Allotments for the unemployed on the Garscube Estate, 10 Jan 1933. The estate belonged to Sir Archibald Campbell (1852-1941).
During the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, tens of thousands of Glaswegian men lost their jobs. Although insured workers could claim unemployment benefit it was not equivalent to a living wage; for example in 1931 a man could just claim 15 shillings a week (75p). By 1933 over 120,000 Glaswegians were living on public assistance, and diseases associated with poverty had increased. Allotments offered them the means to improve their diets by growing their own vegetables, and of saving scarce cash for other necessities.
The University of Glasgow purchased the Garscube estate in 1948.
Reference: 1470.82.380
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
allotments, eating, food, gardening, Garscube Estate, Great Depression, mattocks, shovels, unemployed, unemployment
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