Saturday 9th December 1893, and for many families in Blantyre, they were looking forward to the traditional Christmas holiday break. But all was not well, the cost of living far outstripping wages and on this particular evening, the unrest came to a disturbing pinnacle.
About half past six in the evening, a band of about 30 men, evidently miners surrounded the spirit shop occupied by Robert Craig at Causeyshot, an isolated block of tenements on Glasgow Road, about quarter of a mile west of Stonefield. About half the men entered the premises and the other half stood outside, keeping guard.
It was alleged that four men went behind the counter and assaulted the proprietor whilst the other fellows simply helped themselves to the liquors. Police were soon on the vicinity and two of the officers boldly charged the men outside, arresting two of the ringleaders.
As they started to convey the two prisoners along Glasgow Road towards the police station, they were quickly caught up on by the other miners and were subjected to some verbal abuse and “jostling” of a serious nature that made it difficult to retain the prisoners. This serious development resulting in an ever increasing crowd surrounding the officers who made slow pace along Glasgow Road.
This was a time of many police officers in Blantyre. The timely arrival of a further 5 officers soon put an end to the crowd’s mischief and the prisoners were safely secured in the gaol. One ringleader was picked out and up in court the following Monday. Mr Robert Miller, a miner up before the J.P Court on charges of assault, theft and breach of peace. The case continued for a week before sentence was passed.
This type of disorder was common in Central Scotland in 1893 and 1894 and certainly Blantyre made the news often. This particular event however, was certainly deliberately organised and feels much more criminal than trying to feed families.
There’s a wonderful photo which serves to illustrate this incident well. A group of miners outside Robert Craig’s pub at Causeyshot, (the Westend), Blantyre. The road leading off to the right is Bardykes Road.
