Glasgow

Glasgow, the commercial and manufacturing capital of Scotland, and, in point of wealth, population, and importance, the second city of the British islands, is situated for the most part in the lower ward of Lanarkshire, but a small part of it is in the county of Renfrew. It stands on both banks of the river Clyde, 14 miles from its mouth at Dumbarton; but the larger portion of the city is on the N side of the river; latitude 55° 51' 32" N, and longitude 4° 17' 54" W. Its distance as the crow flies from John o' Groat's House is 197 miles, and from London 348. It is NW by N of London and Carlisle, SW of Aberdeen, Perth, and Stirling, SW by W of Dundee, W by S of Edinburgh, and N by W of Dumfries. By road it is 42¾ miles from Edinburgh, 23 from Greenock, 34 from Ayr, 79 from Dumfries, and 396 from London; while by railway its distance is 7 miles from Paisley, 21 from Falkirk, 23 from Greenock, 29 from Stirling, 33¾ from Kilmarnock, 40½ from Ayr, 47½ from Edinburgh, 63¼. from Perth, 104½ from Berwickon-Tweed, 105 from Carlisle, 152 from Aberdeen, 206½ from Inverness, 401½ from London by the West Coast route, 423 by the Midland, and 448½ by the East Coast route.

Site.—At no very remote time in the geological history of the country, but long before the historic period, the lower part of the valley of the Clyde formed the bottom of an estuary. This estuary opened to the sea by a narrow strait near Erskine, and embraced Loch Lomond and the valleys about on the one hand, while on the other it extended as far as Johnstone and Paisley. Narrowing at Ibrox and Pollokshields, it again widened out, and, sweeping round by the Cathkin and Cathcart Hills, formed a wide bay where Glasgow Green and Bridgeton now are. The mouth of the river was then probably about Bothwell or Rutherglen. That the estuary was marine the list of shells found in the deposits in the valley abundantly proves. That the levels of the land were much the same as at present dung the Roman occupation is shown by the termination of the Roman Wall; but that prior to this, and yet subsequent to the first appearance of man in Clydesdale, there must have been an upheaval of the land is shown by relics dug up on the present site of Glasgow. Among other remains a number of canoes have been found, some of them 300 feet distant from the modern bed of the river and 19 feet below the present surface. In the eighty years prior to 1855, no less than seventeen canoes were dug out of the silt-one in 1780 in digging the foundations of St Enoch's church, and another later near the Cross. In 1824 one was found at Stockwell Street, and another in the Drygate behind the new prison. Twelve were found on the lands of Springfield, on the S side, and two at Clydehaugh in 1852. Of all these, one was in a vertical position, with the prow up, as if it had sunk in a storm; while another was bottom up, as if it had been capsized. Since 1855 other three at least have been found. All this points to a considerable rise within the human period, and accounts for the traces of ancient terraces that are to be seen along some portions of the higher grounds, as well as for the nature of the site of the lower part of the city, which, especially towards the E and S, is very flat, as it also is on the N along the side of the river. Nowhere in these districts is it more than a few feet above the level of spring tides. The ground on the N side of the river beyond the flat strip and to the W is variable and undulating, there being a number of elliptical ridges mostly with their longer axes parallel to the course of the river, but in the W trending somewhat more in a N and S direction. They rise with considerable rapidity to heights of from 100 to 0 feet, the principal being Blythswood Hill (13d), Woodlands Hill (153), Hillhead (157), Garnet Hill (176), the Observatory site (179), the Necropolis (225), and Garngad Hill (252). The city is intersected and divided into two unequal portions by the river Clyde, which has within it a course of about 6 miles, following the windings from the E at Dalmarnock Bridge to a point on the W nearly opposite Govan. The Molendinar Burn swept round the NE, passed between the Cathedral and the Necropolis in a deep ravine, and afterwards crossed the low ground to the Clyde; but it has now become a dirty underground sewer, though the ravine still partially remains. The river Kelvin approaches from the NW through a picturesque and wellwooded dell, skirts the base of the height on which the Botanic Gardens are laid out, and, sweeping to the southward, forms the boundary between Hillhead and Glasgow. In its onward course it passes through the West End or Kelvingrove Park, between the high grounds to the E of the Park and Gilmore Hill on the W, and then, bending to the SW, enters the Clyde opposite Govan at Govan ferry. Glasgow has about its. site none of the picturesque features that give such beauty and well-marked character to Edinburgh. The features of the views within all the low parts of the city, and even in the suburbs, are mainly architectural, and always distinctly modified by the smoke and turmoil of a great seat of commerce and manufacture. From a few of the higher spots-particularly from Sighthill Cemetery, Garngad Hill, the Necropolis, Blythswood Hill, Garnet Hill, the upper part of Kelvingrove Park, and Gilmore Hill in front of the new University buildings-there are, however, in clear states of the atmosphere, views of considerable picturesqueness, the foreground of the city, with its streets and buildings and bustle, being backed by glimpses of the country and shut in by distant hills.

