Until around 1750, Glasgow consisted of just thirteen principal streets. Today, there are well over 2,000 streets spread across the city, but those original thirteen formed the backbone of medieval Glasgow.
Glasgow grew around its cathedral, established on the site traditionally associated with St. Mungo (also known as St. Kentigern), who is credited with founding the city's early Christian settlement in the sixth century. The settlement became known as Glaschu, often translated as "the dear green place," although the exact meaning remains the subject of historical debate.
Relatively little is known about Glasgow during its earliest centuries. The city's history becomes much clearer from the medieval period onwards, largely thanks to the growth of trade and commerce. As Glasgow developed into a mercantile town, merchants, clergy and civic officials began recording transactions, legal matters and local events, providing historians with invaluable insight into the city's development. These records become increasingly detailed during the rise of the tobacco trade, which transformed Glasgow into one of Britain's most important commercial centres and laid the foundations for the Industrial Revolution and the city's world-famous shipbuilding industry along the River Clyde.
Before this period, written accounts of Glasgow's history, daily life and commerce were relatively scarce. Much of what we know about early medieval Glasgow has been pieced together from archaeology, ecclesiastical records and later historical sources.
For much of its early existence, Glasgow was primarily a religious settlement. Pilgrims travelled from across Scotland and beyond to visit the cathedral and the shrine of St. Mungo, but beyond this there was little to distinguish the small settlement. The cathedral dominated both the skyline and the life of the community, surrounded by modest timber buildings, narrow lanes and open ground.
It's difficult to picture Glasgow as it existed hundreds of years ago. The city was far smaller, quieter and considerably darker than the bustling metropolis we know today. Streets remained unlit until 1717, when a limited number of oil lamps were installed. More than a century later, in 1818, gas lighting was introduced, dramatically transforming the city after dark.
Remarkably, many of Glasgow's original medieval streets still exist in one form or another. Although generations of redevelopment, road widening and Victorian expansion—particularly around the East End—have altered their appearance, their ancient routes remain woven into the fabric of the modern city. In this article, we'll journey through these surviving streets and discover how they helped shape Glasgow into the city we know today.
Here are the 13 medieval streets that shaped Glasgow's history.
1. High Street (Ancient/1100)
High Street is the original street of Glasgow - every street and close in Glasgow branched off of this humble street. It’s rather unassuming compared to places like the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, but underneath the tarmac lies the remnants of the oldest street in town, uncovered earlier this year were the remains of the cobbled path while Scottish Water ran redevelopment works on the road. The street is as old as Glasgow is, as it led up to the cathedral, but it was officially established in 1100. | Contributed
2. Drygate Street (Ancient)
Drygate Street is undoubtedly one of the oldest thoroughfare in the city. In Jamieson’s history of the Culdees it is stated that the Pagans brought the word dry from Germany, the name by which every German priest was called. In ancient times, anterior to our ecclesiastical history, a Druidical place of worship stood on the site of the present Necropolis, the only approach to which must have been the Drygate, hence it was designated the priests’ road. A mint-house was erected here during the reign of Robert the Third. | Google Maps
3. Gallowgate (Ancient)
The best-known street in the East End of Glasgow, Gallowgate was formed through the Gallow Muir, which was outside the Gallowgate Port, near St. Mungo’s Lane. Photo: Barrowlands
4. Rottenrow (Ancient)
There’s a lot of controversy around the origins of Rottenrow Street - it was not at first called Rottenrow Street, but the Ratton Raw, as it still is denominated by the older generation of plain-speaking Scottish people. Row would have been pronounced as Raw by the lower classes; and the original French meaning of the word Ratton or Rattoun having been forgot, it easily became altered to Rotten, and it was this which bred so many “rotten” theories respecting the name. Famously, this street was the beginning of many Glaswegian’s story, as generations of Glasgow-born people were brought into the world through the maternity ward. It’s also the second oldest thoroughfare in Glasgow, it was the centre of medieval Glasgow, and would have served the town cross back in the day. | Google Maps