Sandyford is an area located just to the west of Charing Cross. The Glasgow and District Burns Association website gives a brief history of the founding of this club:

‘The clubs’ [sic] motto is taken from the poem “Contented Wi Little and Cantie Wi Mair” written by Burns ninety-nine years before the club’s foundation in 1893. Burns admirers and appreciators in the Sandyford district of Glasgow had been circulated and invited to attend a public meeting called by John McDougall, then the master of the St. Vincent Sandyford Masonic Lodge. At the meeting McDougall was invited to chair the new club which then embarked on an almost unbroken run of annual dinners and other social events with the express purpose of Guid Fellowship which have raised large sums of money for benevolent purposes.’

(David Sibbald, ‘The Sandyford Burns Club‘, Glasgow and District Burns Association <http://www.robertburns.plus.com/Association.htm#Glasgow> [accessed 01 April 2018])

At the end of the nineteenth century, this club grew very quickly in a short amount of time: from a membership of 93 in 1895, three years later it had more than doubled its size (n. 213). From the evidence provided by issues of the Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, it appears that this club only met a couple of times a year. For example, the annual meeting in 1904 was held on the third Tuesday in March, with the group only meeting once before for Burns night on January 25th. This may have changed around 1909, when it was reported that in addition to the annual Burns dinner and dance, the club also held ‘lectures and social and musical evenings in [the] Grand Hotel, Glasgow’ (‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1909’, in Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1909), p. 167).

The venue for the meetings would change over the years. In 1895, the club met at the Masonic Hall, Overnewton (Overnewton is an area roughly where Yorkhill is located, across the road from the Kelvingrove Museum). In 1903, the annual dinner was held at the Grand Hotel at Charing Cross on January 26th (presumably due to scheduling difficulties on the 25th). In 1905, the club met at the Masonic Chambers at 100 West Regent Street, and it was noted in brackets that this was the Secretary’s Office. The Grand Hotel would again be the venue for the meeting held in 1914.

Date of Existence

1893-present;  Federated 1894

Source of Information

1. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1895’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. IV (Kilmarnock: D. Brown & Co., January 1895), p. 179;

2. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1896’, in BC, ed. by D. ‘Naught, No. V (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1896), p. 136;

3. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1897’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. VI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1897), p. 154;

4. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1898’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. VII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1898), p. 142;

5. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1899’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. VII (Kilmarnock, Burns Federation, January 1899), p. 159;

6. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1905’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XIV (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1905), p. 152;

7. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1909’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1909), p. 167;

8. ‘Club Notes’, ‘Obituary’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XIX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1910), p. 12;

9. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1914’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January, 1914), p. 207;

10. Sandyford Burns Club: annual dinner, Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, Monday, 26th January 1903 (MLSC, Mitchell (AL) BNS24 SAN);

11. The Sandyford Burns Club: the fortieth anniversary dinner and ball: the Ca’doro Restaurant, Union Street, Glasgow, Wednesday 25th January 1933 at 6 p.m. (MLSC, Mitchell (AL) BNS24 SAN 907992);

12. ‘The Sandyford Burns Club’, Glasgow and District Burns Association <http://www.robertburns.plus.com/Association.htm#Glasgow> [accessed 08/05/15]

Repository

Mitchell Library Special Collections (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle, and annual dinners)

National Library of Scotland (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

Reference Number

(See Source of Information, and below for Annual Burns Chronicle)

BNS19BUR (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

General Reading Room (stored offsite), Y.233, available no. 1-34 25th Jan. 1892-Jan. 1925 (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

Additional Notes

Mr D. C. Wardrop (see listing for ‘Club Notes’, ‘Obituary’, 1910, above) was Secretary of this Burns club, in addition to being a member of Queen’s Park Burns Club. He was also one of the founders and first Secretary of the National Burns Club, Glasgow. See also Glasgow Queen’s Park (Burns Club) and the National Burns Club, Ltd., Glasgow.

This Burns club sent visitors to and held joint meetings with the following: Rosebery Burns Club, Glasgow Carlton Burns Club, Albany Burns Club, and Bridgeton Burns Club.

‘BC‘ refers to the Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, which was published yearly since 1892. Copies are available at the Mitchell Library Special Collections and the National Library of Scotland. Many of these have been digitised and are available through the Robert Burns World Federation website: http://www.rbwf.org.uk/digitised-chronicles/.

