
and the quays at Broomielaw. To the north-east of
George and Duke streets, and almost in a line with each
other, are Rotten-row and Drygate-street, of which the
latter was the chief street of the ancient town. North
of High-street, 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, is the venerable cathedral. To the
east 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 still further to the east is Hamilton-street. 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 Surgeon's 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 last-named
square are, a bronze statue of Sir John Moore, a native
of Glasgow, erected at a cost of £4000; a statue, by
Chantrey, of the great James Watt; and a Doric column
to the memory of Sir Walter Scott. There are some
remains of ancient mansions, identified with many 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, in which Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, resided during his illness. Near the end of Bridgegate-street, 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 III., presented by
James Macrae, Esq., in 1735; and part of the High-street, on the east side of which are situated the stately
edifice of the university, and the Hunterian Museum,
an elegant structure in the Roman style of architecture. 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. Numbers of the houses consist of several tenements under
the same roof, called flats, each of which is inhabited by
a separate family; those at Blythswood 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 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, and 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 second gas
company was formed, whose works are likewise upon
a very large scale indeed. The inhabitants are at
present 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. A company called the
Gravitation Water Company, however, propose to carry
the water of the Avon, the Giel, and the Kype to the
city, from the south, for its more abundant supply, at an
expense calculated at about half a million sterling; the
survey has already been completed under Mr. Beardmore,
an eminent engineer, and a bill will be immediately
introduced into parliament to sanction the undertaking.
The water of these streams is of excellent quality; and
the reservoir it is proposed to construct, covering an
extent of about 800 acres, will add a new feature to the
scenery of the district.
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
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, and commanding numerous 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 £2075, 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 for the right
application of which officers are in constant attendance.
The suburbs are extensive, and several of modern appearance: the ancient Gorbals, now a burgh of barony,
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, and completed by the late
Mr. Telford, in 1836, at a cost of £34,427. North of
the Clyde are Bridgeton, Calton, Grahamston, Finnieston, and Anderston, all of which are described under
their respective heads, as are also Gorbals, Hutchesonton, &c. Near the east end of the Gallowgate-street are
the Infantry Barracks, erected in 1795, and inclosing a
quadrangular area of 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.
The City Guard-house, formerly in Candleriggs-street,
but rebuilt on the east side of Montrose-street, was a neat
edifice fronted with a piazza; and the interior was well
arranged: its site, however, is now occupied by other
buildings.
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 subscription gradually augmented from
three to ten guineas, paid by each member on admission, and which entitles him to the benefit of it for life.
It contains more than 6000 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. A theological library, purchased at the death of the Rev. James
Robinson, in 1814, for the use of the public, by a society
of clergymen of the Associate Synod, and subsequently
enlarged, is supported by a proprietary of 200 shareholders, of £5 each, and a subscription of five shillings,
and is open to strangers of all denominations, on payment of half a guinea annually; it contains about 3000
volumes. There are also numerous book societies in
the town.
The Lyceum, in South Albion-street, is a handsome
building elegantly fitted up, comprising a saloon fifty-four feet in length and thirty-three feet in width,
adjoining which was till lately a well-furnished library,
thirty-three feet long and twenty-two wide; it was
amply supplied with newspapers and periodicals, and
maintained by subscriptions of two guineas per annum.
The Literary and Commercial Society, believed to have
been founded by Dr. Adam Smith, meets every Thursday, from the middle of November till the end of April.
