Mary Barbour
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
political activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, local councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
and magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
who was closely associated with the Red Clydeside
Red Clydeside
Red Clydeside is a term used to describe the era of political radicalism that characterised the city of Glasgow in Scotland, and urban areas around the city on the banks of the River Clyde such as Clydebank, Greenock and Paisley...
movement in the early 20th century.
She was born in the village of Kilbarchan
Kilbarchan
Kilbarchan is a village and civil parish in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village's name means "cell of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry.- History :...
, the third of seven children, to her father James Rough, a carpet
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
weaver. In 1887, the family moved to the village of Elderslie
Elderslie
Elderslie is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village is situated midway between the nearby towns of Paisley and Johnstone....
and Mary gained work as a thread twister, eventually becoming a carpet printer. She married David Barbour in 1896 and the couple settled in Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
.
She first became politically active after joining and becoming an active member of the Kinning Park
Kinning Park
Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1897 it had a population of 14326.-Political history:Originally a separate police burgh founded in 1871, it became part of Glasgow in 1905. It was the smallest such burgh in Scotland at just...
Co-operative Guild. Her political activism began in earnest during the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
rent strike
Rent strike
A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent en masse until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord...
of 1915, when she actively organised tenant
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
committees and eviction resistance. The protestors became known as "Mrs Barbour's Army". In 1920 she stood as the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate for Fairfield ward in Govan, and was elected to Glasgow Town Council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
, becoming the city's first Labour woman councillor. Until her retirement from the Council in 1931, she worked relentlessly on behalf of the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
of her constituency, serving on numerous committees covering the provision of health and welfare services. From 1924 to 1927 she served as Glasgow Corporation's first woman Baillie
Baillie
A baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...
and was appointed as one of the first woman magistrates in Glasgow.
Mary died at the age of 83 in 1958. Her funeral took place at Craigton
Craigton
Formerly farming land for the Township of Govan, Craigton is a residential suburb in the southwest of the Scottish city of Glasgow. It borders Cardonald, Govan and Bellahouston Park. It has a primary school, Craigton Primary School, a small industrial estate and a number of shops lining Paisley...
Crematorium in Govan.
The song Mrs Barbour's Army by Alistair Hulett
Alistair Hulett
Alistair Hulett, was a Scottish acoustic folk singer and revolutionary socialist, best known as the singer of the folk punk band, Roaring Jack.-Early life:...
is about Mary Barbour's organisation of the 1915 rent strike. Mary Barbour was the subject of one of the Not Forgotten series of documentaries on Channel Four in 2007.