Springburn Virtual Museum

Community life

Springburn Fishcuring workers' annual picnic, to Balornock, 1897

In the 19th century, workers in industrial centres throughout Britain, from different crafts and occupations, organised annual outings to the countryside for themselves and their families. This picture shows one such outing, organised by Springburn fishcurers, to Balornock, then an area of open country to the north-east of Springburn, near to the mansion of Balornock House.

The earliest village inhabitants were handloom weavers and miners. After the coming of the railway in 1832, Springburn's location made it an ideal place for the new locomotive works, and within a few decades Springburn was a thriving industrial community.

This photograph was taken during the Glasgow Fair of 1897 by William Graham (1845-1914), a former railway worker, who set up as a photographer with a studio in Vulcan Street after losing his job during the railwaymen's strike of 1890-91.

Selections from the above image are shown below in greater detail.

Source: Glasgow City Archives