This list of Burns chronicles as sources of information gives the first year the club was included in the chronicle, and thereafter only for the years where the information is different from the previous year’s listing. In keeping with the scope of this study (1800-1914), only the chronicles published between 1892 and 1914 are included.

Sandyford is an area located just to the west of Charing Cross.  The evidence for this group comes solely from the manuscript magazine that its members founded. At the very end of the 1883 issue is transcribed an ‘Extract from Report submitted to the Fifth Annual meeting of Sandyford Church Literary Association, 7th April 1884′.

This extract states that the association’s meetings had recently changed from fortnightly to weekly gatherings. According to the report, the increase in the frequency of the meetings resulted in an increase in the number of members, along with an increase in the number of members attendant at those meetings. In addition to seven lectures, five debates were held which included two joint-debates with Free St. George’s Literary Association and the Park Literary Institute (see ‘Additional Notes’ below). The group also held their annual dinner on March 10th 1884 at the Grand Hotel.

It was in the 1883-1884 session that the society’s manuscript magazine was founded (see ‘Additional Notes’ below).

In the ‘Preface’ to William Girvan Hendrie’s poetry anthology entitled, Poems (1899), it states that Hendrie was a member of this literary society between 1863 and 1864. With pride, it is noted that ‘not a few of the members [of this society] have become well-known men in the business or professional world’ (p. 3). During his time as a member, Hendrie wrote his first poems.

Hendrie worked in a counting-house in Glasgow and wrote poetry in his spare time, which remained unpublished in his lifetime.  However, he did publish a series of articles in the Glasgow Herald on the then current state of Ireland. The poems in this anthology were reportedly not written with a view to publication, but were published as a token of the many years of labour he undertook in creating them (p. 5). His first poems were composed whilst he was a member of the Sandyford society.

Date of Existence

1879-?

Source of Information

1. Sandyford Literary Association MS Magazine (1883) (MLSC)

2. W. G. H. [William Girvan Hendrie], Poems (Paisley, and London: Alexander Gardner, 1899) (IT)

Repository

1. Mitchell Library Special Collections (MLSC)

2. Cultural, Creative and Heritage Service, North Ayrshire Council, Irvine Townhouse (IT)

Reference Number

1. 642424 (MLSC)

2. Local & Family History Collection, DE82 (IT)

Additional Notes

See also Free St. George’s Literary Association, The Park Literary Institution, and the Wellington United Presbyterian Church Literary Association, with whom this society held at least one joint meeting.

See also entry for Sandyford Literary Association MS Magazine on our sister website, Literary Bonds.

There is little information currently known about this group. The only information that the 1894 Glasgow Post Office directory provides is an address, which is given as 59 Elmbank Street, located to the east of Charing Cross. It is debatable whether or not this society should be included in this project. As the St. Mary’s Branch of the Young Men’s Friendly Society had a debating society (see ‘Additional Notes’ below), it is possible that the Scotch Girls Friendly Society might also have had a similar society. The Girls’ Friendly Society is described as one of the ‘various clubs and societies set up [by middle-class philanthropists] to ‘save’ and to civilise their social inferiors’ (Jane McDermid, The Schooling of Girls in Britain and Ireland, 1800-1900 (New York and London: Routledge, 2012), p. 94).

The National Archives provides a list of the records of The Girls’ Friendly Society that are housed in London University (London School of Economics, The Women’s Library), along with related materials held in other archives across the country. Included in the list of the materials at the LSE are ‘journals, magazines and books’ (‘Records of The Girls’ Friendly Society’, The National Archives <http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/9e3bee7a-6881-43ef-91e9-1ff7116b4f4a>).

In future, an examination of the records of the Dumfries branch of the Scottish Girls Friendly Society may help to shed light on the Glasgow branch (see Scottish Girls Friendly Society: Dumfries branch, Dumfriesshire, 1886-1917: minutes and correspondence. Dumfries and Galloway Archives, Ref.: GGD 134).

Date of Existence

1894?-?

