Broomielaw is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

in the city of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. It runs adjacent to the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

, on its north bank and forms the southern, waterside boundary of the city's

International Financial Services District The International Financial Services District (IFSD) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Sgìre Seirbheisean Ionmhais Eadar-nàiseanta'') is a public-private financial district in Glasgow, Scotland. Based at Scottish Enterprise, the £1 billion venture aims ...

History

Named after Brumelaw

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

the street runs from Jamaica Bridge under the Kingston Bridge to Finnieston Quay. Glasgow’s first

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

was built at Brumelaw in 1688. In the late 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries

Paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

s ran from here to the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

for day trips to the seaside and for some

business people A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

commute Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

.Clyde Waterfront Heritage
The area is mentioned in some versions of the sea shanty "

Donkey Riding "Donkey Riding" is a traditional work song or sea shanty originally sung in Canada, Scotland and the Northeastern United States. It has also become popular as a children's song. The earliest written record of the song dates to 1857. The tune and ...

": Was you ever on the Broomielaw
Where the Yanks are all the go
And the boys dance heel-and-toe
Riding on a donkey The Broomielaw also features in the "

Freedom Come-All-Ye The "Freedom Come-All-Ye" ( gd, Thig Saorsa Uile) is a Scots language song written by Hamish Henderson in 1960. History An early two-stanza version of the song was published in a broadsheet "Writers against Aparthied" (sic) in the Spring of 1960 ...

" a popular anti-Imperialist song of the 1960s by

Hamish Henderson Hamish Scott Henderson (11 November 1919 – 9 March 2002) was a Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier. He was a catalyst for the folk revival in Scotland. He was also an accomplished folk song collector and disc ...

in the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...

. The song refers to the role the quay played as a point of departure for the depopulation of Scotland through emigration. Nae mair will our bonnie callants
Merch tae war whan our braggarts crousely craw
Nor wee weans frae pitheid an clachan
Murn the ships sailin doun the Broomielaw

References

{{Transport in Glasgow Streets in Glasgow History of Glasgow