The front of the former Clyde Street Home at 234 Abercromby Street in Bridgeton, photographed in 1975.
Clyde Street Home was built in 1878 as a model lodging house. It was registered for 272 people, mostly single men. In the 1880s the rent was 4d (less than 2p) a night. There were extra charges for items such as meals, the latter consisting usually of porridge for breakfast; broth, bread and butter for dinner and cheese or possibly a herring with porridge and tea for supper.
Inmates of model lodging houses were not necessarily vagrants or beggars. Many were in employment but unwilling, or unable, to cope with the running of their own households. Widowers sometimes turned to a model lodging house if they were unable to cope at home and it was not unknown for retired clergymen to become residents.
The houses were run strictly to ensure the good behaviour of inmates. Each had a cubicle with a bed, a small cupboard and stool with a top that lifted to give more storage space.
Reference: Heatherbank Museum of Social Work, print 2541
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow Caledonian University, Research Collections, Heatherbank Museum of Social Work
Keywords:
clergymen, Clyde Street Home, homeless shelters, homelessness, hostels, lodgers, model lodging houses, single men, social welfare, widowers
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