Surgeons' Hall, on the east side of St. Enoch's-square, is
a good building of the Ionic order, erected in 1791, 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 the
hall for the faculty, a spacious room, adorned with a
painting of Hygeia, the goddess of health, and other
allegorical devices; a library; committee-rooms; and
various offices. 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. 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 controul of a president, vicepresident, 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 Astronomical Society,
now extinct, was instituted in 1808, by a number of
gentlemen incorporated, under the sanction of the town
council, for the promotion of astronomical science, and
was supported by a proprietary consisting of 250 shareholders, of £20 each. Its observatory was a handsome
and well-arranged edifice, situated on Garnet-hill, about
a mile to the north-west of the Cross, and commanding
an extensive prospect. The building was in the Egyptian
style of architecture, from a design by Mr. Webster, of
London, and comprised three distinct compartments, of
which the principal, constituting the scientific observatory, was crowned with a revolving cupola; the popular
observatory contained a great variety of instruments and
books for the use of the subscribers, and the western
compartment was fitted up for the accommodation of the
observer. In the scientific observatory were three massive pedestals of stone, on one of which was placed a side-real clock, and on another, twenty feet high, were an
azimuth, and an altitude instrument, which, from their
elevation, were within the revolving cupola, and capable
of being fitted up with an equatorial circle: on the third
pedestal was a large mural circle by Troughton. On the
terrace in front of the popular observatory was a telescope, on Herschel's construction, ten feet long, sheltered
from the wind by the projection of the wings of the
building; and on the roof was a telescope, fourteen feet
long, erected by Herschel himself. 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 1831,
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,
of whom the average number is about 500. The Mailland 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 the
reprinting of scarce and valuable books, and the printing of curious and important manuscripts, illustrative
of the history, literature, and antiquities of Scotland.
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, which
is an elegant specimen of the Ionic order, rising from a
rusticated basement, 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; 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 was made a storehouse. In
1785, 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
Queen-street, 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. The Circus, to the west of Jamaica-street, long abandoned, was capable of holding about 1000
persons, and was fitted up for the performance of pantomimes and equestrian feats, for which latter purpose
there was a circular area between the pit and the orchestra. 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, and who purchased for that purpose eight
acres of ground near the reservoir of the Cranston-hill
water-works. In consideration of the university 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, a handsome
and well-arranged building, adjoining the gardens. 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. 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 every requisite. The Victoria Baths are
of recent erection, and very well conducted.
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, in return, brandy, wines, and salt; and
towards the commencement of the 17th century, they
embarked largely in the herring-fisheries, in which, also,
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
those of Bristol, London, Whitehaven, and other rival
ports, the trade gradually diminished, and in 1735
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 excited, 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 1790, there were
476 ships, of the aggregate burthen of 46,581 tons, employed in the business of the Clyde.
The subsequent introduction of Manufactures afforded to the inhabitants 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 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 1725, 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 1732, by Mr.
Alexander Harvie, of Glasgow, who, at imminent risk,
brought over the first loom for that purpose from Haerlem, 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 numerous handsome editions of
the Greek and Roman classics, and other standard
works, have issued from the university press and others.
The manufacture of green and flint glass ware has likewise made considerable progress; and large public ale
and porter breweries have been established.
The cotton manufacture, which was introduced at
an early period, and is now become the staple trade of
the town and its vicinity, 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 steam-engine, 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 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 hand-looms in other parts for the Glasgow manufacturers.
The printing of calico, in which considerable improvement has been made by the use of the cylinder, is carried on 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
purpose, has been practised with increased advantage.
The printing of Bandana hankerchiefs, 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 complete
success. The attention of this firm has likewise been
directed to the art of spinning Merino yarn, also discovered by the captain, 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 confined chiefly 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, very nearly 1000 persons are
constantly employed. 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 effected, 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 only 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 in the making of iron only 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; and in the Govan works, which
consist of five furnaces, about 26,000 tons of iron are
produced annually, on an average.
Extensive chemical-works were established in the
parish 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. The manufacture
of acetate of lead, previously imported from Holland,
and of which large quantities are used in calico printing, was established here 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 many improvements in the dyeing of fancy muslins, and the preparation of chloride of lime, in powder, for the purpose of
bleaching; and in 1808, he established very extensive
alum-works in the neighbourhood; 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 stuffs waterproof
by the insertion, between two surfaces, of a layer of
caoutchouc, made liquid by solution in naphtha. The
same gentleman likewise invented a process for converting iron into steel, by inclosing it in air-tight vessels,
and subjecting it to the action of carburetted hydrogen
gas; for all which inventions and discoveries he was,
in 1823, elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London.
The distillery of whisky is comparatively of recent introduction; the first establishment of any magnitude
was in 1786, and since that period no very great increase has taken place.
