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Johnstone Politics of the 1880s
From Gail Reid, Facebook Johnstone History Group after Renfrewshire Local History Forum. My Scottish maternal ancestors, who emigrated to the USA in the early 1880s, may have been witnesses or participants.


The Battle of Linwood Bridge by Brian S. Skillen

The migration of Northern Irish workers to the mining and textiles industries of the Paisley district introduced many of the problems experienced in factional religious squabbling. There appears to have been a division of labour and religion, with Protestant folk principally in textiles, and Roman Catholics in labouring and in mining. The division is though not that clear cut and some at least of the oversmen in the ironstone mines of Linwood were of Irish Protestant stock from North Ayrshire.

Given the turbulent nature of the labour force, trouble was never far from the surface. Orange meetings were a part of Paisley experience from the 1850s, action often being taken to curtail demonstrations. In the year 1858 outdoor activities were stopped but a meeting at The Exchange Rooms in Moss Street was allowed. This was attended by 300 men,
women and children. Though outdoor action had been curtailed, a large crowd hung around all day till heavy afternoon rain drove the crowd home.

The newspaper coverage of the events at Paisley suggests that though action at curtailment had been taken, it was more the advent of rain which averted fighting. Certainly the local police would appear to have taken little action. The Paisley police were notoriously ambivalent in their attitudes to crowd control and to religion. They would appear to have had little control over their prison as well. On 3 January 1859, James Garvock, a tobacco spinner was badly beaten by Henry Darroch in one of the cells, after the latter had inquired "if he was an Orangemen, a Catholic or a Presbyterian; and exclaimed he would thrash the d....d Presbyterian stomach out of him, and immediately commenced to put his threat into action."

Given this attitude the events of 12 July 1859 were not surprising. The Glasgow Advertiser 16 July 1859 summed up the start of the day in the following terms: "To the surprise of many of the peaceably disposed inhabitants of Paisley and surrounding district, a party of Orangemen, numbering upwards of a hundred, mustered near the cross on Tuesday morning [12 July 1859], a little after 6 o'clock, decorated with orange sashes, and other party emblems. At half-past six precisely they marched in procession westward along High Street, Wellmeadow Street, &c., with a band of music at their head, and carrying six or seven orange flags with emblazonments and mottos of the usual irritating character..."

This 6:00am muster was to allow a march to Johnstone and around the district back to Paisley, allowing the Orangemen at Linwood to participate in the main part of the march. Also, though according to the account of the Glasgow Advertiser the march had taken Paisley by surprise, the Morning Journal in its account suggests the marchers were well armed and
expecting trouble. This came very quickly because the marchers, after running the gauntlet of general abuse in Paisley, were physically attacked at Millarston by a large group of
well armed coal and ironstone workers.

The Morning Journal commenting in their issue for the 14 July 1859 suggested "a battle was a deliberate part of the day's programme", given the preparedness of both groups. Whatever the argument for a pre-arranged fight, the Millarston squabble was bloody enough. Again according to the Morning Journal: "Roman Catholics [were] the first to resort
to actual violence, and the first of course to flee...." Which was perhaps no wonder, for the heavily armed Orangemen had beaten off the attack, and the miners had fled bloodied from sword cuts and bludgeons.

The Orange march continued to Johnstone, where after a rest about Thorn Brae, they continued on their way toward the mining area about Quarrelton and Corseford. The marchers do not appear to have met with problems at this location. The march then made its way to Millikenpark, when it turned at the station and made its way to Deafhillock Toll, arriving there about 1:00pm. The Linwood Orangemen left the main march at that point and headed for their village. The Paisley and Johnstone Lodges proceeded for the West Toll, where they intended to go their separate ways. But, as the Orange marchers approached Linwood Bridge, they found their way blocked by a group of angry mine workers. The Miners were apparently some 300 in number and seeing this the Orangemen took to their heels for the safety of Linwood Village. After rallying, it was decided that they would once again try for the bridge
and the battle began. Hand to hand fighting with mining tools, bludgeons, knives and paling stobs left terrible injuries. The news of the battle soon spread and as a result a mob turned up to watch the fight, and at one point a crowd was blocking the Paisley to Johnstone Road. The fight is reported to have lasted at least 45 minutes, though a contemporary report in the Scotsman suggests that sporadic violence continued as injured men were still staggering into Paisley during the evening.

The Battle of Linwood Bridge itself ended when the miners fled for Inkerman with some of the Orangemen in pursuit. Once the battle was over the process of attending to the injured began and Doctors Daniel, Donald, McKinlay and McHutcheon arrived from Paisley. They were joined by doctors from Johnstone, these were Messrs Calligan, McLaren and Shiling.

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