Broomielaw is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

in the city of

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. It runs beside the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, on its north bank looking over to Tradeston. Both sides have been marketed as the city's International Financial Services District.

History

Originally part of the Lands of Blythswood, and named after Brumelaw Croft, because broom grew along the waterfront, the riverside street runs from Jamaica Bridge towards Anderston Quay, under the Kingston Bridge towards Finnieston Quay. Glasgow had the freedom of navigation of the River Clyde to the sea some twenty-seven miles westwards, confirmed later by Royal Charter signed by King James VI in 1611. The city's first

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), 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 Berth (mo ...

was built at Brumelaw in 1688. From the early 1800s and increasingly after the invention of sea-going steamships in 1812 in Glasgow, the Broomielaw was a major part of Glasgow's harbour with shipping lines to all parts of the world, and an inventive and growing shipbuilding industry, becoming the wealthiest and largest in the world. In the 19th and first half of the 20th Centuries

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

s, followed by turbine steamers, ran from here to the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

for day trips to the seaside and for some business people to commute.Clyde Waterfront Heritage
The Broomielaw is renowned in the pipe band tune 'Wha' saw the 42nd'. And in Kenneth McKellar's famed song 'The Song of the Clyde'. The area is also mentioned in some versions of the sea shanty " Donkey Riding": 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" a popular anti-Imperialist song of the 1960s by

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

in the Scots language. 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