Source of Information

‘Scotch Girls Friendly Society’, ‘General Directory’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1894-1895… (Glasgow: William Mackenzie, 1894), p. 556

Repository

Mitchell Library

National Library of Scotland

Reference Number

–

Additional Notes

See also Young Men’s Friendly Society, St. Mary’s Branch, Glasgow, Debating Society.

The Glasgow Post Office directories are available at the Mitchell Library and the National Library of Scotland. Digitised copies are available through the NLS website: https://www.nls.uk/family-history/directories/post-office/index.cfm?place=Glasgow

According to the 1915 Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, this Burns club had 101 members and nine life members on its roll in 1914. This is the only evidence we have in regards to the size of the group, so it is currently not possible to determine the fortunes of the club prior to this date.

The yearly session ran from October to April. The time of the meetings changed back and forth from 7.30pm to 8pm. The club met on the first Wednesday of the month in 1907, and in the following year and thereafter until 1914 (at least), on the first Thursday of the month. Between 1907 and 1912, meetings were held at the City Commercial Restaurant, which was located at 60 Union Street (next to Glasgow Central Station). In 1913, the group moved to An Old Oak Tea Room at 142a St. Vincent Street, to the west of the city centre.

The club’s objects also changed over the years. In 1907, members met for ‘literary and social’ purposes, to which was added ‘musical’ in the following year. In the subsequent years, ‘a better knowledge of Scottish literature’, and a promotion of ‘Burnsiana’ was also included. Interestingly, it was only in 1912 that temperance was listed as one of the features that characterised this club.

Date of Existence

25 January 1904-? Federated 27 February 1906

Source of Information

1. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1907’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1907), pp. 173-74;

2. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1908’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1908), p. 126;

3. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1909’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XVIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1909), p. 176;

4. ‘Club Notes’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XIX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1910), p. 187;

5. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1911’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1911), pp. 173-74;

6. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1912’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1912), p. 177;

7. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1913’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1913), pp. 199-200

Repository

Mitchell Library (MLSC)

National Library of Scotland (NLS)

Reference Number

BNS19BUR (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

General Reading Room (stored offsite), Y.233, available no. 1-34 25th Jan. 1892-Jan. 1925 (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

Additional Notes

‘BC‘ refers to the Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, which was published yearly since 1892. Copies are available at the Mitchell Library Special Collections and the National Library of Scotland. Many of these have been digitised and are available through the Robert Burns World Federation website: http://www.rbwf.org.uk/digitised-chronicles/.

This list of Burns chronicles as sources of information gives the first year the club was included in the chronicle, and thereafter only for the years where the information is different from the previous year’s listing. In keeping with the scope of this study (1800-1914), only the chronicles published between 1892 and 1914 are included.

The Glasgow Post Office directory for 1887-1888 provides a good summary of this society and its activities. Along with the society’s object — ‘[t]he cultivation of literature, music, elocution, and art generally, by the holding of meetings for the purpose of hearing original lectures and papers, by the holding of high-class concerts, and by exhibitions in art’ — the directory includes a rather extensive list of all its prestigious office bearers including its six vice-presidents, 13 members of council, and all the conveners of its various committees. The listing continues with a description of the group’s membership, and its enrollment procedures are described:

‘The Society has members in all parts of the world, and has upwards of 200 ladies and gentlemen on its roll. The Society consists of Fellows, Members, and Associates. Fellows are those who have distinguished [sic] themselves either in literature or art, and must be duly proposed and seconded by two Fellows, on form to be had from the secretary. Members and Associates are those interested in the objects of the Society. Subscriptions — Fellows, £5 5s. for life, or 10s. 6d. per annum; Members, £4 4s. for life, or 7s. 6d per annum; Associates, 5s. per annum. The Society’s “Calendar,” giving full particulars of the Society, and nomination forms for admission, may be obtained on application to the general secretary, Alf. J. Weyman, F.R.G.S. F.S.L.A, &c.. Bertrohill, by Shettleston, or 70 Bothwell Street.’

(‘Scottish Society of Literature and Art’, ‘Literary and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1887-1888… (Glasgow: William Mackenzie, 1887), p. 117)

The society’s listing in the 1902 Post Office directory sees the grandiloquent description pared away, and it is currently unclear if this is to be read as a change in its outlook and/or circumstances:

‘The object of the Society is to encourage the study of literature and art, by promoting public lectures, by organising private meetings for the reading of essays and discussion among the members, by publication of its transactions, and by other kindred methods. Members pay an annual subscription of 7s 6d. They may introduce one friend to public lectures and meetings; they receive a copy of all printed matter, and have access to the library. Secretary and treasurer, George Middleton, M.A., LL. B., 83 Bath street, Glasgow.’