Extent.—The exact extent of Glasgow is somewhat difficult to define, as the districts to be embraced by the name are variously understood. The compact central portion of it measures about 2¼. miles by 1½; the area covered by buildings, but exclusive of detached parts and straggling outskirts, measures about 4 miles from E to W and about 2 from N to S. The area comprehended in the returns of population includes, besides the separate burghs of Hillhead, Partick, Maryhill, Govan, Crosshill, Kinning Park, Govanhill, and Pollokshields, the detached suburbs of Strathbungo, Crossmyloof, Langside, Tollcross, Shettleston, and Ibrox, and comprises 21,336¾ acres, of which 1209½ acres are in Renfrewshire. It measures about 9¼. miles from E to W, and about 5¼. from N to S. The royal burgh lies all on the right bank of the Clyde, and comprises 988½ acres. The old royalty also lies all on the right bank of the river, and includes the royal burgh as well as very considerable suburbs and some tracts of open country; it comprises 2336½ acres. Prior to 1872 the municipal and parliamentary burgh excluded much of the old royalty, but included tracts beyond it both N and S of the Clyde, and comprised 5034½ acres. By an act of parliament passed in 1872 the boundaries were largely extended to the N and W. Of the sixteen wards into which the city is divided, the third, fifth, tenth, and eleventh were considerably affected. The third ward is now bounded on the N and E by the old royalty line, and on the W by Springburn Road. It takes in the St Rollox malleable iron works, the Caledonian Railway Company's engineering works, the Sighthill railway station, and the new Alexandra Park, together with intermediate places. The fifth ward is now bounded on the N by the old royalty line, on the E by Craighall Road, and on the W by Springburn Road. It includes a considerable part of the large detached suburb of Springburn, Sighthill Cemetery, Cowlairs railway station, and Keppoch Hill hamlet, together with intervening places. The tenth ward now includes the district extending from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the royalty boundary, and from Craighall Road to Keppoch Row. The eleventh ward now includes a portion of Kelvingrove Park formerly outside the municipal burgh, and, crossing the Kelvin, takes in the lands of Gilmore Hill with the new University buildings. Starting from a point on the Monkland Canal at the NE corner of Alexandra Park, the parliamentary and municipal boundary line skirts the E side of the park till near the SE corner, and then turns in a straight line SE for more than a mile to a point near Shettleston Sheddings, E of Parkhead. From this it turns SW, and runs in a straight line for a mile to the river Clyde at the W corner of the corporation reservoirs, from which it proceeds down the middle of the river to the mouth of the Malls Mire Burn, on the S side of the river, opposite the middle of the S end of Glasgow Green. There it turns up the burn for about 1000 yards till it reaches the boundary line between the counties of Lanark and Renfrew, near Eastfield. It follows this boundary to a point lying to the S of the S corner of the Southern Necropolis, and then passes straight W to the E end of Butterbiggins Road, and then along this road in a line W by S, and, still keeping in a straight line, crosses Victoria Road and on to the county boundary, where it passes into Renfrewshire near Eglinton Saw-mills. Here it turns to the NW, and runs in a straight line to Shields Road near the Shields Road station, from which it strikes NW by N in a straight line