The trade of the port is principally with America,
the East and West Indies, and the continent of Europe;
and since the dissolution of the East India Company's
charter, the traffic has been extended to China. 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. A
very considerable trade is carried on at Glasgow in
timber, in which the firm of Messrs. Pollock, Gilmour,
and Company employ thirty-nine large ships, of which
the aggregate burthen is nearly 27,000 tons, and which
occupy more than 1300 seamen; they generally make
from two to three voyages annually, but are in part
used in importing other kinds of merchandize. 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. In 1812, the customs yielded only £3124; in 1814, £7420; in 1817,
£8290; in 1820, £11,000; in 1822, £16,148; in 1824,
£29,926; in 1825, £41,154; in 1828, £74,255; in
1833, £97,042; in 1834, £166,913; in 1835, £270,667;
in 1837, £389,702; and in 1844, £551,851. From this
statement, some notion may be gained as to the great
and progressive advances of the commerce of the 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 Frith of Clyde. The present custom-house was built in 1839, at a cost of £13,000.
The harbour at Broomielaw has been greatly improved and extended, and, by the deepening of the river,
has been rendered accessible to vessels of more than 700
tons; the quay reaches for 3360 yards in length on the
north, and nearly 2260 on the south, side of the river.
There are spacious warehouses erected for the reception
of merchandize, 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 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, can
raise forty-five tons at a time. In 1840, an act was
passed for further deepening and improving the Clyde,
and enlarging the harbour, and for constructing a
wet-dock. The tonnage and harbour dues have 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; and
in 1840, to £46,446. Since the deepening of the Clyde,
ship-building has been introduced, and is now carried
on with success; yards for that purpose have been constructed, and several vessels of considerable burthen
have been launched from the port, among which was a
very large steamer for the Mediterranean trade. 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 thirty-horse power, employed Messrs. Wood and
Company, of Port-Glasgow, to build a boat for him,
which was the first 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 to
seven. Since that time, steam navigation has been
much encouraged; and some of the Glasgow boats have
now 400-horse power. The number of steamers employed at the port, in a recent year, was sixty-seven, of
which eighteen plied between this place and the ports
of Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, and Londonderry; eleven
between Stranraer and the Western Highlands, for goods
and passengers; twenty-six for passengers only, in the
river and Frith 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.
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
fifty-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 sea is diminished 800 or 1000 nautical miles, and the passage
rendered vastly more safe. The canal, in its progress,
crosses the rivers Luggie and Kelvin, and is conveyed
over the latter, and the deep valley in which it 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 swift
passage-boats leave Port-Dundas, at Glasgow, and return, daily; the concern is in a very flourishing state,
and in 1844, 59,333 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. 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 with the river Calder. The Glasgow, Paisley, and
Ardrossan Canal was commenced in 1807, and the part
between Glasgow and Johnstone was opened in 1811:
the projected line, from Port-Eglinton to the harbour
at Ardrossan, is 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.
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, which is more
particularly described under the head of Edinburgh,
was commenced in October, 1838, and opened on the
21st of February, 1842. It is forty-six miles in length,
and, for a considerable distance previously to its entering the city, has its course in a direction nearly
parallel with the Forth and Clyde canal, passing, within
less than four miles of the terminus at Glasgow, over
the Monkland and Kirkintilloch railway. It forms a
curve of nearly half a mile radius at Springvale, to the
north of the city, and, descending in an inclined plane,
proceeds through three tunnels, of 476, 292, and 272
yards in length, respectively, each of which has a span
of twenty-six feet in width, and is twenty-two feet in
height. The gross expenditure amounted to £1,649,115,
up to July 1844, when an act was passed authorising
the company to increase their capital stock, originally £900,000, to £1,406,250, and their power of
borrowing to £468,750, with the view of extending the
works at Edinburgh, so as to form a junction with the
North British railway. The Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway at present commences at St. Rollox, near the city,
and pursues a north-eastern circuitous course of eight
miles, till it joins the Monkland and Kirkintilloch railway, not far from the Gargill colliery, at Gartsherrie.
