‘Big Rachel’ 

(A two minute read)

‘Big Rachel’ (1829-1899) aka Mrs. Rachel Molly Hamilton (neé Johnston), stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93m) and weighed 17 stone (108 kilos). She worked variously as a labourer-forewoman in Glasgow’s Tod & MacGregor shipyards and Jordanhill brickworks, and as a farm labourer at Anniesland. But those are not her only, or major, claims to fame.

Big Rachel had quite a reputation as a peacekeeper and enforcer of law and order in the workplace. It was because of this that, when three days of violent sectarian riots broke out in Glasgow’s Partick district in 1875, Rachel was one of thirty local citizens sworn in as Special Constables and deputed to drive the rioters back over the River Kelvin and into the city . . . successfully as it would turn out.

The population of Partick had exploded as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace, and tens of thousands of Irish migrants arrived in Glasgow desperate for work. The UK had already seen outbreaks of violence between Irish ‘Home Rulers’ (those wanting independence for Ireland) and the Orange Lodges/Orange Men who were staunchly opposed.

In August 1875, Home Rulers amongst the newly arrived Irish population marched through the city to celebrate what would have been Daniel O’Connell’s 100th birthday (O’Connell being one of the heroes of the 1829 Catholic Emancipation).

The march through the centre of Glasgow went off without incident. But when the large Partick contingent (numbering almost 1,000) returned home, violence flared. Nothwithstanding accusations of ‘stereotyping Glasgow’  . . . it does not seem unreasonable to assume that by 8pm on a Saturday night, in midsummer, after what one group saw as ‘celebration’ and another saw as ‘provocation’, drink may have played a part.

“While passing through the principal street of the burgh, a processionist struck one of the bystanders, who returned the blow by giving his assailant a smack on the face. This was the signal for a free fight between the processionists and the crowd,” reported the Glasgow Herald of August 9, 1875.

“A great many people were hurt by stone-throwing and other forms of ruffianism. But their injuries, except in a few cases, are not of a serious nature,” added the Herald.

Rachel was also an Irish immigrant to Glasgow, driven away from home by extreme poverty.