to a point in the river Clyde opposite Finnieston Quay. Passing down the Clyde to the mouth of the Kelvin it turns up the latter stream to the Dumbarton Road, the line of which it follows for a short distance W, till it turns northward along the W side of the Western Infirmary grounds as far as University Avenue. Turning eastward along this street, it proceeds in a straight line past the S end of Anderston Free church to the river Kelvin, and again follows the course of that stream to a point directly N of Glasgow Academy, whence it passes in a straight line NE, till it reaches the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal at Firhill Saw-mills. From this the centre of the canal is the line of boundary to near Napiershall, whence the line passes eastward somewhat irregularly to Cowlairs. There it passes through the North British engine works northward to the E end of Hawthorn Street, and then curves along through Springburn, past the gateway of the Barony Poorhouse, and on to a point on the Monkland Canal E of Blochairn steel-works, whence it proceeds along the N side of the Alexandra Park to the point first mentioned. Its total length is about 17 miles; while the length of the municipal burgh, from Hawthorn Street on the N to Butterbiggins Road on the S, is in a straight line about 3½ miles; and from Shettleston Sheddings on the E to the mouth of the Kelvin on the W about 5 miles. There are nearly 900 streets within the boundary line, the total length of which must exceed 100 miles. Very little of the area within the municipality is now unbuilt on, and so much is the city hemmed in by its suburban neighbours, that extension of the boundary is well nigh impossible except by annexing the surrounding burghs, a proceeding to which the latter always show strong aversion. The mother city made a vigorous attempt in the 'No Man's Land' bill in 1875 to begin this swallowing-up process; but the successful resistance then made by Crossbill will probably prevent, for a long time to come, any effort to renew the trial.

Appearance.—A stranger entering Glasgow by any of the ordinary routes is not likely to be favourably impressed by it. By the Edinburgh and Glasgow branch of the North British system and by the northern branch of the Caledonian, he enters through dark and smoky tunnels. By the Bathgate branch of the North British, he enters through dingy suburbs and streets of a decidedly unpleasant aspect; while, by the southern branch of the Caledonian, the approach lies through murky mineral fields, amid the blaze of iron-works. By the Glasgow and South-Western line, he approaches amid houses of an inferior description. If the visitor come by road—excepting the approach by the Great Western Road through Billhead—it is much the same; while, if he come by the river, long ere reaching the city he has left the beauties of the Clyde behind, and finds himself moving slowly along a river which is not at all pure or sweet, amid a motley array of shipbuilding yards and engineering establishments resounding to the rattling of many hammers. No sooner, however, does he reach the centre of the city than he finds a vast difference in the character of the streets and in the surroundings, and sees on every hand buildings displaying both beauty and taste. Few exterior views of the city or of parts of it are interesting; and from the fact that no exterior view of it as a whole can be got, it is difficult to carry away from Glasgow any general impression. The best of the exterior views is from the Cathkin Hills, and they are too far off (3 miles) to allow of a distinct idea.