(‘The Scottish Society of Literature and Art’, ‘Artistic, Literary, and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1902-1903… (Glasgow: Aird & Coghill, 1902), p. 177)

Date of Existence

1886-?

Source of Information

1. ‘Scottish Society of Literature and Art’, ‘Literary and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1887-1888… (Glasgow: William Mackenzie, 1887), p. 117;

2. Glasgow Contemporaries at the Dawn of the XXth Century (Glasgow: The Photo-Biographical Publishing Co., [1901]), p. 83 (ML, Mitchell (GC) 920.04 GLA 499009);

3. ‘The Scottish Society of Literature and Art’, ‘Artistic, Literary, and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1902-1903… (Glasgow: Aird & Coghill, 1902), p. 177

Repository

Mitchell Library (ML) (Glasgow Post Office directories, and Glasgow Contemporaries)

National Library of Scotland (NLS) (Glasgow Post Office directories)

Reference Number

(See Source of Information)

Additional Notes

The Glasgow Post Office directories are available at the Mitchell Library and the National Library of Scotland. Digitised copies are available through the NLS website: https://www.nls.uk/family-history/directories/post-office/index.cfm?place=Glasgow

There is very little currently known about this society. The only evidence we have to date comes from a contemporary magazine article that provides only one line on the group:

‘The communication of the Select Literary Society, is not exactly such as we think would interest the generality of our readers. We wish the Members of that Society every success.’

(‘Notices to Correspondents’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 3, 17 January 1824, p. 24)

From this, it is unclear what elements of the society’s communication were deemed uninteresting or perhaps unworthy of the readers of The Western Luminary.

The news and articles in The Western Luminary focused on Glasgow, thus it is unlikely that the Select Literary Society mentioned therein was the Select Literary Society (later the Diagnostic Society) of Edinburgh. (For more information on the latter group, see ‘The Societies’ Section. Reports of Mutual Improvement Societies’, The British Controversialist and Literary Magazine… (London: Houlston and Wright, 1866), pp. 396-7.)

Date of Existence

1824?-?

Source of Information

‘Notices to Correspondents’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 3, 17 January 1824, p. 24

Repository

Mitchell Library Special Collections

Reference Number

Mitchell (AL) 310427

Additional Notes

The full title of this periodical is as follows: The western luminary, or, Glasgow literary and scientific gazette, embracing, Reviews of all new and interesting publications — Discussions of all important matters connected with the West of Scotland — Biographical memoirs of such living and dead individuals as possess peculiar claims on our sympathy or regard — Original essays upon men and manners, institutions and priciples — Poetry, written and selected for the work — Anecdotes and extracts — Arts and science — Truth and fiction, conducted by the Writers of the Free Press, and other literary gentlemen of Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

From the Mitchell Library online catalogue on the magazine:

‘Notes: Additional information: 1 v (208p.); 28cm[,] Bound with: Select views of Glasgow and its environs / engraved by Joseph Swan … Glasgow : Joseph Swan, 1828, in a volume with spine title The western luminary, Andrew Bain Memorial, Lacks nos. 14-16, no.18’ [accessed 31 January 2018].

This society was one of several classes, clubs and societies formed by the  University Settlement Association, Toynbee House, which was located at 130 Parson Street, Townhead, Glasgow. (For more information on this area, see the entry for ‘Townhead Glasgow. Cathedral Precinct‘ on the ScotCities website).

The University Settlement Association was the University of Glasgow branch of Toynbee Hall in London, which was founded in 1884. (For a history of and details of the current work of Toynbee Hall, see their website (‘Our History’, Toynbee Hall <http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/our-history>). For a more detailed discussion of settlement houses during this period, see Lucinda Matthews-Jones, ‘Centres of Brightness: The Spiritual Imagination of Toynbee Hall and Oxford House, 1880-1914’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Manchester, 2009)).

