“The social event of the year”

The concerts took place in a natural amphitheatre at Glenfield Estate on the beautiful Gleniffer Braes. William Fulton, the owner of the land, was a real working class hero as well as a public benefactor.

Glen Concert - Early 1900s (Courtesy Paisley Museum)

Rising from humble beginnings as a weaver he eventually became a rich industrialist - but he never forgot his roots! When he first took over the estate he expressed a wish that “all the people of Paisley would be at liberty to come and walk by the braes and glens, as if it were their own.” In the same public spirited way he declined to charge the organisers for the use of the land – all the more surprising when you consider the scale of the concerts, which were without parallel in their day and were as impressive as modern pop festivals.
In their heyday the choir numbered around 700 voices, composed mainly of mill girls and other working class women of the town, and the concerts, consisting of a mainly Scottish repertoire, were performed to astonishingly large audiences of around 30,000. At the time of the Burns statue series however the choir numbered around 400 and their audience peaked at over 20,000.
 The concerts successfully raised money for good causes from 1874 until 1936, when they were discontinued due to lack of support. One of their first gifts to the town was the fine statue of Robert Tannahill mentioned earlier, but as they embarked on the Burns series they were setting a much more ambitious target.

Sir William Dunn - (Courtesy Paisley Museum)

At the same time as the concerts were being arranged the Burns Statue Committee were considering various sites for the proposed memorial, but their search came to an apparent end when William Dunn, the town’s MP, bought a derelict piece of land near the Cross and presented it to the town as “The Dunn Square.”  Following discussions with the statue committee and the council, his deed of gift stated “….reserving also to the Burns Statue Committee in Paisley the right to have the statue proposed to be erected in Paisley to the memory of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, erected upon the same subjects (Dunn Square), on such a site, and in such a manner as may be approved of by my disponees” (who were previously explained to be the Town Council).

Paisley Cross 1894 - Note the construction work In Dunn Square (Courtesy Paisley Museum)

Matters proceeded with an unwritten agreement that the people’s statue would have pride of place in the centre of the new square.

Things get under way

With all the required elements in place matters moved on quickly. The concerts were arranged and took place. After a competition involving some of the leading sculptors of the day including William Kellock Brown and John Tweed, the committee chose the design of London sculptor Frederick Pomeroy who had previously created a greatly-admired frieze for the County Buildings (now the Sheriff Court) in St. James’s Street. This turned out to be a wise choice. Pomeroy, a member of the arts and crafts movement, is today best remembered for

Justice - Old Bailey (F W Pomeroy)

his world famous statue of “Justice” at the Old Bailey as well as for other well-known works such as “Gladstone” in the houses of Parliament, “Australia” on the fountain at the gates of Buckingham Palace and a much copied bronze of “Perseus”. This then was the calibre of artist that the committee were prepared to engage - a seriously gifted and highly regarded sculptor, whose fame has deservedly stood the test of time.
Eventually, the clay cast of the statue was completed and exhibited to great acclaim both locally and nationally, with features appearing in newspapers around the country.
These were proud days for the ordinary working people of Paisley.
They were justified in reflecting that they had managed to bring this magnificent work of art into being in the most appropriate way possible – by the power of Scottish Song. Also, they had the satisfaction of hearing their statue being liberally praised at every turn - and to cap it all they were assured that their pride and joy would occupy a prominent position in the town, right at the centre of the Dunn Square amongst the many thousands of townspeople who, after their selfless and public spirited fundraising effort, now proudly regarded “Rabbie” as “their” statue.

Sadly, both their labours and pride were soon to be frustrated.