Broomielaw is a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It runs beside the River Clyde, on its north bank looking over to Tradeston. Both sides have been marketed as the city's International Financial Services District.
Originally part of the Lands of Blythswood, and named after Brumelaw Croft, because broom grew along the waterfront, the riverside street runs from Jamaica Bridge towards Anderston Quay, under the Kingston Bridge towards Finnieston Quay.
Glasgow had the freedom of navigation of the River Clyde to the sea some twenty-seven miles westwards, confirmed later by Royal Charter signed by King James VI in 1611. The city's first quay was built at Brumelaw in 1688. [1] From the early 1800s and increasingly after the invention of sea-going steamships in 1812 in Glasgow, the Broomielaw was a major part of Glasgow's harbour with shipping lines to all parts of the world, and an inventive and growing shipbuilding industry, becoming the wealthiest and largest in the world.
In the 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries Paddle steamers, followed by turbine steamers, ran from here to the coast for day trips to the seaside and for some business people to commute. [2]
The Broomielaw is renowned in the pipe band tune 'Wha' saw the 42nd'. And in Kenneth McKellar's famed song 'The Song of the Clyde'. The area is also mentioned in some versions of the sea shanty "Donkey Riding":
Was you ever on the Broomielaw
Where the Yanks are all the go
And the boys dance heel-and-toe
Riding on a donkey [ citation needed ]
The Broomielaw also features in the "Freedom Come-All-Ye" a popular anti-Imperialist song of the 1960s by Hamish Henderson in the Scots language. The song refers to the role the quay played as a point of departure for the depopulation of Scotland through emigration.
Nae mair will our bonnie callants
Merch tae war whan our braggarts crousely craw
Nor wee weans frae pitheid an clachan
Murn the ships sailin doun the Broomielaw
The River Clyde is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland after the River Tay and the River Spey. It runs through the city of Glasgow. The River Clyde estuary has an upper tidal limit located at the tidal weir next to Glasgow Green.
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going doon the watter.
The River Cart is a tributary of the River Clyde, Scotland, which it joins from the west roughly midway between the towns of Erskine and Renfrew and opposite the town of Clydebank.
The River Leven is a stretch of water in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, flowing from Loch Lomond in the North to the River Clyde in the South. The river is about 6 miles long. It is very popular with salmon and sea trout anglers, trying to catch one of these migratory fish going up to Loch Lomond.
Glasgow Harbour in the following paragraphs is about a private sector urban regeneration scheme at Partick in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is not the history and development of the wider and internationally famous Glasgow Harbour from Glasgow Green to Clydebank which developed from the early 1800s and witnessed the birth and growth of modern shipbuilding and shipping.
Greenock Central station is one of eight railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland, and is the nearest to the town centre. This station, which is staffed, is on the Inverclyde Line, 37 km (23 mi) west of Glasgow Central towards Gourock. It has three platforms, two of which are in use, with one disused bay platform. This disused platform is still connected to the main line.
The Renfrew Ferry is a passenger ferry service linking the north and south banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. The service, operated by Clydelink without subsidy, crosses between Renfrew and Yoker, close to Glasgow City Centre and is the last Clyde crossing this far upstream.
Pacific Quay is an area south of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is located at the former Plantation Quay and Princes' Dock Basin. The Princes' Dock Basin was the largest on the River Clyde when it was opened by the Clyde Navigation Trust in 1900. It ceased to be used as a commercial dock by the Clyde Port Authority in the 1970s as the volume of Shipping using the Upper Clyde declined with the onset of containerization. The site was later used for the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. The former electric generating station and pumping house, "Four Winds" which was used to pump water between the rotundas and generate power for the electric cranes still stands and is now home to a consultant engineers and radio station. The name 'Pacific Quay' has no historical significance, as it was created simply as a marketing enterprise following the land being reclaimed for commercial use after the Garden Festival closure. It did not reflect the site as a departure point for ships bound for the Pacific Rim.
The Clyde Arc is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, connecting Finnieston near the SEC Armadillo and SEC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. Prominent features of the bridge are its innovative curved design, and that it crosses the river at an angle. The Arc is the first city centre traffic crossing over the river built since the Kingston Bridge was opened to traffic in 1970.
The International Financial Services District (IFSD) is a financial district in the city of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Nicknamed "Wall Street on the Clyde", it ranked in the top 40 of international financial districts, ahead of cities including Brussels, Madrid, Helsinki, Milan and Dublin.
The A814 road in Scotland is a major arterial route within Glasgow, connecting the city centre to the west end. Running along the right (north) bank of the River Clyde, it continues further west through Clydebank and Dumbarton, leaving the suburban environment and serving as the main road for Helensburgh, turning north to meet the A83 at Arrochar, Argyll and Bute.
Clyde Fastlink is a high frequency bus rapid transit system in Glasgow, Scotland. The system was designed to provide greater connectivity and faster journey times between Glasgow City Centre and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan, as well as to several other key developments along the north and south banks of the Clyde Waterfront.
Glasgow Seaplane Terminal is a seaplane airport terminal in Glasgow, Scotland. It opened in August 2007.
The Glasgow Bridge spans the River Clyde in Glasgow linking the city centre to Laurieston, Tradeston and Gorbals. Formerly known as Broomielaw Bridge, it is at the bottom of Jamaica Street near Central Station, and is colloquially known as the Jamaica Bridge.
The 20 km long Clyde Waterfront Regeneration, launched in 2003, embraced a section of the River Clyde in Scotland that runs from Glasgow Green in the city's center to Dumbarton down river. This scene focussed on earlier initiatives underway from the 1980s, and as a separate marketing tool, with several local authorities involved, came to an end in 2014.
The Tradeston Bridge is a pedestrian bridge across the River Clyde in Glasgow which opened on 14 May 2009. It links the districts of Anderston to Tradeston and the neighbouring district of Kingston – the aim of the bridge being to aid the regeneration of Tradeston by giving it a direct link to the city's financial district on the western side of the city centre.
The Clutha ferry passenger harbour steamers provided a service running up and down the River Clyde in Glasgow, and were collectively known as Cluthas. They were introduced on 12 April 1884, with six boats. By 1899 twelve boats ran a service between Victoria Bridge and Whiteinch Ferry, taking about 45 minutes on the 3 miles (4.8 km) route which included 11 landing stages alternating on both sides of the river, and charging one penny fare for the full distance. This service was in addition to the cross ferries running from side to side of the river, which had introduced steam ferries in 1865.
The Caledonian Railway Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Clyde at Broomielaw in Scotland. It is adjacent to Glasgow Central Station.
Victoria Bridge is a category A listed road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Victoria Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge in Glasgow, lying at the foot of Stockwell Street in the city centre.
Kingston is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, from which the Kingston Bridge takes its name. Together with Ibrox, it forms one of the 56 neighbourhoods of Glasgow defined by Glasgow City Council for operational purposes. The area was assigned to Ward 54 until 2007 when it was reclassified as part of the Govan ward.