Glasgow 1901

February 26, 2015 on 8:43 pm by Michael Grey | In Photographs, Stories, Video | 2 Comments

A sort of random posting here: a really interesting video clip filmed in April of 1901 of Jamaica Street, Glasgow. An old street name, even for Glasgow, the thoroughfare, or, at least, the street named Jamaica, opened in the late 18th century and was apparently named for the then raging rum and sugar trade.

For those unfamiliar with Glasgow, or for those that find themselves in Glasgow at least once a year and yet don’t know street names well, Jamaica Street is the street that begins – or ends – as Union Street hits Argyle Street. To give you a marker, the McDonald’s restaurant on the south side of Argyle Street at Union, just adjacent Central Station (“You needing some fucking ching, man?”) – the”Hielanman’s Umbrella” signals one end of Jamaica Street.

This little clip is full of character and scenic interest. And for pipers, just think, two of the most famous bagpipe makers of the time, R G Lawrie and Peter Henderson, were making their instruments less than a mile away from where this video was filmed.

M.