Lee Brown Coye - Scary Rat

The Magnificent Mary Barbour

Getting me to do two posts in a row on a person, that-oldchestnut asks:

Hey, if you haven’t already, could you do a post on Mary Barbour from Govan?

Say what you like about private landlords (seriously, have at ‘em), but greed and exploitation aren’t modern inventions. In fact, at the height of the fighting in 1915, the people of Glasgow had to stand up to a menace which didn’t wear Pickelhauben. 

Landlords were using the fact that many men were away at the front to hike rents by up to 25% in some places. In many cases these were not pleasant places to live in the first place. Poor building quality, overcrowding, non-existent sanitation and proximity to the pollution of industry meant that the flats were priced wildly out of the market. No bother for the landlords of course, who saw the women of Glasgow as an easy mark. 

Couldn’t pay the rent? Tough luck- out on the streets. Catch ye later. 

It wasn’t until Mary Barbour began to mobilise the people of Govan into an effective deterrent that the tide began to turn. By returning their rent cheques made out at the original rate of rent, the Glasgow Rent Strikes began. These cheques were sent back by the landlords with protestations that their rent must be paid in full or they would be evicted. 

Mrs Barbour’s Army told them to bring it on. 

Sheriff Officers entering a district of Glasgow would be treated to the sound of a bell which was designed to let people know that the enemy was in their midst and they would be pelted by flour bombs or whatever else they could get their hands on. If they couldn’t get their hands on flour, they weren’t above pulling down the trousers of the Sheriff Officers. 

The strikes spread across the UK, where rent hikes were also a common problem and the menace of the landlords was kicked to the kerb on 27th November 1915 when rent was frozen at its pre-war rate. 

There’s no doubt that it was Mary Barbour who inspired these people to fight for their rights and the former carpet printer from Govan was instrumental in bringing the landlords to shame. By 1920 Barbour was actively involved in the Labour party and stood as a candidate in the Fairfield ward. A pioneering group of five women were elected to the Town Council, including Barbour and Eleanor Stewart from Maryhill as the first Labour women councillors in the city.

Barbour’s contribution to the city was astonishing. Not only did she spend her time on the Council (11 years) fighting tirelessly for the working class people in her community, she also helped to create the first family planning clinic in the city, the 'Women’s Welfare and Advisory Clinic’ and worked to raise funds for its team of women doctors and nurses. She retired from the council in 1931 but didn’t give up her roles on committees for welfare and housing and remained involved in Co-operative Committees. 

Mary Barbour was a force of nature. Later in life, she began organising trips to the seaside for the children of poor people. She passed away on 2nd April 1958 at the age of 83 and until recently, much of her work was forgotten about. There was a successful campaign to have a statue created to remember her and her work which is still seeking funding, the original plan having been to reveal it in 2015, the centenary of the Rent Strikes.

Image Sources (Row-by-row L-R):

[1] The magnificent Mary Barbour herself. (Source: ACumFaeGovan) [2] A window poster announcing that the occupant of a house were on Rent Strike. (Source: Glasgow Digital Library) [3] Rent strikers. (Source: BBC) [4]  Rent strikers. (Source: The Glasgow Story)

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