Lines of Street and Districts.—The city had its origin on the high ground adjoining the western side of the Molendinar Burn ravine, nearly a mile N of the Clyde; and as any extension immediately eastward was impracticable in consequence of the opposite side of the ravine being flanked by steep rising ground, the earliest enlargements took place over rapid slopes to the SE and SW to the flat ground towards the bank of the river. From this the extensions, which, till the latter part of last century, constituted the main bulk of the city, passed southward to an ancient bridge across the Clyde on the site of the present Victoria Bridge. The central line of thoroughfare through these extensions was the Bell o' the Brae (High Street NE of its intersection with George Street), leading to the flat ground, and then continuously High Street, Saltmarket, and Bridgegate to the bridge. This was intersected at the S end of High Street at the Cross by a transverse line of streets running E and W, Gallowgate striking off to the E and Trongate to the W. The principal extensions of the latter part of last century and the early part of the present century went westward, along the plain over all the space between the high ground and the river, the main thoroughfares being George Street, along the base of the high ground; Argyle Street, a continuation of the Trongate westward; and a number of transverse streets running in a direction nearly parallel to High Street and Saltmarket. Other extensions of contemporary date went eastward along the sides of the Gallowgate, and thence spread still farther to the E and SE, forming suburbs; while a small suburb of ancient date, at the S end of the bridge across the Clyde, spread rapidly E and S and W. The more recent extensions which have taken place to the N and NE, very largely to the S, and most of all to the W, have been very wide, so much so indeed that they have not only taken in outlying suburbs of some antiquity, but have also created new ones of considerable size; while the lines of streets exhibit an amount of imposing architecture in public buildings, works, warehouses, and private houses of much greater account than that of all the previous portions of the city. The westward extension on the N bank of the river reaches from about the line of Hope Street to a line fully a mile W of the Kelvin, and measures more than 2 miles in length by a mile in mean breadth. This is the finest of all the extensions, and, consisting mainly of elegant private residences, with places of business and public buildings interspersed, constitutes on the whole a West End somewhat similar to the West End of London. Some parts of it are still of a somewhat straggling character, but it is expected, with good reason, to be fully occupied with the exception of the open ornamental areas. This portion of the city has the great advantage of including the heights at Blythswood Square and Garnet Hill, the high grounds to the E of Kelvingrove Park and Gilmore Hill, with the reaches of the Kelvin between; and is comparatively free from the smoke and turmoil that prevail in most of the other parts of the city. It offers indeed, along with the suburban districts, so many advantages for residence that probably ere long, out of business hours, the central portion of Glasgow will be as little inhabited as the city in London, and the whole area given over to business purposes.

From the outline of the growth of the streets of Glasgow just given, it will be evident that the older and more irregular part of the city, with the usual closes and narrow and crooked streets, will lie to the E of the Cross, while the districts to the W, N, and S show greater regularity of plan, the streets in most cases intersecting at right angles, though the branching of some of the main roads causes in many places minor deviations by the formation of triangular and irregularly shaped blocks. As might be expected from the course of the river Clyde, the main lines of thoroughfare run in a direction more or less from E to W, with cross streets from N to S; but this regularity is best marked in the districts on the S side and between Argyle Street and George Street and Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street.