After proceeding by Milton, it curves through Robroyston Moss, near Clay House; it intersects another moss
in the parish of Cadder, and passes by Whitehill and
Gartcloss to its junction. From Glasgow to Robroyston Moss the line has a gradual ascent, but for the
remainder of its course it is nearly level, passing under
several bridges, and having six level crossings with
protecting gates. The line is worked by locomotive-engines, of which one, constructed by Messrs. Johnston
and Mc Nab, of this city, drew after it a train of thirty-six loaded coal-waggons, weighing 145 tons, through
the entire length, in one hour and seven minutes. The
whole was completed at an expense of £107, 365, and
was opened to the public on the 2nd of July, 1831. The
depot at St. Rollox has booking-offices and waiting-rooms, with sheds and buildings for the repair of the
engines and carriages: at Gartsherrie the business of
the station is conducted at an inn, and there are two
or three intermediate stations on the line. The subscribed capital of the company, in shares of £25 each, is
£139,000; and in 1844, an act was passed authorising
an addition of £100,000, with power to form an independent line from the original eastern terminus to Coat-bridge and the Wishaw and Coltness railway, and also
to extend the line at the west end into the city. These
extensions will soon be completed, and will increase the
line to nearly eleven miles.
The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway
commences at Tradeston, near the city, and for a short
distance proceeds in a direction parallel with the Glasgow and Johnstone canal, and, making a slight curve,
passes on to Paisley, and is there carried over the river
Cart. Thence it runs between Elderslie and Johnstone,
and, crossing the canal in three different places, advances nearly parallel with the Black Cart river, till it
verges on the loch of Kilbirnie, nineteen miles from
Glasgow, where it attains its summit level, about seventy
feet above the terminus. The line thence proceeds
towards Ayr, passing on the east of the Garnock
river, which it crosses in the parish of Dalry, where the
Kilmarnock branch of eleven miles diverges from it
on the east. It then advances to Dalgarvan Mill, and
intersects the west side of the town of Kilwinning, near
which the short Ardrossan railway strikes off; and,
advancing to Irvine, it passes near the Frith of Clyde,
in the parish of Dundonald, to Barassie Mill, after which,
crossing the Kilmarnock and Troon tramroad, it runs
between Monkton and the Frith to Prestwick, and terminates at the new bridge of Ayr, on the north side
of the river. The line, from Glasgow to Ayr, is forty
miles in length, of which about one-fourth is level, and
of the remainder the steepest gradient is not more than
twelve feet in a mile. The heaviest earthworks are
between Glasgow and Paisley: the Ibrox cutting, here,
above a mile long, has a depth of twenty feet; and the
Arklestone tunnel and cuttings are nearly three-quarters
of a mile in length, and fifty feet below the surface.
The chief bridges are those over the Irvine and Garnock rivers, and one over the Cart, at Paisley, which
has a span of eighty-five feet, and a viaduct crossing
seven streets, supported on arches proportionate to
their breadth. The intermediate stations are at Paisley,
Johnstone, Beith, Kilwinning, Irvine, Troon, and Prestwick. The whole line was completed at an expense of
£732,380, including only half the cost of the portion
between Glasgow and Paisley, the other half being contributed by the Glasgow and Greenock Company: the
road was opened to Ayr on the 12th of August, 1840.
The Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock Railway is connected
with the Ayr railway as far as Paisley, whence the line
diverges, and proceeds in a direction W. N. W., passing
through Port-Glasgow to Greenock, a distance of 22½
miles. In its course, including the viaducts at Glasgow
and Paisley, there are not less than sixty bridges: at
Bishopton-Ridge, where it attains its summit level, are
two short tunnels, and there are deep cuttings at Cartsburn and Carnegie hills. In the summer of 1840, more
than 3000 men, 200 horses, and one locomotive and
three fixed engines, were employed on the line. The
portion between Glasgow and Paisley was opened on
the 14th of July, 1840, and the line was finished to
Greenock on the 31st of March, 1841: the present
capital of the company is £866,666. Facilities of intercourse are also afforded by numerous coaches, of
which, in 1834, there were sixty-one leaving and returning to the city daily; and thirty-seven steam-boats
performed each two or three trips every day, Sundays
only excepted.
Public Buildings Connected with Trade, &c.
