Barlinnie Prison, How did it get it’s name Bar-L? Options

[Drew]

Can anyone shed light on this question? Bar-L sounds to my 1950s upbringing as a nod towards cowboy films and in particular, those with ranches and cattle herds. This may not be even close, however.

[wombat]

Can anyone shed light on this question? Bar-L sounds to my 1950s upbringing as a nod towards cowboy films and in particular, those with ranches and cattle herds. This may not be even close, however.

its fulla cowboys ?

[Drew]

its fulla cowboys ?

Neat. But I was looking for more.

[wombat]

Neat. But I was looking for more.

o.k. its fulla cattle/animals

[Dykejumper]

Bad guys are lazy, why say Barlinnie when you can just shorten it to Bar l which sounds more menacing.

[Flure]

Bar-L is simply the first four letters of Barlinnie.

Now, how did it get the name "Barlinnie"?

At some time in the 1880s, the Barlinnie Farm Estate sold the land for £9750 and building began on the structure.

[sumac]

My husband and his sister and parents lived in Riddrie Knowes with the Bar-L towering in the background. One day, before we were married, his mum returned home to find policemen scouring her garden, behind bushes, under shrubs, behind the garage, everywhere. Apparently, a prisoner had gone AWOL and they were searching for him. I can’t remember if he was found in the vicinity or elsewhere.
Hubby’s best friend lived in the prison wardens’ houses. His dad, surprise surprise, was a warder at Bar-L.

[zascot]

Sumac I lived in Riddrie and worked part time in the "Anvil" pub near the library when I was an apprentice back in the late 60`s . Plenty of Warders and a few dodgy characters visited the Pub,

[ashfield]

I was a frequent visitor to the Bar L, in a professional capacity only though

Once, back in the mists of time, I was part of a small "pop" group (we were rubbish ) and we played at a birthday party held in the Masonic hall, just outside the "big hoose". It was for the daughter of the guy who was the secretary of the local Celtic supporters club

[sumac]

It’s a small world right enough, zascot.

[sumac]

Another wee story about the Bar-L.

Years ago, I taught in a primary school in Irvine. It was a very poor area and the parents of the children were nuts. Anyway, one boy in my class was, at age 9, a MCP who thought women were something you had to put up with or abuse. I had the cheek to give him a row for being a bully and he vented his spleen, as usual. Next day, as I entered the school, the headmaster was waiting in the corridor for me. He told me to hurry to my room and wait there for him. It transpired the boy’s dad was in the heidie’s room and wanted to knock my block off. When the heidie came to see me, 15 minutes later, it was to tell me that, when the heidie wouldn’t let him see me, the dad got him against the wall, yelling that his son “was going to the University of Life,” like him - the Bar-L. Nuff said!

[taurus]

we just had a discussion on another forum about the "strap",how it was used and abused by the teachers. Compared to the type of kids you had to teach Sumac,we were innocents, belted for talking in class,or something equally dafter,nowadays a teacher is lucky not to get stabbed or worse.my youngest girl always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher,and she would have been good at it,but we were glad life took her in another diirection and let her use her brain in other sort of work. many years ago beiing a teacher was an exalted profession,but that fell away in modern times.