The Greenockian: Glasgow

Showing posts with label Glasgow. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 January 2024

Travels in Renfrewshire 1670

In about 1670, French traveller and cartographer, Albert Jouvinde Rocheford, visited Scotland and wrote a description of the places he visited as well as mapping them. It gives a fascinating glimpse of Renfrewshire as he saw it at that time. This is taken from a book published in Paris in 1672 and later published in The Antiquarian Repertory in 1804.

Dumbarton

The following is his account of his travels:-

"After having passed through Nieuwark (Newark) that is on the side of the gulf of Dunbriton, (Dumbarton) which lay on my left hand, to enter into a country surrounded almost on all sides by mountains, I descended into some very agreeable valleys, as Kemakoom (Kilmalcolm) etc. From thence I followed a small river (White Cart) where the country grew a little better, to go to Paslet, (Paisley) on a river forded by a large bridge abutting to the castle, where there is a very spacious garden enclosed by thick walls of hewn stone. It was once a rich abbey, as I discovered by a mitre and cross, that appeared half demolished, upon one of the gates of the castle which was the abbey house.

Paisley Abbey

Those who go from Krinock (Greenock) to Glasgo (Glasgow) pass from Kemakoom (Kilmacolm) by Reinfreu (Renfrew); but the way if sull of marshes, difficult to pass over, and where there is a boat which does not work on Sundays, according to the custom of England, as it happened when I was travelling that road; which caused me, in order to avoid these difficulties, to change my route, which was after Paislet (Paisley), to enter into a fine country upon the banks of the river Clyd (Clyde), which I followed to the suburbs of Glasgo, joined to the town by a large bridge. This I passed before I could enter Glasgo".

Louis XIV of France

De Rochefort later became Treasurer to the King of France from 1675-1702 (Louis XIV).

Thursday, 16 February 2017

Burley's Blocks and Boneshakers

Another simple gravestone in Greenock Cemetery marks the graves of remarkable people. Robert Burley was the brother of Ann Burley (or Burleigh), who married Richard Muir.

Robert Burley was born in Bo'ness in 1806 but the family moved to Greenock - his father was a seafarer. Robert was educated in Greenock and then served an apprenticeship to block-makers in a Greenock shipyard. He married Christian Seath, daughter of James Seath a shipmaster on 28 October 1839 in Greenock.

The couple moved to Glasgow where Burley set up a successful business as a joiner and block-maker. Robert Burley was also a bit of an inventor. He devised a "submarine gun" - according to the Glasgow Herald of 11 December 1939,

"by means of which warships might be able to discharge under-water projectiles against the enemy"..

The author Jules Verne wrote about Burley's gun in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Chapter 15 -

"There are certain Fulton-style guns perfected by the Englishmen Philippe-Coles and Burley, the Frenchman Furcy, and the Italian Landi; they're equipped with a special system of airtight fastenings and can fire in underwater conditions. But I repeat: having no gunpowder, I've replaced it with air at high pressure, which is abundantly supplied me by the Nautilus's pumps."

Robert Burley also devised and produced a steel-cored handle and, perhaps not so successful his company manufactured "boneshakers", bicycles with wooden frames and wheels!

However it was as handle-makers that the company became successful. From Dale Street they moved to Great Wellington Street and finally to larger premises in Fairley Street, Govan.

Former Burley works Fairley Street, Govan

Robert and Christian Burley had five children, two daughters and three sons. In the 1860s they lived at Walmer Crescent in Glasgow, then later at Bellahouston Terrace. Christina Seath died in 1868. Robert lived to the grand old age of 96, dying in 1902. His sons James and Robert continued the family business and Robert Burley & Sons celebrated its centenary in 1939. However, it is the eldest son who is probably best remembered. Read about him in the Greenockian's next post!

The grave stone reads:-

Erected by Robert Burley in memory of his wife Christian Seath who died 21st April 1868 aged 55 years.

Elizabeth, their daughter died 30th June 1855 aged 9 years

Robert Burley died 21st February 1902 aged 95 years

James Seath their son died 18th Nov 1916 aged 62 years and

James his son died 7th Aug 1911 aged 15 months

P/O Robert James R.A.F. his son killed 7th June 1941 aged 28 years interred Boulogne East Cem

Thursday, 16 June 2016

Newport Glasgow

I wonder if the eagle-eyed among you noticed the coat of arms within Port Glasgow's coat of arms? It is on one of the ship's sails. It is actually the coat of arms for the city of Glasgow and is a reference to the very beginning of the town of Port Glasgow's history.

