Mrs Rachel Hamilton (nee Johnston), nicknamed "Big Rachel", was originally from Ireland but lived in Partick. She was 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed around 17 stone. She worked as a labourer in Tod & MacGregor shipyards, as a forewoman navvy at the Jordanhill Brickworks and latterly as a farm worker at Anniesland. Big Rachel was sworn in as a special constable during the Partick Riots in August 1875.
Reference: SP.2000.44
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
clay pipes, D & W Henderson, farm labourers, foremen, forewomen, Irish immigrants, Jordanhill Brickworks, labourers, navvies, Partick Riots, pipe smoking, shawls, shipyard workers, smokers, special constables, Tod & MacGregor, women