Mary Jane Thomson was a brass picker who used to live at Dixon’s Rows, Blantyre. In the middle of March 1907, she found herself in Hamilton Sheriff Court, charged with stealing a pair of ladies shoes from the Stonefield Masonic Hall. Her excuse was that on 1st March that year, when she attended a dance […]
Category: Blantyre Crime
Dog Collar Thefts
A by-law which exists today, is the legal requirement for dogs to wear a collar with an ID tag. Accepted by most people in Scotland these days, this concept was fairly new in 1907. When the by-law was introduced, it actually caused some problems and issues for pet owners and one of the stories which […]
Glasgow Road Riot, 1907
Not since the Blantyre riots of February 1887, had there been a more serious incident of rioting and disorder in Blantyre than the disruptive events which occurred on Saturday 25th May 1907. This is the little known story of riots on Glasgow Road and police attempts to regain order. It started when the Hibernian R.C […]
Forrest Place – Further Incidents
Following the tale of neglect at Forrest Place, High Blantyre told yesterday, I have a couple more incidents at the same property which also happened in June 1907. This may give an indication of some of the troubled lives attached to some residents in that property. A Hungry Man’s an Angry man. This is the […]
Neglect at Forrest Place, 1907
Whenever I read about families in times gone by neglecting children, I have to wonder if parents had no choice because of poverty, rather than doing it deliberately or through cruelty. Such a case follows from 1907 and a warning that the content may be upsetting. On Wednesday 5th June 1907, Charles McGuigan a brusher […]
Disturbance & Division, 1907
The subject of sectarianism is one I’ve often deliberately not chosen to dwell on much in Blantyre Project, but the truth of the matter is this town DOES have an early history of violent disorder relating to party division. There’s sometimes no escaping it when researching articles, particularly just over 100 years ago and it […]
Boy Thief’s Career
In March 1908, 11 year old William McLeary of Dixon’s Rows, Stonefield, Blantyre found himself in trouble with the law. And not for the first time. Along with 2 other boys, he had broken into a shop on Glasgow Road and stolen chocolate and matches. He was also further charged with breaking into Whistleberry collieries […]