Glasgow is in danger of forgetting the Calton Weavers

The long grass, decorated here and there with crisp packets or drink bottles, grows between fallen tombstones while plaques which sit beside the footpath are obscured by dust and dirt.

A casual visitor to this spot in the East End of Glasgow would have almost no way  of knowing that one of the most significant events in the history of the labour movement took place here.

In 1787, handweavers from the community of Calton went on strike in protest over a proposed wage cut of 20%.

The East India Company had begun importing cheap muslins from the colonies, causing a drop in the price of Scottish cloth and, consequently, the wages of the workers.

Calton, Glasgow (Image: Newsquest)

According to George MacGregor's history of Glasgow, the strikers cut webs from the looms of those who had not joined them and "the contents of warehouses were thrown into the streets as fuel for bonfires".

On September 3, police attempted to break the strike but were fought off with a barrage of missiles.

A detachment of the 39th regiment of the army under lieutenant colonel Kellet was sent to assist and, without reading the riot act, opened fire on the crowd.

Three of the weavers were killed instantly while another three were mortally wounded, with the only surviving names James Page, Alexander Miller and James Ainsley.

Activist James Granger was found guilty of "forming illegal combinations" and sentenced to public whipping and and a seven year banishment from Scotland.

Just months before the strike began, a burial ground had been established by the Calton Incorporation of Weavers and three of the slain were interred there.

A memorial plaque was also installed in the grounds, but today it lies shattered and broken on the ground.

The plaque in Calton Burial Ground (Image: Newsquest)

The People's Palace on nearby Glasgow Green is closed for refurbishment until 2027, the banners and artwork dedicated to the martyrs under lock and key.

Is Glasgow in danger of forgetting such a key part of its history?

Jim Lister of the Calton Weavers Memorial Committee said: "It was probably the first strike - as we’d recognise one - in Europe.

“It was two years before the French Revolution and six of them were executed, three of them were buried around the corner – not that you’d ever know because any signs that were there have been worn away by time and the little plaque dedicated to them lies in three pieces.

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"To mark the 200th anniversary the People’s Palace had a huge exhibition and curated lots of new work: art, paintings, poetry, major exhibitions.

“All that has been buried or destroyed, and indeed the People’s Palace lies closed.

“Ken Currie, the great Scottish painter, his stuff about the Weavers is lying in some basement.

“Meanwhile, the city council spends £60,000 refurbishing the Burrell on behalf of Glasgow Life and at the moment they’re displaying the work of the notorious paedophile and anti-semite Edouard Degas.

“As pretty as his pictures are, they can’t find 10 bob to restore the burial ground of the weavers?"

The weatherbeaten memorial stones for the Calton Weavers (Image: Newsquest)

Ann Hume says: "My great-great grandfather was a Calton weaver, but that was in the 1800s after the strike and the massacre.

"The name was Waddell, he was a cotton weaver and lived on New Street in Calton, which I think is Stevenson Street now.

"I do think it’s important to keep these things alive because if you don’t know your history you can’t really put what’s happening now into context.

"My mother got really, really interested in our family history and Scottish history, she used to come up to Scotland do all this research.

“She felt it was very sad because at that time there wasn’t this movement to try and highlight it, so she had a hard job finding the cemetery and finding the plaque."

Calton and Gallowgate, as well as neighbouring Parkhead West and Barrowfield, are among the most deprived 5% of neighbourhoods in the city according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

A man walking his German Shepherd through the burial ground gestures to a tree overhanging the shattered plaque, which he fears is at risk of collapsing the outer wall, and loose slabs around the north entrance.

"I've tried phoning the council but they just bounce you about," he shrugs.

A tree pushing against the wall at the Calton Burial Ground (Image: Newsquest)

Every July, Tolpuddle in Dorset hosts the Martyr's Festival, commemorating its own tragic history in the battle for organised labour.

Six agricultural labourers were sentenced to be deported to a penal colony in Australia for attempting to organise, but were pardoned in 1836 after mass protests.

The festival draws thousands of people to the area each summer and provides a corresponding boost to the local economy.

For the Calton Weavers Memorial Committee, there's no reason that a bit of investment and care couldn't bring similar benefits to the East End of Glasgow.

Mr Lister says: “The Calton could do with a bit of that.

"If you look at Tolpuddle, there’s a very strong case to say that with a little bit of investment this city could generate a huge amount of visitor numbers and help regenerate a neighbourhood which, quite frankly, hasn’t seen a lot of investment in recent times.”

The group will hold a commemoration event for the Weavers on Sunday, September 22 at the burial ground, with walks, talks, music and entertainment.

Mr Lister says: "Last year we tested the water with a little commemorative event in the burial ground, which was very well attended.

“Elspeth King, the great curator of the People’s Palace who was effectively sacked during the Year of Culture, came and reprised her lecture and we did a little bit of entertainment after.

“This year we’ve commissioned some songwriting workshops and that’s not old men in Arran sweaters with beards!

“We have a member who is a direct descendent and is working very hard to research a lot of stuff, drawing the threads together if you’ll pardon the pun.

“This year we’ve got a woman, Pauline Rourke, who has done a lot of work with Sri Lankan textile workers to try and make that link that the need for these things hasn’t gone away - there’s always a need for workers to organise."

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that one of the commemorative plaques erected in 2010 has been damaged – whether through old age or vandalism.

"We have collected the pieces for safe-keeping and would ask the Friends of the Weavers group to contact us to discuss the issue.”