The Town-hall and old Royal Exchange, in Trongate-street, erected in 1636, and greatly improved in 1740,
for the accommodation of the merchants of the city, is
an elegant structure, and adorned by a piazza of the
Doric order, 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 occasionally used by the inhabitants for
holding public meetings, is fifty-four feet in length, and
twenty-seven feet wide, with a coved ceiling twenty-four feet high. The 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 assembly-rooms, a
handsome suite, elegantly fitted up. The chief room is
forty-seven feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and twenty-four feet high; the walls are adorned with fluted Corinthian columns, 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 fifteen years ago, and for the beauty of its design
is not surpassed by any structure in the kingdom: on
each side, lofty and handsome buildings have been raised,
to form a suitable square. This superb pile, which was
planned by Mr. David Hamilton, a native of Glasgow,
and 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 October 8th, 1844; it
is a noble performance, and was raised by the munificence of the inhabitants, by whom the sculptor Marochetti was engaged for the purpose. 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 Tontine Coffee-rooms and Hotel form a handsome edifice, erected in 1781, after a design by Hamilton.
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 richlycut glass chandeliers. The principal entrance, which is
from the piazza, leads into a vestibule of which the lofty
roof is sustained by pillars of the Doric order, with corresponding pilasters inserted at proper intervals in the
walls. The reading-room is supported by an annual
subscription of £1. 12., but is open to strangers gratuitously for a limited time; the hotel contains numerous suites of apartments, elegantly furnished, and replete with every accommodation. There are numerous
banking establishments, of which the principal are,
branches of the Bank of Scotland, the British Linen
Company, the Commercial, the National, and the Royal
Banks of Scotland; the City of Glasgow bank; the
Clydesdale, the Glasgow Joint-stock, and the Glasgow
Union Companies. The old Post-office, situated on the
east side of South Albion-street, was a neat edifice of
stone, with a handsome cornice and pediment, in the
centre of the front. At one end of the building was a
covered entrance, and at the other a spacious lobby, in
which was a range of windows so contrived that persons
having boxes might see at once if there were any letters,
previously to the commencement of the general delivery. The present Post-office is in Glassford-street, 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; and fairs are
held annually, on the second Wednesday in January,
the Thursday before Easter, the 26th 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, 1842; it is a handsome
quadrangular structure of stone, erected under the
superintendence of Messrs. Brown and Carrick, by a
proprietary of £50 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 afford every facility
of carrying on the business of the market: underneath
the hall is a store, capable of containing 800 tons of
grain. There are markets for butchers' meat and fish
situated in King-street, 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. The vegetable and green market
formerly occupied the site of the ancient Wynd church;
and 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. The slaughter-house, to the south of
Bridgegate-street, is a large building, erected in 1810,
and occupying 4736 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 oxen and nearly 10,000 sheep; it 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.
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 controul 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 1611, 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. Under this charter, as explained by usage since the Union, and as lately modified
by the Municipal Corporations' act, the government of
the city is vested in a lord provost, five bailies, a treasurer, a dean of guild elected by the Merchants' House,
a deacon-convener elected by the Trades' House, a bailie
of the river Clyde, and twenty-two other councillors,
assisted by assessors and town-clerks, a chamberlain and
superintendent of works, and other officers. The council, thus consisting of thirty-two members, formerly
chosen by the corporation, have, since the passing of
the Municipal act, been chosen by the £10 householders
resident within the burgh. 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, regard their
appointment as ad vitam aut culpam. The corporation are patrons of all the churches of the Establishment within the royalty, except the 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.
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
having a separate house, in which their interests are
respectively under the superintendence of a dean of
guild and a deacon-convener, who are elected, the dean
by the merchants and the convener by the trades, and
are members of the council. There are fourteen trades or
companies, duly incorporated, and 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 companies
constitute the Trades' House. The origin of the Merchants' House is involved in some obscurity: it appears,
prior to 1747, 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
inhabitants as are not freemen, and exercise the privileges of the city, to enter themselves as burgesses, and to
pay the fine. Most of the companies are possessed of
property to a considerable amount, and contribute largely
to the support of charitable institutions.
