Harvie's Dyke: Glasgow's Forgotten Triumph with Christopher Whatley

Join Prof. Chris Whatley for a fascinating tale of how ordinary Glaswegians took on an arrogant landowner and successfully defended the ’Liberties of the banks of the Clyde’.

In the early 1820s, Thomas 'Lang Tam' Harvie, a wealthy Glasgow distiller, bought the estate of Westthorn in Dalmarnock. He soon set about building huge walls to mark his property. One of these, known as Harvie’s Dyke, ran down to the edge of the Clyde, blocking a long-established public pathway along the north bank of the river. On Midsummer’s Eve in 1823, a great crowd from the surrounding villages gathered to tear down the hated wall. Their actions sparked a six-year struggle that culminated in a landmark ruling in the House of Lords; one that defended and defined our rights to public pathways. Incredibly, one of the walls still survives to its full height at the side of Thorndyke Lane.

This talk forms part of an exciting new community archaeology project exploring the remains of this nationally important monument to popular protest. As part of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival (17–21 September), we’ll also have an exciting programme of walks, talks, tours, sketching workshops and even a specially written participatory play, to be performed on the actual site.

The project is led by Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and Archaeology Scotland, with support from Glasgow Life and funding from Shettleston and Calton Area Partnerships.