In the south-eastern suburbs, extending for fully a mile in length and with an average breadth of 2½ furlongs, is the public park of Glasgow Green, all that now remains of the old common ground. It is bounded on the N partly by mean dingy streets, with murky factories, and partly by neat terraces. The streets leading westward are spacious, and for more than ½ mile are not encumbered by buildings on the river bank. Beyond this they are harbour approaches. The areas at the College Station E of High Street, and of George and St Enoch's Squares, break in this district the prevailing density of the street masses. The great West End district displays a fine assemblage of handsome streets, terraces, and crescents, intermixed with open ground and spaces laid out with shrubs. The great lines of thoroughfare from N to S are by Springburn Road, Castle Street, High Street, Saltmarket, Crown Street, and Cathcart Road in the E; and by Garscube or New City Road, Cowcaddens, Renfield Street, Union Street, Jamaica Street, Glasgow Bridge, Bridge Street, and Eglinton Street in the centre and towards the W; and subsidiary lines are by Port Dundas Road and Buchanan Street, and by Glassford Street, Stockwell Street, Victoria Bridge, Main Street (Gorbals), and Pollokshaws Road. The main line of thoroughfare from E to W is by Great Eastern Road, Gallowgate, Trongate, Argyle Street, Main Street (Anderston), and Dumbarton Road. There are also subsidiary lines along both banks of the river, and by Stirling Road, Cathedral Street, Bath Street; by Parliamentary Road and Sauchiehall Street; and by Duke Street, George Street, St Vincent Place, Renfield Street, Cowcaddens, and Great Western Road. The great part of the streets on the S side are, as will be seen from the historical section, much more modern than the central part of the city. The compact districts of the city and the continuous suburbs on the outskirts have separate names, and were either originally separate villages or took their names from separate estates. On the N are Cowcaddens-which takes its name from being the part of the common land which was set apart for the feeding of the town's cattle-Port Dundas, St Rollox-a corruption of St Roche, who had in the district a chapel noticed in the historical section-and Dennistoun; on the E Caltonan old barony-Camlachie, Mile-End, and Bridgeton; on the S Gorbals (an old barony), which has various subdivisions. The lands were left in 1650 by Sir George Douglas in trust to the magistrates, one-half for Hutcheson's Hospital, one-fourth for the Trades House, and one-fourth for the city. The lands were divided in 1789, and the part acquired by the hospital was called Hutchesontown; what fell to the Trades House, Tradeston. Lauriston was built on the hospital ground in the beginning of the present century, and Kingston about the same time on the part belonging to the council. On the W are Blythswoodholm-from the ancient barony of Blythswood; Anderston-from Mr Anderson, who was proprietor of the Stobcross lands in 1725, and laid out the plan of the original village; Finniestonnamed after Mr Finnie, a tutor in the family of Mr Orr, who had bought the estate of Anderston, and who laid out a plan for a village about 1765; Sandyford, Kelvinhaugh, and Woodside. Anderston, Finnieston, Gorbals, Hutchesontown, Tradeston, and Kingston were quite recently detached country villages. The suburban villages and burghs still only connected with the main part of the city by chains of houses or by partly open road, are, on the NW, Maryhill and Keppoch Hill; on the N, Springburn; on the E, Shettleston, Eastmuir, Hogganfield, Provanhall, Tollcross, Parkhead, and Barrochine; on the S, Crosshill, Strathbungo, and Pollokshields; on the WSW, Kinning Park, Govan, Govanhill, and Whiteinch; and on the W, Partick and Hillhead.

Streets and Street Architecture.—The city is in general remarkably well built. The building material is a fine light coloured sandstone, the masonry substantial, and the frontages in most parts lofty and good, though there is often a tendency towards too profuse ornamentation and to a rather factory-like arrangement of windows. The older districts are mostly squalid, and have little or none of the picturesqueness of the older Scotch architecture which gives such a characteristic and quaint aspect to the older portions of other of the old towns of Scotland. Most of the other districts are plain in style, and with nothing to distinguish the appearance of the houses from that of dwellings in any of the other stone-built towns in Britain, though the newer districts show more ornament, some of it running to heaviness and in questionable taste. The older districts about Drygate, High Street, Gallowgate, Bridgeton, Saltmarket, Bridgegate, Trongate, the Wynds, Gorbals, and Calton have been much altered and improved between 1866 and the present time. The operations of the City of Glasgow Union railway and still more of the City lmprovement Trust, acting under an act obtained in 1866, have removed altogether or greatly altered and improved a number of narrow and dirty courts, lanes, and streets that were in their old state mere hotbeds of disease and crime, and defied alike the efforts of sanitary inspector and police to improve them. The newest districts of all are ambitious and showy; some parts in very tasteful Italian; others abounding in pillared porches, projecting or divided windows, balconies, and balustrades; while the grand front range on the crown of the hill overlooking the