The Town's Hospital was a

poorhouse A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), "workhouse" has been the more ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, founded in 1731. It occupied a site at the Old Green on Great Clyde Street, at the junction of present-day Ropework Lane. The hospital was managed by the

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

and 48 directors, 12 of whom were elected by the town council. Of the remainder, 12 represented the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

's General Session, 12 the merchant's guild and 12 the producer's guild. A year after its opening the Town's Hospital accommodated 61 old people and 90 children. The hospital closed in 1844, although it was reopened briefly in 1848 to house the victims of a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreak. It was demolished and a warehouse built on the site; its function as a home for the destitute poor of the parish was taken over by the Glasgow City Poorhouse, sometimes also known as the Town's Hospital. Opened in 1845, it occupied premises formerly known as the Glasgow Lunatic Asylum.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{refend Poverty in Scotland