Margaret McIver (9 May 1879 – 1958), also known as "The Barras Queen", was the founder of The Barras, a street market in the Calton area in the east end 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 ...

. Initially an area of street markets, it became a permanent site when a roof was added to protect the stalls from bad weather and it now has over a thousand stalls within 10 markets. It is also the location of the

Barrowland Ballroom The Barrowland Ballroom (also known as ''Barrowland'' and ''The Barras'') is an entertainment venue, dance hall and music venue located in the Calton district in Glasgow, Scotland. A prominent feature of the music scene in Glasgow, the venue ...

, one of the city's main rock and pop venues.

Early life

Maggie McIver was born Margaret Russell in Galston, Ayrshire, on 9 May 1879. Her father, Thomas Russell, was a policeman and her mother, Margaret Sclanders, was a French polisher. Before opening her own fruit shop, Maggie worked as a French polisher just like her mother. She met her husband James McIver at the fruit market and they set up their own business hiring out horses and carts to local hawkers.

The Barras

McIver hired over 300 barrows to local hawkers in her yard in Marshall Lane. This was in response to the Local Corporation wishing to stop local street traders and the street traders being charged by the police. In 1926, Maggie McIver decided to cover the market mainly to protect clothing hawkers from having their stock ruined. The market was fully enclosed two years later.

The Barrowlands

Plaque dedicated to Maggie and James McIver

It was common practice for McIver to host a Christmas party for the hawkers and their families in a local hall. One year, when McIver was unable to hire the hall, she decided to build her own, the famous

s which opened Christmas Eve 1934.

Commemoration

A plaque has been added to the Barrowlands Ballroom to commemorate Maggie McIver as part of twelve Scots being honoured by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

(HES). There is also a commemorative stone carving at one of the gate entrances to

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIver, Maggie 1879 births 1958 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow Scottish businesspeople Glasgow Green People from Bridgeton, Glasgow 19th-century Scottish businesswomen 20th-century Scottish businesswomen