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 their 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, twenty-five miles
below Glasgow, for all offences committed on the river
or in the harbour. The Police establishment is managed,
in a very effective manner, by a board, elected from
each of the wards into which the city is divided, the
magistrates being members ex officio: the police buildings, erected at an expense of £14,000, and finished in
the month of January, 1826, are of a superior kind, and
embrace every requisite accommodation, including a
court-room, numerous cells, &c.
Among the edifices connected with municipal affairs,
one of the most prominent is that designated the City and
County Buildings, an elegant structure recently erected,
and connected with the present Merchants' House, also
modern. The old Merchants House, a spacious and neat
building on the south side of Bridgegate-street, was
erected in 1659, and sold only a few years ago: its chief
external ornament is its lofty tower, of three stages,
rising from each other in diminished proportions, and
terminating in a pyramidal spire, surmounted by a vane
representing a ship in full soil, and having an elevation of
164 feet from the base. The interior contained a spacious hall, eighty feet in length and thirty wide, the walls
of which were hung with well-painted portraits of the
most munificent benefactors to the poor members of the
company: there were also various other apartments for
the transaction of the business of the institution. 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 basement. 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;
the 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 boldly-projecting 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 126
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, containing about thirty bells. 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.
A new building, containing the gaol and justiciary circuit courts has consequently been erected on a greatly-enlarged plan, in a healthy situation, on the public
green adjoining the river. The new Prison, raised at an
expense of £34,800, contains spacious rooms for the
several courts, and 122 apartments for prisoners, admitting of efficient classification, and furnished with water
and every requisite for cleanliness and health. Two
cells, parted from the rest of the gaol, 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 1798, contains 105 cells, and, 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 formed a resolution 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, security, and healthful accommodation. 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 open
to the reception of orphan children 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.
Previously to the Reform act, Glasgow was united
with the burghs of Rutherglen, Renfrew, and Dumbartion, 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 Turnbull, 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. The
bishop, with the assistance
of his chapter, 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 of which the several professors 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 members 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, but 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: 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, the 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 land on Dow Hill.

Seal.
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, granted to the College of Arts, in 1560, the kirk
and manse of the Friars "Prædicatores," with thirteen
acres of land, and the rents and annuities belonging to
that paternity, for the foundation of five bursaries for
poor students; and in 1572, 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, granted, with
consent of the Earl of Morton, then regent, 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; and from
that time the institution has continued to flourish.
Charles I. bestowed upon it all the temporalities of the
bishopric of Galloway; William III. granted £300 from
the exchequer, payable annually, for its support; and
in 1702, the number of students had 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 1760, 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 for the erection
of a museum for their reception.
The university, as at present constituted, is under
the superintendence of three distinct bodies, the
senate, the comitia, and the faculty. The members of
the senate are, the rector, the dean of the several
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. They meet for
the election and admission of the rector; for the hearing of 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 professors of divinity,
church history, the oriental languages, natural and
moral philosophy, the mathematics, logic, Greek, humanity, civil law, medicine, anatomy, and practical
astronomy: the principal is president, and has a casting,
but not a deliberative, vote. The members of faculty
have the administration of the revenues of the college,
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.
The principal officers of the university 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 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 has the superintendence of
the deportment of the members of the college.
There are twenty-three 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, and natural history; in theology
are the professorships of divinity, church history, and
the oriental languages; in law is the single professorship of civil law; and in the faculty of medicine are the
professorships of anatomy, the theory and practice of
medicine, surgery, midwifery, chemistry, botany, materia
medica, and diseases of the eye. All these professorships were founded previously to the year 1839; since
that period have been established those of the institutes
of medicine, forensic medicine, and civil engineering.
