Imagine walking down Trongate, one of Glasgow’s bustling streets, until you reach the junction with Glassford Street. There, on the wall of what is now a Cafe Nero – once the Commercial Bank of Scotland – you’d find a plaque that might make you pause and reflect. It marks the site of the Shawfield Mansion, a grand residence that once stood as a symbol of wealth and elegance in 18th-century Glasgow.
The plaque reads: “On this site stood the shawfield mansion prince Charles Stuart resided in 1745 Erected by the Pen and Pencil Club in 1910”
Shawfield mansion a centre to riots and rebellion in the city
The Shawfield Mansion, built by Daniel Campbell of Shawfield, a Glasgow MP, was more than just a home. It was a mansion that radiated the wealth accumulated during the prosperous era of the tobacco lords, whose trade riches were legendary. Its grandeur was unmatched in Glasgow, making it a beacon of the city’s affluent epoch. Yet, the mansion’s story is intertwined with the darker threads of Glasgow’s history, marked by riots and rebellion.
Daniel Campbell, the mansion’s owner, was not a particularly popular figure. His support for the unpopular tobacco tax and later the malt tax – which levied three pence on every barrel of beer brewed in Scotland – sparked fierce resistance among the Glaswegians. The malt tax, in particular, was vehemently opposed as it directly affected the everyday life of the locals, leading to what became known as the Shawfield Riots.
The riots were intense and violent. The citizens of Glasgow, fed up with what they saw as unjust taxation, took to the streets in large numbers. Their anger led them directly to the Shawfield Mansion, where they unleashed their fury by destroying its interiors. The situation escalated to the point where the military had to intervene, and in the ensuing clash, lives were tragically lost.
A plaque of the mansion: layers of history beneath our feet
The aftermath of the riots was severe. The Provost and Magistrates of Glasgow were arrested and taken to Edinburgh, charged with failing to control the rioting crowd, the deaths that occurred, and the destruction of the Shawfield Mansion. Meanwhile, Daniel Campbell, although deeply affected by the loss of his mansion, did not suffer financially. The Parliament, recognising his losses, awarded him £9,000 – a considerable sum at that time. With this compensation, Campbell purchased the island of Islay, turning a new page in his life.
Years later, in 1760, the mansion found a new owner in John Glassford, a wealthy tobacco lord known for his estate in Milngavie. Glassford bought the Shawfield Mansion along with its extensive gardens, which were noted for their variety of fruit trees and meticulous layout. The mansion’s northern boundary reached what is now Ingram Street and the area around it eventually saw the development of Glassford Street, named in honour of John Glassford.
Today, nothing of the Shawfield Mansion remains except the plaque that tells a snippet of its story. Yet, this plaque does more than mark a physical location—it invites passersby to ponder the layers of history beneath their feet. It speaks of wealth and opulence, of civil unrest and change, and of the personal fortunes that were made and lost in this dynamic city. As you continue your walk along Trongate, past the junction with Glassford Street, you carry with you the echoes of a Glasgow that once was, reminding us that every corner of this city has stories waiting to be told.
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