Harvie’s Dyke: The People, their Liberty and the Clyde
In 1822, Thomas Harvie, a newly rich Glasgow distiller, bought Westthorn estate on the eastern edge of the city. To mark his boundaries, he erected two walls. One (‘Harvie’s Dyke’) was massive and fortified – and its fragments can still be seen. It blocked a much-used pathway alongside the river Clyde.
Outraged, local workers demolished the obstructions – but Harvie rebuilt them. A six-year legal struggle culminated in a Lords’ ruling in 1828 that sustained ‘the liberties of the banks of the Clyde’.
Commemorative medals were cast and still survive, as do poems and songs.
One of the first rights of way campaigns in the UK, this talk from Christopher Whatley OBE asks why the event has been largely forgotten, while also revealing the deep enthusiasm among ordinary Glaswegians for fresh air, exercise, nature, and access to the Clyde walkway.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Venue: Studio
Date: 15 Feb 26
Time: 1pm
Running time: tbc
Ticket Info or call box office 01796 484626
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Sally Magnusson in conversation with Magnus Linklater
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