A ‘Memorandum’ written in 1889 by the Honorary Secretary, W. S. M’Cormick, provides a good summary of the history of the association, and gives further details on its work. Modeled on the work of social work being conducted by Toynbee Hall in London, in 1886, the Glasgow University Settlement Association hired two rooms at 130 Parson Street (located in the Townhead area, in the north of the city) in which to hold discussions and serve tea. Working-class people from the area were invited every fortnight for social evenings.

The same 1888-1889 report gives an account of the Shakespeare Reading Class. This group had thirteen members that met every two weeks during the winter months to discuss their readings on Shakespeare’s life and on English drama more generally.

Date of Existence

1888-?

Source of Information

Toynbee House (Glasgow), Report of the University Settlement Association, Toynbee House, 130 Parson Street, Glasgow, 1888-90 (Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons, [1889?])

Repository

University of Glasgow Library

Reference Number

Research Annexe, Store MacLehose 762

Additional Notes

See also Toynbee House Literary Society (University Settlement Association).

Shettleston is an area in Glasgow’s east end. (For more information on this area, see Gordon Adams’s article on the ‘History of Shettleston‘ on the ‘East Glasgow History‘ website). According to the 1902 Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, this Burns club had 46 members on its roll in that year. This is the only evidence we have in regards to the size of the group, so it is currently not possible to determine the fortunes of the club prior to and after this date.

The group met monthly (at least in 1906) at 106 Eastmuir Street, Shettleston, and moved down the street to 284 Eastmuir Street in 1910. The next year, the meetings were moved to the Loudoun Arms Hotel, Duke Street, which was also in the east end but a bit closer to the city. (For a brief history of this pub, see ‘The Loudoun Arms Hotel‘ on the Old Glasgow Pubs website). In 1914, the club was meeting at Thomas White, Ltd. (in the Glasgow Post Office directory for this year, White is listed as a ‘restaurateur, wine merchant, bakers, purveyors and confectioners’), which was located at 7 Gordon Street in the city centre. In addition to the monthly meetings, members met annually for a social meeting to celebrate the memory of Robert Burns on January 25th.

In 1912, the object of this group was: ‘To cherish the name of Robert Burns and foster a love for his writings, and generally to encourage a taste for Scottish literature’ (‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1912’, in Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1912), p. 168).

Date of Existence

1897-? Federated 1897

Source of Information

1. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1902’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1902), p. 143;

2. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1906’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XV (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1906), p. 153;

3. ‘Club Notes’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XIX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1910), p. 180;

4. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1911’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XX (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1911), p. 166;

5. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1912’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXI (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1912), p. 168;

6. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1913’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1913), p. 191;

7. ‘Directory of Burns Clubs and Scottish Societies on the Roll of the Burns Federation, 1914’, in BC, ed. by D. M’Naught, No. XXIII (Kilmarnock: Burns Federation, January 1914), p. 209;

8. (Mentioned in minutes of Glasgow and District Burns Club: Minute entry, 27 March 1913, Glasgow and District Burns Club, Minutes, 12 September 1912-30 April 1919, p. 15 (MLSC, 891709))

Repository

Mitchell Library Special Collections (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle, and minutes)

National Library of Scotland (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

Reference Number

BNS19BUR (MLSC) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

General Reading Room (stored offsite), Y.233, available no. 1-34 25th Jan. 1892-Jan. 1925 (NLS) (Annual Burns Chronicle)

891709 (MLSC) (minutes)

Additional Notes

See also Glasgow and District Burns Club.

‘BC‘ refers to the Annual Burns Chronicle and Club Directory, which was published yearly since 1892. Copies are available at the Mitchell Library Special Collections and the National Library of Scotland. Many of these have been digitised and are available through the Robert Burns World Federation website: http://www.rbwf.org.uk/digitised-chronicles/.

This list of Burns chronicles as sources of information gives the first year the club was included in the chronicle, and thereafter only for the years where the information is different from the previous year’s listing. In keeping with the scope of this study (1800-1914), only the chronicles published between 1892 and 1914 are included.

The Glasgow Post Office directory for 1896-1897 lists the prestigious office bearers and prominent members of the community who belonged to this club. In addition, it gives the group’s object, which was ‘[…] to promote the study of Sir Walter Scott’s life and writings, and encourage a more familiar acquaintance with the localities rendered classic by his pen. Information as to membership may be obtained from the treasurer or secretary.’

