Overview
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.