The New Student's Reference Work/Glasgow

Glas′gow, a royal borough, the industrial center of Scotland and the most populous city of Great Britain next to London, stands on the banks of the Clyde, 42 miles west of Edinburgh. It extends about three and one fourth miles from north to south, and five from east to west. There are about 300 miles of streets; the Clyde is spanned by twelve bridges, of which three are railroad viaducts and two suspension bridges for foot-passengers. Of buildings possessing historical interest, there are none except the cathedral, which dates back to the 11th century, is especially noted for its beautiful crypt or underground chapel, and is unrivaled in Britain. Of modern buildings are the city-chambers; the royal exchange, a handsome building ornamented with colonnades of Corinthian pillars; and the numerous churches. In general, Glasgow is a well-built city; its streets are well laid put and spacious, and the houses which line them are solidly built of excellent stone, which is quarried in abundance near by. It is well-supplied with public parks, and in George Square are a number of statues—Watt, Scott, Burns, Livingstone and others. The University of Glasgow was founded in 1450. It now has 2,500 students, a teaching-faculty of 136 professors and tutors and a library of 200,000 volumes. Other educational institutions are the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, with over 2,000 students; St. Mungo's; the Free Church College; and St. Margaret's College for women. There are two morning and three evening dailies, about a dozen weekly newspapers and periodicals; and one or two monthlies. Three magnificent railroad stations bring traffic to the heart of the city, and the under-ground railway and the city union line, besides the street railways, afford every facility for traveling into most parts of the city. Another means of transit is found in the fine fleet of river-steamers, which afford access to all the western highlands and islands. One of these steamers attains a speed of twenty-two miles an hour, and can accommodate 2,000 passengers on its daily journey of 160 miles. The Clyde has been a chief source of the great prosperity of Glasgow. It now allows ships drawing twenty-four feet of water to ride at anchor. The harbor and docks give the city a water-area of 210 acres. Beyond the harbor the principal feature of the Clyde is the great shipbuilding and marine engineering yards which line its sides. Here have been built such vessels as the Etruria, City of New York and City of Paris. Glasgow is built over a coalfield rich in seams of iron-stone, and the city has blast-furnaces within its bounds. The making of steamtubes, boilermaking, locomotive-engine building and general engineering are among the principal industries. The dyeing of Turkey-red has been greatly developed; and the chemical works and spinning and weaving industries afford employment to a great part of the population. Besides its cotton-mills, muslin-weaving and many textile-factories, the city has large calico-printing and bleaching-works, tobacco-works and distilling-establishments. Glasgow does not hold an important place in the early history of Scotland. The settlement by the Clyde goes back to about 560 A. D., when the half-mythical St. Kentigern or Mungo appeared as the apostle of Christianity to the rude Celts of that region, and built his little church where the cathedral stands. The place has some importance in religious history as the center of some activity during the time of the Covenanters. But its main fame has always been as an industrial and mercantile city, and its real history began about 1707, when the prospect of a great traffic with America aroused the commercial activity of its people. The population is now 784,455; and the area is about 12,400 acres. See MacGeorge's Old Glasgow and Muir's Glasgow in 1901.