(‘The Sir Walter Scott Club’, ‘Artistic, Literary, and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1896-1897… (Glasgow: William Mackenzie, 1896), p. 156)

The 1903-1904 Post Office directory includes the subscription fees: members were charged 2s 6d entry free, and the same for an annual membership. In the 1906-1907 directory, the life membership was listed as being £1 1s.

Date of Existence

30 March 1891-(at least 1900)

Source of Information

1. ‘The Sir Walter Scott Club’, ‘Artistic, Literary, and Scientific Institutions’, Post Office Glasgow Directory for 1896-1897… (Glasgow: William Mackenzie, 1896), p. 156;

2. Glasgow Contemporaries at the Dawn of the XXth Century (Glasgow: The Photo-Biographical Publishing Co., [1901]) (MLCS, Mitchell (GC) 920.04 GLA 499009);

3. (Menu from Annual Dinner, 25 February 1909, with list of club officers for session 1908-09) (MLSC, Young’s Scrapbooks, Vol. 22, p. 76);

4. (Sir Walter Scott Club, Menu and Toast List for Annual Dinner, Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, 25 February, 1909) (MLSC, Young’s Scrapbooks, Vol. 22, p. 76)

Repository

Mitchell Library (Glasgow Post Office directory)

Mitchell Library Special Collections (MLSC) (all other listed sources)

Reference Number

(See Source of Information)

Additional Notes

Alexander Lamont (head-master of one of the local schools in the 1880s at least, and published author) was a member of this club, as well as the Wellpark Free Church Literary Society, and the Glasgow Ballad Club.

The Glasgow Post Office directories are available at the Mitchell Library and the National Library of Scotland. Digitised copies are available through the NLS website: https://www.nls.uk/family-history/directories/post-office/index.cfm?place=Glasgow

An article on Glasgow’s societies appeared in the February 1824 issue of The Western Luminary, a literary magazine published in the city. It briefly reports on the first meeting of this society:

‘The Speculative Society of Glasgow, has, for its chief objects, the acquisition of knowledge, the advancement of truth, and the mental and moral exaltation of mankind’. At the first meeting, the first question for discussion was ‘Have the writings of Lord Byron been more beneficial than prejudicial to Society?’ [Note: the vote cast after the discussion was that he was more prejudicial than beneficial to society.]

(‘Glasgow Societies’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 3, 7 February 1824, p. 42)

A second article appeared a week later, and reports on the society’s second meeting:

‘The Society, we understand, consists of sixty members, each of whom has three tickets of admission. A large library is likely to be formed from their contributions’ (‘Glasgow Societies’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 7, 14 February 1824, p. 54).

Many literary societies expressed the wish to form libraries for their members’ use. Societies would use part of the subscription money to buy books — often second-hand — and contributions of books were usually sought from society members and/or any generous donors from the community. It is currently unknown if this goal was achieved by the Speculative Society.

Date of Existence

4 February 1824-?

Source of Information

1. ‘Glasgow Societies’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 3, 7 February 1824, p. 42;

2. ‘Glasgow Societies’, The Western Luminary, or Glasgow Literary & Scientific Gazette, Vol. I, No. 7, 14 February 1824, p. 54

Repository

Mitchell Library Special Collections

Reference Number

Mitchell (AL) 310427

Additional Notes

The full title of this periodical is as follows: The western luminary, or, Glasgow literary and scientific gazette, embracing, Reviews of all new and interesting publications — Discussions of all important matters connected with the West of Scotland — Biographical memoirs of such living and dead individuals as possess peculiar claims on our sympathy or regard — Original essays upon men and manners, institutions and priciples — Poetry, written and selected for the work — Anecdotes and extracts — Arts and science — Truth and fiction, conducted by the Writers of the Free Press, and other literary gentlemen of Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

From the Mitchell Library online catalogue on this magazine:

‘Notes: Additional information: 1 v (208p.); 28cm[,] Bound with: Select views of Glasgow and its environs / engraved by Joseph Swan … Glasgow : Joseph Swan, 1828, in a volume with spine title The western luminary, Andrew Bain Memorial, Lacks nos. 14-16, no.18’ [accessed 31 January 2018].