West End Park is in the French style. A strong fondness is shown for pillar decoration even up to the Corinthian and composite, but the type adopted is often poor. The great number of new buildings erected along the principal streets since about 1840 shows a desire for variety of style and profusion of ornament which sometimes lead to rather striking results. While edifices of Norman, Italian, Flemish, and Scottish styles stand side by side with one another and with old plain buildings, a strong lofty ornate iron shell often replaces stonework, and sometimes efforts are made to replace the absence of decoration by glaring effects in paint. These last features are, however, exceptional, and, while no doubt pleasing to the eye of many, they considerably mar the general effect to an eye of even not very severe taste. High Street, Rotten Row, and Drygate retain but few signs of their former grandeur, though the last was once filled with the mansions of the aristocracy of the West. Alas, how are the mighty fallen! One of the best buildings in it now is a well-planned lodging-house erected by the City Improvement Trust, and containing accommodation for 200 persons. Rotten Row (originally routine and rue, as it was the usual road of the church dignitaries to the Cathedral ?) used formerly to contain the residences of several of the prebendaries of the Cathedral. The city gas-works were removed from it in 1872. Bell o' the Brae, the upper part of High Street, has been removed by the Improvement Trust, and the slope of the street lessened. The old name was derived from a bell placed in a small turret at its top, and always tolled at funerals. Duke's Place, adjacent to Drygate, contained an ancient house at one time belonging to the Earl of Lennox, and afterwards to the Duke of Montrose, where Darnley's illness took place, and where Queen Mary visited him. It was removed in 1853. Its connection with the Duke gave name to Duke Street. John Knox Street, extending across the Drygate to Argyle Street, was formed by the City Improvement Trust in 1872. It replaced a cluster of wretched houses called the Rookery, and is overlooked from the brow of the neighbouring Necropolis by John Knox's Monument. Ladywell Street, in the same neighbourhood, contains a small restored structure over a well, anciently dedicated to the Virgin. Duke Street, a continuation of George Street eastwards to the suburbs, has to the N the district of Dennistoun with pleasant villas. It is not entirely built, and contains the North Prison and the Cattle Market. A road branching off on the left leads to the Alexandra Park. George Street is in line with Duke Street to the W. It is a straight well-built street, and contains the buildings of the Andersonian University. High Street has been very much altered by the action of the Improvement Trust, but still contains in itself and the neighbouring courts a crowded population of the lowest class. A number of buildings densely populated and nearly opposite the station have been pulled down, and their site is now occupied by Canon Street.

Saltmarket, extending about 2 furlongs S in a line with High Street to the river and to the South Prison at Albert Bridge, was once the place of residence of the magnates of Glasgow-the Bailie Nicol Jarvies of their time, and gave lodging to James, Duke of York (afterwards James VII.), when he visited Glasgow. It became the rag fair of the city, and, with some of the streets leading from it, was the abode of people in a condition of the most squalid poverty. Prior to 1822 it contained some old houses, but in that year extensive reconstruction took place with a view to the improvement of the condition of the inhabitants. The effort failed, and no improvement was effected till the operations of the Improvement Trust and the Union railway cut off many of its closes, and almost revolutionised it. On the E side at the N corner of Steel Street was a house where Oliver Cromwell lived when he was in Glasgow. Bridgegate, leading westward from the S part of Saltmarket, also was once a place of high note. It contained the mansions of several noble families, an d afterwards the only banks of the city, the Merchants' Hall, and the Assembly Rooms where the Duchess of Douglas used to lead off the Glasgow civic balls in the last century. Here also the Union railway and the Improvement Trust have effected great improvements. St Andrew Square, 120 yards E of Saltmarket, and connected with it by St Andrew Street, was built in the latter part of last century as an aristocratic quarter, and it shows a symmetry worthy of its importance and purpose, an appearance enhanced by St Andrew's Church in the centre. It soon fell into disrepute, and is now hugged on every side by squalid alleys. London Street, extending ESE from the head of Saltmarket, a straight, open, well-built street, was formed at a comparatively