Talk:William Harley

Willowbank
This is all in response to an edit comment that says "There was never a Sauchy Hall."

Glasgow Past and Present Volume I says on page 195...

"Although we have frequently had occasion to mention Sauchichall Street in these pages, we have omitted to state that this portion of the suburbs of Glasgow was originally called Sauchie-haugh, in allusion to which Mr. Harley named his adjacent property Willowbank."

...and then on page 197 quoting from Isabella Alderson...

"...I beg to mention that a slight mistake seems to have occurred in stating that Mr. harley was one of the first feuars on the Blythswood Estate, as it was my father, the late Lawrence Phillips, who was the first who had a feu from Archibald Campbell, Esq., of Blythswood, and built Willowbank, &c, which he sold to Mr. William Harley some years after he had done much to improve that locality."

Alderson saying her father "built Willowbank" doesn't necessarily mean that that is what he called it. Alderson could have just been using the familiar name at the time of writing. Especially since Harley used the name for a number of his businesses, so it would have been a familiar name.

Also we have other sources like Senior archivist Dr Irene O’Brien saying Harley named the area Willowbank. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18672168.glasgow-water-entrepreneur-whose-ideas-paved-way-citys-famous-steamies/

Are there any sources that explicitly say the area was called Willowbank before Harley's time? AlistairMcMillan (talk) 20:14, 9 May 2022 (UTC)


 * In an 1830 review of Harley's book about his dairy system, the reviewer even comments on Harley "Glasgowizing" words like "Whitrig" to "Whiteridge" and "Sauchie Ha'" to "Willow-bank". https://archive.org/details/sim_the-monthly-review_1830-01_13_53/page/58 AlistairMcMillan (talk) 20:51, 9 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Stumbled across another newspaper article from the Herald in 1894 that mentions "Sauchy Hall". "In 1802 this enterpriser acquired a few acres of ground for a family residence at Sauchy Hall, the origin of Sachiehall Street." AlistairMcMillan (talk) 00:02, 17 February 2023 (UTC)