A Month of Scottish Gravestones - Calton Weaver's Cemetery

There is a cemetery on Abercrombie Street in Glasgow's east end. Where it is situated would have been between a cotton mill and an iron foundry. The cemetery was set up by the Calton Corporation of Weavers and often gets referred to as the "Weaver's Cemetery". 

Weavers are not the only profession buried here, so the moniker is a bit misleading. However, the weavers certainly have the biggest story in so it is easy to see how the profession came to be the only one associated with the cemetery. 

At the peak of Calton’s prosperity, wages for weavers had risen to nearly £100 a year. However, industrialization and an ever expanding trade market caused a severe downturn for the weavers. The East India Company was importing cheap Indian muslins, causing the price of Scottish cloth to drop. This then saw the weaver's pay being cut accordingly. In June 1787, Manufacturers announced a further cut in pay. A full 25%. Recognizing that this was not going to allow the weavers to afford to feed and house their families, they decided to strike. 

On September 3, 1787, thousands of protesting weavers gathered in Glasgow Green and resolved not to work for starvation wages. The Lord Provost of Glasgow learned of the rally. He and his magistrates showed up at the Green to intervene and quell the crowds, but were immediately pelted by rocks, thrown from the gathering crowd. The magistrates then sent soldiers of the 39th Regiment of Foot who were sent to quell the crowd of protesting workers. The soldiers fired into the crowd, killing three weavers and seriously injuring three others. Over 6,000 people attended the funeral for these men.

This incident was really the first major industrial dispute in Scottish history. As such, the slaughtered men became Scotland’s first working-class martyrs. There is a memorial to them within the cemetery.