recent period. It was intended as a convenient outlet to the SE suburbs to which it leads, partly by the line of Great Hamilton Street, partly by Monteith Row and Glasgow Green. The south-eastern suburbs are Bridgeton, Barrowfield, Mile-End, and Calton. These have mostly a dingy appearance, and contain a considerable number of factories-cotton, linen, jute-and chemical and iron works. They have been improved by the construction of two spacious streets under the Improvement Act. Gallowgate, striking off eastwards from the Cross at an acute angle with London Street, leads to the suburb of Camlachie. It was formerly the principal outlet on the E, but now has little to attract attention except here and there some dwarfish old dwelling almost hidden by the neighbouring houses. About 3 furlongs eastward from the Cross stand the old Barrack buildings, superseded in 1876 by new barracks near Maryhill. Near the Cross it was formerly very disagreeable and even offensive, but the widening and levelling of the street, and the demolition of a number of unsightly tenements at the point where it is crossed by the Union railway, have vastly improved it, as has also the formation of Watson Street. Trongate, the early state of which is noticed in the historical section, was the seat of all the main business of the city so late as the time of the tobacco trade in the latter part of last century. It has everywhere a width of 60 feet or upwards. The buildings are stately, though some of them are old. It contains the Cross Steeple (the tower of the old Tolbooth) the Tontine buildings, the equestrian statue of William III., the Tron Steeple, and an imposing block of buildings (1858) in the Scottish Baronial style which occupies the site of a house where Sir John Moore was born. Trongate and its continuation westward, Argyle Street, are the busiest thoroughfares in Glasgow. Candleriggs, at right angles to Trongate, on the N, is an old street (1722), but it has been thoroughly modernised. It has on the E side the City Hall, and St David's church is at the top. Hutcheson Street and Glassford Street, parallel to Candleriggs, are handsome open streets. The former is named from Hutcheson's Hospital, which stands at its top. It contains also the County Buildings and the City Chambers. Glassford Street (1792) is named from a distinguished merchant of the times of the tobacco trade mentioned by Smollett in his Humphrey Clinker. On the W side is the Trades Hall. Stockwell Street, going S to Victoria Bridge, is older, and was long the SW verge of the city.

Argyle Street—mentioned under the name of West Street (as leading from the West Port) in the early part of the 18th century, and under its present name as early as 1777-extends from Trongate westward to Anderston, and is as spacious and stately as Trongate. The centre dates from the beginning of this century, and the western part is subsequent to 1820. The older part has been almost entirely reconstructed. It is a very crowded thoroughfare, and as a seat of business is scarcely surpassed by any street in Europe. Virginia Street (N) was formed in 1753, and was then occupied by mansionhouses. It takes its name from a house called Virginia House, which belonged to a Virginia merchant named Buchanan, and stood on the site now occupied by the Union Bank. Miller Street (N) was opened in 1771, and got its name from the proprietor of the ground. It was also intended for mansions, and Mr Buchanan in his Desultory Sketches of Glasgow tells how when it was first laid out no feus were taken off for some time, as it was considered too far out of town, a statement that gives a far better idea of the increase in size of Glasgow within the last century than pages of description. Dunlop Street (S) had at its head of old the Buck's Head Hotel, long a place of high city note. From 1840 to 1868 the Theatre Royal was also here. Queen Street (N) is on the line of the Cow Loan, by which the cows of the inhabitants (kept in a common byre on the site presently occupied by the Royal Exchange) passed to the public pastures at Cowcaddens. It was constructed in the end of last century, and is now one of the best streets in the city. It contains the Inland Revenue Office, the offices of the National Bank, the old Stock Exchange, and the Royal Exchange. At the N end is the station of the North British railway. Buchanan Street (N) is parallel to Queen Street. It was opened in 1778, and took its name from the owner of the ground. At first it was not intended to connect it with Argyle Street, but the plan was afterwards changed. The situation is described in an advertisement as being ' rural and agreeable. ' Even so late as 1816 it was the western street of the city. It was occupied by villas, and was so quiet that grass grew abundantly on the carriageway. It is now lined with fine shops and lofty and elegant business tenements. It c