Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. GALLOWGATE AND LONDON STREET GLASGOW LOTTERIES IT may be safe to assume that the jurisdiction implied in the expression " pit and gallows," occurring in charters granted to the Bishops in I45O,1 and to the Magistrates in 1636,2 was exercised in Glasgow from a period at least as early as the constitution of the burgh. " Gallowgate" is noticed as a name in current use about the year 1325.3 Passing through a considerable stretch of ground which it divided into Over and Nether Gallowmuir, the " gait," at the extremity of burgh territory, approached a piece of land described in a charter of 1582 as "the Callow Aiker, lying between the common muir of the city on the north, the burn called Camlauchee Burne on the south, and the lands of Burrofeild on the west."4 Gallow Hill and Gallow Knowe are place-names frequently met with in ancient burghs and baronies. "The Gallow Hill," says Cosmo Innes, " is still an object of interest and, I fear, of some pride, near our old baronial mansions ; and I know some where the surrounding ground is full of the remainsof the poor wretches who died by the baron's law."l By the charter just referred to, Andrew Coitis, designated " marshal of the barony and regality of Glasgow," feued the piece of land called the "Gallow Aiker" to John Auldcorne, baker, and this was done with consent of the provost, bailies and councillors of the city, thus indicating that the burgh and barony were jointly interested in the 1 Glasg. Chart. . part ii. pp. 28-31. ! Ib. p. 393. s Lib. Col. p. 156. Glasg. Prot. No. 2411. BARROWFIKLD HOUSE. transaction. It is stated that in the eighteenth century the place of execution, where the gallows stood and near which the hangman resided, was at the north-west end of the muir, near the upper corner of what is no...