20 Glassford Street, Glasgow. G1 1UL. Tel: 0141 553 4888.
Tiger Tiger. 2005.
Glassford Street
The Steps Bar
62 Glassford Street, Glasgow.
The Steps Bar. 1991.
To read the full history of this popular city centre public house click here.
The Steps Bar. 2007.
Interior view of the Steps Bar. 2009.
Steps Bar in 1960.
In the News 1988…
Bailie Duncan Mason Loses Chain in Pub…
The Bailie who lost his official chain in a Glasgow pub last night described the incident as “a stupid prank that backfired.”
Bailie Duncan Mason, whose irreplaceable gold chain of office, valued at £8000, went missing during a visit to the Steps Bar in the city’s Glassford Street, added: “I am very angry and will be making that plain to the people I think were involved.”
The councillor for Lethamhill, who will be standing as an independent in next week’s district elections after being deselected by the Labour Party, said that he had borrowed the chain to attend the funeral of his “favourite brother-in-law” yesterday morning.
He continued: “I wished to wear the chain as I would be representing the Lord Provost who was inable to attend.
“I went in to the bar to say thank you to someone who had made a donation to my election fund and I stopped for a dram. I went to the toilet before leaving in a taxi and when I got home I was shattered to find the chain was missing from my bag.
“I assumed it had been stolen and told the Police right away. I believe now it was a joke that someone was playing on me and it had backfired.”
Bailie Mason said that it “would be wrong to say” that he had been drinking heavily in the bar or had been “fooling around” with the chain and added: “The chain was in my bag and I left it for only a few minutes to go to the toilet. It must have been then that someone interfered with it.”
Strathclyde Police said: “We can confirm having received a report of the theft of a gold chain and madallion belonging to Glasgow District Council during Monday evening. Inquiries revealed the chain and madallion having been returned to Glasgow District Coucil, no theft having taken place. Police inquiries into the incident are continuing.”
It is understood that the chain was returned to the City Chambers by two unidentified people. Bailie Mason said: “I do not know if these were the people who had played the stupid prank.”
Spreulls Court
Glassford Street, Glasgow.
Spreulls Court. 1990s.
A short lived pub. It was then a cafe and has since closed up.
The Rooster
89 Glassford Street, Glasgow.
The Rooster Discotheque advert 1974.
The Rooster advert 1975.
The Rooster advert 1977.
Do you remember this disco, if so please get in touch.
Peckham’s
61-65 Glassford Street, Glasgow, G1 1UB.
Peckham’s. Glassford Street. 2009.
Peckham’s has five establishments in Glasgow, 1 in Kirkintilloch, 1 in Lenzie and 3 in Edinburgh. Peckham’s sits on the corner of Glassford Street and Wilson Street.
Matt M Duff
81 Glassford Street, Glasgow.
Matthew Maxwell Duff took this pub over from John Howieson in 1916.
However there has been licensed premises on this site since 1844, John Aitchison & Co, Edinburgh Ale Brewers, traded from here, also having premises in Jamaica Street, Oxford Street, Saltmarket and Cowcaddens. From 1853 to 55 James Pagan an Ale Agent was licensee.
James Riddel took over the premises in 1856 and traded here for almost 50 years.
John T Howieson took over the licence in 1912, he work as a barman for Archibald Carruth, Queen Street, but Mr Carruth found it increasingly difficult with so many pub in the area. His barman John Howieson went into partnership with him trading under the title of Carruth & Howieson. Mr Carruth sold the business to partner Mr Howieson in 1900.
John Thomson Howieson was born in 1869, on leaving school he was sent to learn the trade as a plumber. On his first day he was requested to clean out the toilets, he decided this was not for him and never returned, instead he entered into the services of the licensed trade as barman in Queen Street with Mr Carruth.
John marry a Rutherglen lass on 25th February 1890, he married 19 year old Agnes Killin, a power loom weaver who was then, like John, living in Rutherglen. John took over the Queen Street business in 1900 and renamed the premises The Crammond Bar after his favourite place near Edinburgh – the village of Crammond. Mr Howieson was not simply a publican he was a spirit merchant which meant he blended his own whisky, John Howieson’s special blend of old Scotch whisky was a favourite in the Crammond Bar for years.
Mr Howieson took over the private bar in the Trades House, Glassford Street. He kept his accounts as meticulously as he blended his whisky. Many years after his death, his granddaughter, Effie, began work in the Clydesdale Bank in Glasgow. There she was told about “this publican who kept the most perfect books”. It was her grandfather they were talking about. John, with his waxed moustache, was said to be “crabbit” (bad-tempered) – due perhaps to stress. He had a breakdown with the worry of paying back the loan on the Trades house bar.
He started drinking, and died of gastric neoplasm at the age of 57, on 8th June, 1926, at 15 Dunard Road, Rutherglen. He left £6000, a considerable sum at that time, enough to buy 12 houses. His wife Agnes took over the pubs for a year, but she made no money, due perhaps to the dishonesty of employees.
The photograph above was taken in 1929, the pub closed shortly afterwards.