An Allan & Ferguson lithograph depicting the Bell o' the Brae from the north, as it appeared c 1820. The Bell o'the Brae was the old name for the stretch of High Street leading up from George Street to Drygate. It is said to have taken its name from a "deid bell" that had been installed in a little turret at the top of the hill since medieval times, and which tolled at funerals. The street's steep incline was slightly reduced at the end of the 19th century during the re-alignment and improvement of the area's streets carried out under the auspices of the City Improvement Trust.
The wooden box-like structure on the right of the view enclosed a pump well. The University of Glasgow's steeple is in the distance, just left of centre.
The image appeared in Views and Notices of Glasgow in Former Times, published by the booksellers Robert Stuart & Co in 1848.
Reference: Mitchell Library GC f914.14353 STU
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Bell o'the Brae, deid bells, funerals, lithographs, Old College Steeple, pump wells, Robert Stuart & Co, steeples, streetscenes, thatched roofs, University of Glasgow, Views and Notices of Glasgow in Former Times