The chairs of divinity, natural and 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. Attached to
the college are sixty-nine bursaries, varying from
£5 to £40 per annum, tenable 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 £1300 per annum, which sum
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 £150 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 15th
century, and contains a very extensive collection, in
which are many beautiful editions of the classics; the
number of volumes 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 from various
causes being inadequate, the botanic gardens opened of
late, as previously noticed, have been rendered available to the purposes of the university. The Hunterian
museum was founded by the celebrated William Hunter,
in the year 1781; it is an exceedingly 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 it presents an appearance of simple magnificence. The collection is valued at above £100,000;
and the museum, in which is a fine statue of James
Watt, in marble, by Chantrey, is open to the public for
daily inspection. 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 in great
part taken down and rebuilt in 1811. The principal
front has three entrances, of which the central 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; the walls are decorated with pilasters,
sustaining an enriched entablature and cornice, and are
hung with portraits of eminent professors and other
literary characters. The chapel, in which the professors
and students attend divine service, is fitted up with great
taste, and contains 990 sittings. The college gardens,
inclosed with a high stone wall, are laid out in gravelwalks, parterres, and shrubberies; and at the extremity
is Macfarlane's observatory.
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 1799, by the late Dr. Birkbeck, who introduced a
familiar course of instruction, demonstrated by experiments. In 1828, the trustees purchased the buildings
of the old city grammar school, fronting George-street,
for the permanent use of the institution, and which have
been enlarged and adapted to that purpose. They
contain various class-rooms, 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 1687. There were 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 was preserved from destruction only by the
spirited resistance of the citizens already referred to.
The cathedral, thus preserved 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, of which
part 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 High 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 has been stopped up, is adorned with
canopied niches: indeed, all the details of this interesting structure are in the best character of the English
style. The crypt, which was for more than two centuries used as the church of the Barony parish, is unrivalled for elegance of design by that of any other
cathedral of the kingdom; 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 valuable details
in a ruinous state from neglect, and other parts of the
edifice have, under the superintendence of architects
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 comprising 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 £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
has been fitted up in the Caledonian pottery for divine
service, which was regularly performed by a minister
of the Establishment 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 1648, out of the original parish of Glasgow: the
minister is appointed by the corporation, who are the
patrons also of the parishes of College, Tron, 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 1198 sittings. There are places of
worship for members of the Free Church, Glassites,
Old Scotch Independents, Baptists, Scottish Baptists,
the Society of Friends, and others. 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 Secession, the Independent United Brethren,
and the Independent Relief. 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: the church, situated near the north-eastern extremity of the parish, was erected in 1794,
and within the last twenty years has undergone some
internal alterations and repairs; it contains 1366 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a place
of worship. The parish of St. David, 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 1825, is a neat structure
containing 1148 sittings. There are places of worship
for members of the Free Church, the United Secession,
Independents, the Relief, Swedenborgians, Hebrews,
Bereans, Wesleyans, and a congregation calling themselves Christians.
The parish of St. George, of which the population is
20,370, was disjoined from the Old Wynd parish by the
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, has been 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. The parish of St. Andrew, which
is entirely a town parish, and has a population of 7317,
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. The parish of St. Enoch 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 Catholies have two chapels, the 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 1824, at a cost
of £500. The parish of St. John, formed out of three
contiguous parishes by the court of Teinds, in 1819, is
about three-quarters 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 contains 1636 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the
Free Church, Original Burghers, the United Secession,
and the Relief, and an episcopal chapel. The parish of
St. James 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 Public
Green, and comprises about 115 acres, and 11,216 persons. The church was built in 1812, 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 Relief,
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 till lately 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. The quoad sacra
parish of St. George in the Fields 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. The parish
of St. Thomas was formed from St. John's; it was
wholly a town parish, and 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 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, have been completely
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 106,075. The minister
of the parish receives a stipend of £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 a neat structure, 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 members of the Free Church, and also for
Baptists, Burghers, Independents, Reformed Presbyterians, the United Secession, and Unitarians, and an
episcopal chapel. The late quoad sacra parish of St.
Murk, 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, in 1835 it
was purchased by the Church Building Society, at a
cost, including repairs, of £1260; it contains 1032 sittings. The quoad sacra parish of St. Stephen, containing 3975 persons, was formed in 1836: the church had
been built in 1835, 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, Colton, Camlachie,
Maryhill, Shettleston, Bridgeton, St. Luke, St. Matthew,
and Renfield, most of which are fully described under
their own heads; but all these quoad sacra divisions,
like those referred to in the preceding paragraph, have
been abrogated.
