37 Saltmarket, Glasgow. G1Tel: 01415520567.
Graham’s Bar, 1991.
To read the full history of this old establishment click here.
This old public house is now called O’Brien’s.
O’Brien’s. August 2005.
In 1892 Mr Graham the proprietor once reported what he say in London was awful, “A throbbing mass of drunken humanity of every age and sex, from the girl or youth of fourteen summers to the hoary-headed old man and woman.”
481-483 Cathedral Street, Glasgow.
This old pub was situated on Cathedral Street near Buchanan Street.
There has been a public house on this site since 1851. The first licensee was William Robertson who became a popular wine & spirit merchant in the area. Mr Robertson also owned pubs at 7-9 West Nile Street, 299 Argyle Street. He lived with his family first at nearby Stirling’s Road before moving to better accommodation in Sauchiehall Street.
William Robertson continued to serve the locals in Townhead until 1862. The next licensee was Robert Robin junior. The Robin family continued in this public house until 1875. George Robin took over the pub in 1868 until his death in 1870, his wife then took over until 1874.
Alexander Graham traded from this very old pub in the 1880s, he also owned pubs in Argyle Street, Oxford Street and Crown Street. Mr Graham was president of the Scottish Wine and Spirit Merchants and Beer Trades Benevolent Institution in 1891, he was regarded as a straightforward type of Scotsman, bluff in his manner, but underneath the exterior as true as steel and as solid as gold. He was born in Largs and came to Glasgow in 1865, he acquired licence’s for premises in Oxford Street and Crown Street before venturing out into the city centre.
To read more on Mr Graham click here Jack Diamonds.
At the beginning of the 1900 John McAulay was running the business as one of the trustees of Alexander Graham, which included both premises at Cathedral Street and Argyle Street. In 1910 William Wingate was running the pubs which included his own premises at 142 Houston Street which sat at the corner of Ardgowan Street.
After the first World War, Thomas Waugh Lang took control of the business and traded under the title of Alexander Graham. Before the second World War Thomas Waugh Lang, of Lang Brothers Ltd, was licensee. The Lang Brothers consisted of, Alexander Lang, William G Lang, Thomas Lang, Alex & William Galloway Lang, having premises at 128-30 Broomielaw. Hugh Lang 1803 in Eaglesham, Hugh and his sons founded a Company Lang Bros. In 1876 they bought Glengoyne distillery.
Robert Stuart Lang was the last licesee of Graham’s Bar.
Alexander Graham. 1891.
332 Thistle Street,Gorbals, Glasgow.
Govanhill Bar. 1970s.
The history of this old favourite Gorbals howff goes back to 1877 when Peter McDonald acquired the premises as a store for his wine, spirit and rectifying business. Mr McDonald also had a public house round the corner at 91-97 Cathcart Street. Business prospered and within a few years he was living in one of the best street in the Gorbals, Abbotsford Place.
He eventually acquired a licence for the premises and traded under the title of Carlton Vintners Co., by this time he was operating a massive wholesale and retail business at 4 Carlton Place, and a public house in Adelphi Street at the corner of Muirhead Street also called the Carlton Vintners Co.
Peter McDonald’s premises, 4 Carlton Place. 1892.
Govanhill Bar.
In 1899 William Morrison took over the licence, he also traded from 364 Rutherglen Road at the corner of Sandyfaulds Street many will remember this pub as Gilmour’s Bar.
Govanhill Bar. 1960s.
This pub will best be remembered as Gallagher’s Bar. Hugh Gallagher took over the Govanhill Bar licence on 10th March 1970. However Mr Gallagher wasn’t new to the trade as he was a well known and respected Gorbals publican, wine and spirit merchant and a former president of the Glasgow Licensed Trade Benevolent Association He also had licensed premises at 173 Cumberland Street, “The Tirconnail Bar” and the “Glenbervie” at 185 Gorbals Street, The Minerva Bar, 631 Argyle Street, 32 Raglan Street.
Govanhill Bar. 1980s.
Govanhill Bar. 1991.
One of the last publicans to hold the licence was Joseph Gaughan in 1991. The pub was finally demolished a few years later like most of the other pubs in the Gorbals.
40-46 Union Street, Glasgow. G1 3QX. Tel: 0141 229 6011.
The Union. 2005.
The Goose formerly had the longer title of ‘The Goose on Union Street’.
The Goose. 2009.
33 Dale Street, Glasgow.
The Glen-ythan. c1900.
The Glen-ythan Bar sat on Dale Street, Bridgeton for many years. in the 1890s there were five pubs and a licensed grocers business on this street.
Thomas McKenna ran this old howff in the 1870s, the pub was taken over by well known spirit merchant Hugh McCabe.
Mr McCabe formerly worked for John Graham & Sons, prominent figure in the Scottish Licensed Trade who owned pubs all over the city. McCabe left his employee to start on his own in the old Glen-ythan Bar.
Hugh paid an annul rent of £19 15 shillings for the premises, he passed away in 1902, his wife Jeanie then took over the licence, she sold up a few years later.
Mary Armstrong then took over this old pub which was then very run down and in great need of alterations to keep up with the rest of the pubs in Bridgeton, however she never spent money on repairs and redecoration. In the early 1920s the pub was visited by the magistrates as there were a number of complaints about the state of her old pub, the main complaint was the smell in the pub which was so bad that strangers going into the pub had to hold their nose, the locals must have been used to it.
The plumbing had to be repaired and so did the decoration, the pub hadn’t been decorated for years Adjacent to the bar was a small sitting room with a partition from the floor to the ceiling, there was glass half way up but was not clear enough to see through, the magistrates suggested that the partition should be removed so that you could see into the sitting room and would help with the ventilation.
If Mrs Armstrong refused to do this she was in great danger of losing her licence, however she did remove part of the partition, four and a half feet from the floor. Her licence was refused a few months later and the pub was demolished.
11 Cranston Street, Glasgow.
Glenogle Bar.
The Glenogle was situated at the corner of Cranston Street and Hydepark Street. Gavin Allan was landlord here in the late 1950s and 60s. There were two other famous pubs on this street called the Prince of Wales Tavern and the Old Toll Bar.
