Post by Waverley on Aug 5, 2007 14:40:09 GMT 1
From Glasgow's Treasure Chest by James Cowan aka Peter The Prowler.
Harvie's Dyke (July 1933)
The Links of Clyde, though not so famous as the Links of Forth, are nevertheless remarkable enough to warrant notice; and to follow these windings on either bank of the river is a most interesting walk. I began with the northern bank, and after skirting the Green, the first curiosity I noticed was a stone in the wall at the foot of Newhall Street, indicating that there was the site of Allan's Pen. Who Allan was, and what his pen, or pend, was used for, will be dealt with in a later article. Rounding the bend after Rutherglen Bridge. an interesting glimpse can be had into the Corporation Sewage Works, where the city sewage is purified to such a degree that at the final stage visitors are offered a glass of the liquid to drink, if they feel so disposed; and thereafter to Dalmarnock Bridge is an almost unbroken line of Corporation activities, finishing up with the great Electric Power Station.
Crossing the end of Dalmarnock Bridge, much vacant ground is seen on both sides of the river. On even fairly recent maps, Dalmarnock House is marked, over on the left; but it was demolished about the year 1910 and tennis courts and bowling greens now occupy its place.
The next bend is a big one, the river completely doubling round on its course, and on the far side I could see Belvidere Hospital. Soon I was skirting the somewhat unsightly corrugated iron fence which encloses its grounds, and it was a relief to come to the more open bounds of \Vest-thorn estate. Here, at the bend, a number of navvies were at work removing the earth from a high to a low part of the bank where the river had burst through during the flood early in spring.
After this point the river again doubles on its course, and I could have shortened my walk by a mile if I had cared to cross the neck of the isthmus; but I was out to follow the Links of Clyde, so I pursued my way contentedly round the big bend till I came at last to Harvie's Dyke.
The story of the battle of Harvie's Dyke was much more familiar to the last generation than it is to ours. Thomas Harvie, a Glasgow distiller, in order to preserve the privacy of West-thorn, which he had acquired in 1819, built walls on the eastern and western boundaries, carrying them right over the path and down to the river's edge. The citizens of those days stood up for their rights in no uncertain manner, and on Saturday, July 21,1822, a large mob armed with picks and crowbars, demolished the wall. The Enniskillen Dragoons were called out, ring-leaders were arrested, and several received terms of imprisonment. Some prominent men took up the case, which ultimately went to the House of Lords, and was decided against Harvie.
A medal was struck with the inscription: "The Reward of Public Spirit.-The Citizens of Glasgow to Adam Ferrie, George Rogers, James Duncan, John Watson, Junior, John Whitehead, for Successfully Defending Their Right to a Path on the Banks of the Clyde, 1829."A curious sequel to this affair was the disappearance of the fund of £384 which was awarded as expenses. On leaving for Canada in 1829, Mr. Ferrie handed this money over to seven trustees. When he returned about twenty years later, he found that all the trustees were dead, and nobody knew where the money was. It has never been ascertained what happened to it.
A good deal of the old dyke is still in existence, with the gap at the path filled by modern brickwork; and as I passed through the opening left for the disputed path, I registered mental thanks to the sturdy old citizens who had fought for the right I was now enjoying.
Soon after passing Harvie's Dyke I came to the slag-heaps of the Clyde Ironworks, and pastoral beauty gave place to industrial desolation as far as the railway bridge at Boglesford. After that, however, the banks are very beautiful up to the bridge at Cambuslang, where my prowl, for the time being, ended.
Harvie's Dyke (July 1933)
The Links of Clyde, though not so famous as the Links of Forth, are nevertheless remarkable enough to warrant notice; and to follow these windings on either bank of the river is a most interesting walk. I began with the northern bank, and after skirting the Green, the first curiosity I noticed was a stone in the wall at the foot of Newhall Street, indicating that there was the site of Allan's Pen. Who Allan was, and what his pen, or pend, was used for, will be dealt with in a later article. Rounding the bend after Rutherglen Bridge. an interesting glimpse can be had into the Corporation Sewage Works, where the city sewage is purified to such a degree that at the final stage visitors are offered a glass of the liquid to drink, if they feel so disposed; and thereafter to Dalmarnock Bridge is an almost unbroken line of Corporation activities, finishing up with the great Electric Power Station.
Crossing the end of Dalmarnock Bridge, much vacant ground is seen on both sides of the river. On even fairly recent maps, Dalmarnock House is marked, over on the left; but it was demolished about the year 1910 and tennis courts and bowling greens now occupy its place.
The next bend is a big one, the river completely doubling round on its course, and on the far side I could see Belvidere Hospital. Soon I was skirting the somewhat unsightly corrugated iron fence which encloses its grounds, and it was a relief to come to the more open bounds of \Vest-thorn estate. Here, at the bend, a number of navvies were at work removing the earth from a high to a low part of the bank where the river had burst through during the flood early in spring.
After this point the river again doubles on its course, and I could have shortened my walk by a mile if I had cared to cross the neck of the isthmus; but I was out to follow the Links of Clyde, so I pursued my way contentedly round the big bend till I came at last to Harvie's Dyke.
The story of the battle of Harvie's Dyke was much more familiar to the last generation than it is to ours. Thomas Harvie, a Glasgow distiller, in order to preserve the privacy of West-thorn, which he had acquired in 1819, built walls on the eastern and western boundaries, carrying them right over the path and down to the river's edge. The citizens of those days stood up for their rights in no uncertain manner, and on Saturday, July 21,1822, a large mob armed with picks and crowbars, demolished the wall. The Enniskillen Dragoons were called out, ring-leaders were arrested, and several received terms of imprisonment. Some prominent men took up the case, which ultimately went to the House of Lords, and was decided against Harvie.
A medal was struck with the inscription: "The Reward of Public Spirit.-The Citizens of Glasgow to Adam Ferrie, George Rogers, James Duncan, John Watson, Junior, John Whitehead, for Successfully Defending Their Right to a Path on the Banks of the Clyde, 1829."A curious sequel to this affair was the disappearance of the fund of £384 which was awarded as expenses. On leaving for Canada in 1829, Mr. Ferrie handed this money over to seven trustees. When he returned about twenty years later, he found that all the trustees were dead, and nobody knew where the money was. It has never been ascertained what happened to it.
A good deal of the old dyke is still in existence, with the gap at the path filled by modern brickwork; and as I passed through the opening left for the disputed path, I registered mental thanks to the sturdy old citizens who had fought for the right I was now enjoying.
Soon after passing Harvie's Dyke I came to the slag-heaps of the Clyde Ironworks, and pastoral beauty gave place to industrial desolation as far as the railway bridge at Boglesford. After that, however, the banks are very beautiful up to the bridge at Cambuslang, where my prowl, for the time being, ended.