This building stood at 157 High Street and was believed to have formed part of the Grey Friars' (or Franciscan) Convent facing on to Greyfriars Wynd. It was also believed to have been used in medieval times as the Bishop’s prison and a guard house, and it became an inn or carrier’s quarters after the Reformation. This view is of the back land of the property, the lower portion of which is described as being strongly arched.
By the mid-19th century the area around High Street had degenerated into a slum. Many once-fine buildings were overcrowded with tenants and their families, many of them newcomers to the city, and J F S Gordon noted in 1872 that the upper storeys of the tenement were occupied by "hordes of Irish."
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 941.435 GOR
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
convents, crow-stepped gables, Franciscans, Grey Friars, guard houses, Irish, monasteries, prisons, slums, women
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