Lamp post from outside Glasgow Cathedral

During Glasgow's great tobacco trading days, laden ships could not get up the River Clyde all the way to the city. Goods had to be off-loaded at Greenock or Newark Bay (near where the castle stands) and then put onto smaller boats, lighters, to be transported up-river to Glasgow. Fed up with this, in 1668, the Glasgow merchants got together and bought some land (18 acres) from the then Laird of Newark, Sir George Maxwell and created their own port originally called Newport Glasgow. This was eventually shortened to Port Glasgow.

Newark Castle, Port Glasgow

The port was run by Glasgow magistrates and merchants, so in effect was a little bit of Glasgow further down the Clyde. Eventually the river was dredged so that bigger ships could get all the way to Glasgow.

Glasgow's Coat of Arms is full of symbolism connected with the city's patron saint, Kentigern (also known as Mungo) and four of his miracles. There's a little rhyme about it -

"There's the tree that never grew,

There's the bird that never flew,

There's the bell that never rang,

There's the fish that never swam.

Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word."

The tree that never grew - when Mungo was a boy he was once left in charge of the refectory fire. Unfortunately he fell asleep and the fire went out. When he woke up, Mungo broke off some frozen branches from a tree (originally a hazel), prayed over them and they burst into flames, thus relighting the fire.

The bird that never flew - is a robin which was a favourite of Mungo's tutor, Saint Serf. Some jealous boys killed it and Mungo brought it back to life.

The bell that never rang - Mungo is supposed to have brought a bell, a present from the Pope back to Glasgow from Rome.

The fish that never swam - a salmon with a ring in its mouth. This comes from a legend of a Queen who gave a ring, which had been a gift from her husband, to her favourite knight. Her husband, the jealous king, took it from the knight and threw it into the River Clyde. The King demanded in front of the court that his wife produce the ring. She of course could not. But St Mungo asked one of his monks to bring him a fish from the river and there, in its mouth, was the ring! Thus the Queen was saved from dishonour.

Glasgow's motto now is - "Let Glasgow Flourish" which is the shorter form of the original motto "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word" which is supposed to have been said by St Mungo.

So, two coats of arms for the price of one!

Saturday, 28 March 2015

Dead or Alive

Where did John Galt get his idea for the story Buried Alive? Well, just a few years before, in 1818 the Glasgow anatomist Dr Andrew Ure had conducted some galvanic experiments on the body of executed murderer Matthew Clydesdale.

Andrew Ure (source)

Andrew Ure (1778-1857) had been an army surgeon and became Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow's Andersonian Institution. He had an interest in all aspects of science - chemistry, mechanics, astronomy and was a regular contributor to the Philosophical Magazine owned and edited by Galt's father-in-law, Alexander Tilloch.

In November 1818, Matthew Clydesdale was tried for murder in Glasgow and sentenced to hanging after which his body to be handed over to the anatomists. The hanging took place in public in front of the Glasgow High Court building and a large crowd attended the event. The body was then taken up to Glasgow University where the experiments was to be carried out again in front of a large crowd.

Dr Ure reported on the event as follows -

Describing one of the experiments he says - "The pointed rod connected with one end of the battery was not placed in contact with the spinal marrow, while the other rod was applied to the sciatic nerve. Every muscle of the body was immediately agitated with convulsive movements, resembling a violent shuddering from cold. The left side was most powerfully convulsed at each renewal of the electric contact. On moving the second rod from the hip to the heel, the knee being previously bent, the leg was thrown out with such violence, as nearly to overturn one of the assistants, who in vain attempted to prevent its extension."

(source)

More experiments followed including - "The supra-orbital nerve was laid bare in the forehead, as it issues through the supra-ciliary foramen, in the eyebrow: the one conducting rod being applied to it, and the other to the heel, most extraordinary grimaces were exhibited every time that the electric discharges were made, … every muscle in his countenance was simultaneously thrown into fearful action; rage, horror, despair, anguish, and ghastly smiles, united their hideous expressions in the murderer's face, surpassing far the wildest representations of a Fuseli or a Kean. At this period several of the spectators were forced to leave the apartment from terror or sickness, and one gentleman fainted." (I'm not surprised!)

Another event reported in many newspapers in 1818 was the report of Baron Hornstein who was said to have been buried alive in the family mausoleum.

Truth or fiction?