Barlinnie’s Victorian past uncovered in rare photos of prison and inmates
Punishments for misbehaviour were brutal.
Last updated 29th Oct 2024
Photos have been released which tell the story of Scotland’s largest and most infamous prison.
Scotland's People have added two thousand rare images of Glasgow’s Barlinnie Prison in Victorian times, with records containing details of people entering the prison between 1882 and 1899.
Users can explore the construction of the prison and gain an inside look while they uncover the stories of people who spent time in Barlinnie
There are 180,000 register entries in total, with some people jailed more than once.
Only some prisoners were captured on film, the photographs show imprisoned people on the day of their release and most served sentences of only a few days for petty offences.
Barlinnie opened in Glasgow in 1882 to replace eight small prisons across Glasgow city and the west of Scotland.
It had a reputation as a tough prison and inmates carried out hard labour, breaking rocks from a local quarry.
Punishments for misbehaviour were brutal and across the years prisoners have nicknamed it ‘BarHell’ and the ‘Big hoose’.
The harsh social conditions of the time are evident in the photographs and the hardened, steely look of the prisoners.
John Porter features three times as an inmate, all by age 18.
He was charged with “being a rogue and a vagabond” at a time when homeless people were imprisoned for minor offences and was noted to have 'no fixed abode'.
Exterior of Barlinnie Prison, late 1800s/early 1900s. Barlinnie opened in Glasgow in 1882 and had a reputation as a tough prison.
Barlinnie Prison inmates working outside the jail. Inmates carried out hard labour, breaking rocks from a local quarry. Punishments for misbehaviour were harsh.
Photographs of prisoner John Porter, 17/18 years old, taken between 1883 and 1885.
Porter had Multiple convictions for crimes associated with homelessness including vagrancy and being a rogue and vagabond.
Porter was noted as having no fixed abode.
Photograph of prisoner Thomas Hynes, porter, age 24. Convicted of theft and served nine months in prison.
Photograph of prisoner Thomas Rushton, soldier, age 25. Convicted of robbery and served six months.
A sample sheet of prisoner photographs
Archivist Jessica Evershed of National Records of Scotland, which runs the Scotland’s People website, said: “Prison records are an excellent resource for social history research. You may even track down your own relatives in these records, and – in some cases – find a photograph of your ancestor.
“These photographs are a fantastic resource for researchers. The Scotland’s People website now allows you to put faces to names in a way that isn’t possible for other records.
“While Barlinnie prison did hold some people convicted of serious crimes, most prisoners were serving short sentences. The most common entries are for petty offences such as minor thefts and drunkenness.”
Pictures of inmates in Glasgow’s Barlinnie Prison in Victorian times can now be found on family history website Scotland's People.
Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.