Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/656

GLASGOW, the most populous city in Great Britain next to London, is situated on the banks of the river Clyde, in the Scottish County of Lanarkshire, about 20 miles above Greenock, where the river spreads out into a noble estuary, with branching lochs running deep into the heart of the Western Highlands. It is within ten hours’ railway run (4051.- miles) of the metropolis, and an hour and a quarter (45 miles) of Edinburgh, the latitude being 55° 51' 32" )1, and the longitude 4° 17' 51" \V. The extreme breadth of the city is about 3,} miles from north to south, and the extreme length 5 miles from east to west. The circumference is about 10 miles; and the area em- braced within the municipal boundaries is now (1879) 6111.} acres. The population when the last census was taken in 1871 was 477,732, but during the eight years that have elapsed, the increase of inhabitants both in the city proper and in its suburbs has been very great. It is within the mark to say that above 100,000 have been added to the population of the city; this indeed is the estimate given in official registration returns, which set do“ n the population estimated to the middle of 1879 as 578,156. The smaller burghs which have sprung up round Glasgow within the last twenty or thirty years have kept pace with the mother burgh in development, and now Contain a population amongst them of about 170,000. As these burghs are essentially parts of Glasgow, having been formed by the overflow of its population, they ought to be 'added to the city in any estimate of its size and importance. The population of Glasgow, taking this basis, is therefore close upon three quarters of a million 730,000). The increase of the population during the present century has been greater perhaps than that of any other city or town of the Old World. In 1801 it was only 77,385; in 1821 it was 147,043; in 1841, 255,650; in 1861, 395,503; and in 1871, 477,732. In 1877 the dwelling-houses numbered 105,002, and the rental exceeded £3,250,000.

 

Plan of Glasgow (central portion).

 

Unlike the “grey metropolis of the north,” Glasgow

shows rather poorly in the history of Scotland. Its own real history—the history of its commerce and industries—can hardly be dated farther back than the beginning of the last century, when the union of England and Scotland roused into extraordinary activity the trading spirit of its inhabitants. And yet Glasgow is an old city. Its foundations were laid when the half-mythical Kentigern sat down by the banks of the Molendinar, to teach the rough Celts of Strathclyde the truths of Christianity. It was about the middle of the 6th century that this apostle of truth made his appearance in the west of Scotland, and built his little wooden church on the spot upon which some centuries later his successors reared the noble cathedral which still stands in perfect beauty. One can only guess that the inhabitants of this portion of Strathclyde gathered round the abode and church of St Mungo, and that as the site was pleasant,'and the Molendinar and the Clyde supplied ample store of trout and salmon, the village under the fostering care of the monks grew slowly till it became a place of importance. Of that growth, however, nothing is really known till we reach the 12th century. In the year 1115 an investigation was ordered by David, then prince of Cumbria, of the lands and churches belonging to the bishopric of Glasgow, and from the deed which still exists it is evident that at that time a cathedral had been endowed. A few years later David succeeded to the Scottish throne on the death of his brother Alexander I., and among the many endowments he made for religious purposes, we find that he gave to the see of Glasgow the lands of Partick, besides restoring many possessions of which it had been despoiled. Jocelyn was

bishop of Glasgow for a long period, and is memorable for