An 'ornate' old building is part of Glasgow hospital - here's why

This building used to be the entrance to the Govan Combination Poorhouse. It is now the only remaining section of what was once an extensive facility made up of a poorhouse, psychiatric hospital or ‘asylum’, and a parochial hospital.

Poorhouses were established by an Act of 1845 which introduced Parochial Boards of management across Scotland to administer poor relief, either "indoor", in a poorhouse or "outdoor", in the form of a small sum of money, or benefits in kind. It was designed to be partial help – a subsidy to other forms of support such as charity or family assistance.

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Image: Colin Mearns/Newsquest)

Unlike in England, the ‘able-bodied poor’ in Scotland were not eligible for relief. Those that could receive relief were “persons disabled by age or by mental or bodily infirmity from gaining a livelihood by working and having no means of subsistence; widows or deserted wives burdened with children; and orphan children”.

Govan Road, 1883 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Govan Parochial Board was formed as part of the 1845 Poor Law Act. At that time, the parish of Govan was much larger than the area we think of as Govan now, extending north of the river to encompass Hillhead, Kelvinside, Partick and Whiteinch, and south as far as Pollokshields and Dumbreck.

Govan Parochial Board agreed in 1873 to combine with the smaller but densely populated parish of Gorbals, and became the Govan Combination Parish.

Main Street with 17th-century cottage (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The brown sandstone building which still stands within the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital complex was not Govan’s first poorhouse. In 1845, Govan Parochial Board had converted an old mill in Tradeston for temporary use as a poorhouse and hospital. In 1853, they moved to larger premises in former cavalry barracks on Eglinton Street. 

The population of Govan Combination Parish was rapidly rising in the mid-19th century, and it soon became clear that a purpose-built facility would be required to meet demand. In 1867, Govan Parochial Board began construction of a new poorhouse, 240-bed general hospital, and psychiatric hospital for 180 patients on the Merryflats Estate in Shieldhall. The facility cost £100,000 to build and was completed in 1872.

In-keeping with the Victorian fixation with categorisation, the buildings at Merryflats were designed to allow for "classes" of inmates in the poorhouse and psychiatric hospital to be kept separate. In the poorhouse, “dissolute” men and women were kept apart from men and women of “good character”, while in the psychiatric hospital, “noisy patients” were separated from “quiet and infirm patients”.

While there was initially some reluctance on the part of the parish’s population to use the hospital because of the stigma attached to parochial facilities, by the early 20th century the demand for the hospital had outgrown provision. A large extension was constructed between 1902 and 1905, with the addition of around 700 beds.

In 1905, a Royal Commission was established to investigate the system of poor relief provision across the UK. Asked to identify the main causes of poverty within the parish as part of this inquiry, John Thomson, Governor of Govan Poorhouse, performs some astonishing mental gymnastics in apportioning a large amount of the blame to women in work.

Particularly in a parish such as Govan, he explains, “where the majority of young women are engaged in factories, warehouses, shops, etc; too few of them care to learn cooking and housekeeping. The result is often a miserable home, and the husband finds more comfort in the public-house”.

While it is mind-boggling to manage to pin endemic poverty on women earning money, Thomson’s point alludes to a concern among poor relief administrators in the late 19th century. Govan, as well as the neighbouring parishes of Glasgow and Barony, were finding that an increasing number of able-bodied young and middle-aged men were applying for poor relief due to unemployment. 

As poor relief in Scotland was not for the able-bodied unemployed, poor relief administrators subjected applicants they suspected of making fraudulent claims of illness or disability to onerous physical tests, such as stone-splitting. “Destitute, unemployed able-bodied persons” weren’t eligible for relief until the poor relief system was reformed in 1921.

In 1923, the complex at Merryflats was renamed the Southern General Hospital. The poorhouse section of the facility was gradually wound down, and in 1936 the hospital was transferred to the control of the Public Health Department.