A view from 1909 of the premises of the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society in Cathedral Square. Opened in 1896, the building was designed in the Scots Baronial style by architects Campbell Douglas & Morison for the Society as a reception centre for prisoners released from nearby Duke Street Prison. The building has survived into the 21st century, converted into a restaurant.
Addressing the fortieth annual meeting of the Glasgow Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society in 1906, Lord Provost William Bilsland, who was chairman, noted: " ...we may be quite sure that, difficult as it is for one who has been in prison to wipe out the evil effects of the very name of association with a prison, very many have been helped to regain the paths of virtue and sobriety and better living by the help of the Society."
Reference: Heatherbank Museum of Social Work, print 4014
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow Caledonian University, Research Collections, Heatherbank Museum of Social Work
Keywords:
Campbell Douglas & Morison, charities, Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, employment agencies, ex-convicts, job centres, pepperpot towers, prisoners, restaurants, Scots Baronial