Within the royalty and barony are likewise the
churches of Duke-street, St. Columba, and Hope-street,
established for the accommodation of the Gaelic population of the city and suburbs. Of these, the Dukestreet place of worship, then a chapel of ease, was erected
into a parish church by the General Assembly in 1834,
and so continued for a short time, though, from the
scattered residences of the congregation, it was found
impossible to assign to it any particular district; the
minister's stipend is paid from the seat-rents and
collections. The church was built in 1798, at an expense of £2400, raised by subscription, and repaired in
1814 and 1820, at a cost of £600; it is a neat structure, and contains 1277 sittings: the morning service
is performed in the Gaelic language, and the afternoon service in English. The church of St. Columba,
formerly in Ingram-street, but at present situated in
Hope-street, was also for a time a parochial church;
the minister's stipend averages £222, and the church,
built in 1767, and rebuilt in 1781, by subscription, contains 1078 sittings. The West Gaelic chapel of Hopestreet was likewise made a parish church, in 1835, by
act of the General Assembly; the minister's stipend is
£300, paid by the managers from the seat-rents, and
secured by bond to that amount. The church was built
in 1824, at an expense of £4826, of which £300 were
raised by subscriptions and donations, and the remainder
by loan; it 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 burial-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. Within 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
others: 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
1615, resigned the mastership. From 1700, the school
was occasionally under the controul of a rector, which
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 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, of
whom about 300 are on the average in attendance.
The buildings of the school, situated in Grey Friars'
Wynd, becoming insufficient for the purpose, were abandoned in the year 1788, 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. The building in George-street, when used
as the school, contained a hall, seventy feet in length,
and seven spacious class-rooms, with apartments for
the masters; and behind the building was a playground, comprising an area of 3773 square yards, inclosed with a dwarf wall surmounted by iron palisades.
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 in 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, 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; and the quarterly payments of
the scholars from two to fifteen shillings each. A Normal seminary was erected in 1837, by the Glasgow
Educational 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 partly by
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 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; and its
general disbursements are about £3600 per annum.
The building, erected in 1792, partly on the site of the
archbishop's palace, is 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,
which is four stories high, is crowned in the middle with
a spacious dome and lantern, which gives light to the
hall of operations. It originally contained only eight
wards, giving 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
220 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
contributions 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 disbursements average £2000 per annum, and, one year, exceeded
the income by about £400. The present buildings, situated about three miles west of Glasgow, have been but
just erected. The old buildings, lately sold to the directors of the Town's hospital, their situation not being
sufficiently private, were erected in 1810, at an expense,
including the site, of £18,359, after a design by Mr.
William Stark; they occupy an area of three and a half
acres, and consist partly of a central range crowned
with a majestic dome, and commanding an unobstructed
view of the several wards, which radiate from it as a
centre. The dining-rooms, parlours, and bed-rooms,
in the new building, 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. The Magdalene Asylum
was originally projected by a society of gentlemen who
purchased a site for its erection behind 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. The 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, to the east of the old lunatic
asylum, is of neat appearance, consisting of a centre
with projecting wings; it is three stories in height,
and contains 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. 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: the
endowment has, from causes not known, 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 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, of which the principal
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
amounting to about £3000 per annum, is partly 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 controul 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 each side of the central entrance are niches to
receive 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 committee-rooms
are elegantly fitted up, for the accommodation of the
patrons and managers; and adjoining the hall are the
buildings appropriated to the use of the school. 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 by Sir John Scott, of lands, 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 the clothing, educating,
and apprenticing of 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 late Marine Society, for the
encouragement 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. 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 who
might be 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, of which he appropriated 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 to the lord provost and
magistrates, in trust, £1200 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 also numerous other charitable
bequests, friendly societies, institutions for the relief of
sick strangers, and for various pious purposes.
The Town Hospital was originally established in 1733,
in a building which, though 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, surrounded with a wall,
and for which they paid £3000, and then erected a new
hospital and workhouse, at a cost of £10,000. These
buildings, however, proving inadequate like the former,
the directors, in 1840, purchased the building and part
of the grounds of the old lunatic asylum, as already mentioned in the account of that institution. 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
these 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.