Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

624
GLASGOW.
church. The greater part of the documents thus
taken away in 1560 were brought back to Scotland
so late as last year (1839), and are now in the Ro-
man Catholic college of St. Mary, at Blairs, in the
parish of Maryculter, Kincardineshire, near Aberdeen.
The see of Glasgow was one of the most opulent
in the kingdom ; and its prelates lived in a style of
splendour and exercised a sway scarcely inferior to
that of the most potent nobles of the land. In the
time of Bishop Cameron especially, it is recorded that
" the great resort of his vassals and tenants, being
noblemen and barons of the highest figure in the
kingdom, waiting upon this spiritual prince, in the
common course of business, together with the ec-
clesiastics that depended upon him, made his court
to be very splendid — next to majesty itself." After
Bishop Cameron had built his palace adjacent to the
high church, he caused each of the thirty-two rectors
to build a manse near it; and ordained them to re-
side there, and cause curates to officiate in their
respective parishes. He created commissaries, clerks,
and fiscals, and established the two commissary
courts of Glasgow, Hamilton, and Campsie, to be
held three times a-week in the consistorial house
at the west end of the cathedral. Their jurisdic-
tion extended over parts of the counties of Dumbar-
ton, Renfrew, Stirling, Lanark, and Ayr. In refer-
ence to one of the thirty-two dignitaries of the
cathedral, Ure mentions a circumstance which is
not devoid of historical interest. He says : " The
parson of Campsie, chancellor of the chapter, whose
office it was to keep the seal and append it to all
acts and deeds of the archbishop and his council, had
his manse in the Drygate, in that place called the
Limmerfield. Henry, Lord Darnley, lodged in his
house when he came to meet his father, the Earl of
Lennox, from Stirling." The bishops, and latterly
the archbishops, were lords of the lordships of the
royalty and baronies of Glasgow ; in addition to this
there were 18 baronies of land which pertained to
them in the sheriffdoms of Lanark, Dumbarton, Ayr,
Renfrew, Peebles, Selkirk, Roxburgh, Dumfries,
and the then Stewartry of Annandale, including 240
parishes. Besides, there was a large estate in Cum-
berland, subject to their jurisdiction, which was
termed " the Spiritual Dukedom." From this pe-
riod — 1560 — till the revolution of 1G88, there is a
succession of the translation, death, demission, and
expulsion of 14 protestant archbishops, who seem
to have been mere minions of the party in power,
and placed there to alienate to their patrons the
princely domains of the Glasgow see ; or, in other
words, to act the part of " Tulchans" — a term
in vogue in these days ; that is, they were set up
as the calves, while the great men of the state milked
the benefices. In connection with the papal rule in
Glasgow, there were many religious and charitable
institutions which space will not allow us to notice
at length.
Previous to the reign of James I. of Scotland,
the town was governed by bailies nominated by the
bishop, who about this time appointed a provost
in the person of Sir John Stewart of Minto ; and
this gentleman found the charge of so much im-
portance that he removed to Glasgow with his fa-
mily. The successors of Sir John continued in
office till after the Reformation, when they suddenly
fell from dignity and opulence to obscurity and
poverty ; and the last of the family went out an
adventurer to the Darien settlement, in 1699, where,
from the jealousy and inhospitality of the English
and Dutch, he perished with some thousands of his
countrymen. Though the share was so low as one
hundred pounds, he was not a partner. The tomb
of this ancient family — which was the only one spared
at the Reformation, — stands on the west side of the
door on the south side of the choir of the cathedral.
In 1450, Bishop Turnbull obtained from the
King — James II a charter, erecting the town and
patrimonies of the bishopric into a regality. This
spirited prelate also procured a bull from Pope
Nicholas V., for the founding of a university, which
he endowed. Before this period the town was so
contemptible as not to contain more than 1,500 in-
habitants ; but the establishment of the university
subsequently contributed more than any thing which
had hitherto been done to the extension of the
city and the general well-being of the inhabitants.
The immunities and prerogatives granted to the uni-
versity, however, had the effect of depriving the
citizens temporarily of a portion of their political pri-
vileges; for the bishops, being now invested with
vast political powers, assumed the distribution of those
franchises which formerly belonged to the townsmen,
and for the purpose of securing the obedience of their
inferiors they appointed powerful noblemen as bailies
of the regality. These offices remained long in the
family of Lennox, but eventually they resigned them
to the Crown, and, at the Revolution, the right of
election was placed in the hands of the magistrates
and council; on which footing it remained till trans-
ferred to the £10 electors by the recent burgh reform
bill. Subsequently to the foundation of the univer-
sity the population began to creep slowly down the
hill upon which the cathedral stands, and having
reached the position of the present cross, it branched
slightly east and west, forming portions of the streets
now called Gallowgate and Trongate, and as the
craft of fishermen had sprung up among the people,
Saltmarket-street was laid out for the means of easy
access to the river. Withal, however, Glasgow as yet
presented scarcely the skeleton of a city, fomtihe royal
burghs of Scotland having been taxed by order of
Queen Mary, it appears that Glasgow only rated as
the eleventh in point of population and importance.
It is somewhat remarkable, however, to find that,
even thus early, Glasgow began to possess the germs
of commercial eminence, in so far as it was not des-
titute of shipping, for there is an order of the privy-
council to the effect that vessels belonging to Glas-
gow should not annoy those belonging to Henry
VIII., the Queen's uncle. During the minority of
Mary, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, the then heir
to the throne, and the ancestor of the ducal house of
Hamilton, was appointed regent. His appointment
was opposed by the Earl of Lennox and the Queen-
dowager ; and, finally, the hostile feeling became so
potent that both parties flew to arms. The regent
having gathered together a numerous army at Stir
ling, marched to Glasgow, and stormed the castle,
which was held for Lennox with brass guns. After
the siege had been maintained for ten days, the gar-
rison agreed to surrender on condition of receiving
quarter ; but no sooner had they laid down their
arms than the regent's troops fell upon them, and
only two escaped alive. Lennox determined to re-
venge this treachery and loss by striking a desperate
blow, and having associated with himself the Earl of
Glencairn, they intended to have marched into
Clydesdale, and laid waste the lands of the Hamil-
tons. The regent heard of their intentions, how-
ever, and determined to counteract it by seizing
Glasgow. Glencairn, on the approach of the regent,
drew out his forces, amounting to 800 men, partly
composed of his own vassals, and partly of the citi-
zens of Glasgow ; and, at a place called " the Butts,"
near the site of the infantry barracks, and where the
" wenponschaw" used to be held of old, he boldly
attacked Arran. The onset of Glencairn was so fu-
rious that he beat back the first rank upon the se-