THE Establishment has never liked Glasgow Green. It belonged to the
common people, an area of shared grazing and public washing. It was a
place where revolution was preached along with the kingdom of God, where
banners were raised and social grievance shouted aloud.
It is more important to Scotland's past, says Elspeth King, than even
Bannockburn and Culloden. Yet it is about injustice to her that the
latest account of Glasgow Green is being written.
It was in this historic setting, a haven from the smoke of iron
foundries and chemical factories, that the People's Palace was built. It
was, said Sir David Richmond, Lord Provost of Glasgow in 1899, a unique
institution -- ''wherein is combined practically under one roof, a
Museum, Picture Gallery, Winter Garden and Music Hall. It is an
experiment full of potentialities, and much lies with the citizens
themselves to make it the success which it certainly deserves''. The
citizens of this end of Glasgow have always been working-class. The very
history of the city can be told through the story of the trade union
movement, of women's suffrage, and all the other struggles in which
Glasgow has been to the forefront.
Little could better illustrate the Establishment's view of Glasgow
Green than the rejection of Elspeth King, the current curator of the
People's Palace, in her application to become the city's keeper of
social history. It was, in effect, her own job, a position she was
fulfilling superbly.
Elspeth King is a mineworker's daughter with a First Class honours
degree in medieval history. She is dedicated to her work, at which she
has been supremely successful. She speaks her mind, albeit in the
softest of accents. She has no liking for meretricious self-publicity,
and what she has achieved, with her deputy, Michael Donnelly, has
invariably been accomplished on a shoestring budget.
In short, she has none of the attributes that recommend themselves to
the museum hierarchy, which is becoming more and more associated with
the class-conscious English heritage industry.
Elspeth King is working-class. She is a woman. She is clever. She is a
Scot. Ergo, she will not fit, particularly when her achievements at
Glasgow Green have often drawn attention away from the expensive
prestige of Kelvingrove, the Burrell Collection, and the McLellan
Galleries.
Elspeth King was not the only keeper to have been denied favours at
the People's Palace. It happened to Captain Phillip Durrand, who had to
provide his own desk. When he applied for a year's writing supplies,
Kelvingrove sent him three nibs. Robert Wilkie, who began the campaign
to save the Winter Garden from demolition, was not even given the help
of a typist.
When Elspeth King arrived, after St Andrews University and a
post-graduate course at Leicester University, the typewriter ribbon at
the People's Palace was so worn that she could only use the red portion.
That was the level of funding at Glasgow Green -- one that led in
earlier days to slipshod displays, and a welter of misattributions,
particularly with ceramics. Yet that the museum was enjoyed was evident
with every school party, and with the pride that Glaswegians brought
their friends.
When Elspeth King took over, the museum attracted around 120,000
visitors a year. With redevelopment all around, and difficult access,
this fell to a low of 80,000. It did not stop a remarkable series of
exhibitions such as Scotland Sober and Free, on the 150th anniversary of
the Temperance Movement, or Michael Donnelly's brilliant 1981 exhibition
of stained glass. This was followed by the Glasgow Herald's bicentenary
exhibition, which won the 1983 Museum of the Year's temporary exhibition
award. Attendance has now reached 400,000 a year, and despite a
painfully low budget the museum continues by argument and cajoling to
save Glasgow's history from the developer's skip, including its own
building.
It is not going too far to say that without Elspeth King's
single-minded efforts, the People's Palace and its Winter Gardens would
not now exist. There is still dry rot. The fabric is still decaying. Yet
still it thrives and grows in reputation.
Why, then has Elspeth King not been given the curatorship of social
history she so richly deserves? It has not been earned out of gratitude,
but a burning talent. It has not been justified merely by scholarship
and long hours, but a love of the city's history that matches the
evangelism brought to Glasgow Green by Moody and Sankey themselves. Why?
The answer may lie in the blood that was so often shed where the
People's Palace now stands. Julian Spalding, director of Glasgow's
museums and art galleries, is possibly a clever man, but in this
decision he has shown himself both ignorant of Glasgow's history and a
stupid incomer if he thinks its loyalty is lightly discarded.
Elspeth King is a coalminer's daughter with a First Class honours
degree. She is a woman. She is a Scot. She is the wrong class, the wrong
sex, and she does not toe the Establishment line. That is why she did
not get the job.
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