TheGlasgowStory 

Skip Navigation / Jump to Content

Featured Images

Glasgow Shipwrights' Society
Glasgow Shipwrights' Society

Education at the Art Galleries
Education at the Art Galleries

Tait's Directory p60

Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection

*Open in New Window
Tait's Directory p60

Alexander Speirs & Co was one of Glasgow's most successful tobacco companies. Alexander Speirs, who died in the year before Tait's directory was published, used his wealth to buy estates in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire and to invest in a series of industries in the area.

William Stirling & Co established the printing and bleaching industry in Scotland, starting at the textile printworks at Dalsholm (Dawsholm) on the River Kelvin in 1750. The company expanded into overseas trade and financed the Monkland Canal.

Walter Stirling, of the same family, is best remembered for his bequest to the city in 1791 of his house in Miller Street, and his collection of books. He left his collection and £1,000 to the city to establish the famous Stirling Library, the first free public library in Scotland.

Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning

Keywords:
Alexander Speirs & Co, bleachers, calico printers, canals, directories, family history, genealogy, John Tait's Directory, libraries, Monkland Canal, River Kelvin, Sirling's Library, textile printers, William Stirling & Co



Quick Search


Photo Album

You have 0 images in your photo album.

View Photo Album

Log-In (Optional)

username:
password:
Not a user? Register now for FREE!

Other Options