Glasgow Orkney and Shetland Benevolent Society
About
Our Story
From the late 18th century, skilled seafarers from Orkney and Shetland - historically more connected to Scotland’s east coast - were increasingly drawn to the west. This shift was largely driven by the growth of Clyde-based shipping, spurred by Glasgow merchants’ investment in trade with the West Indies and colonial plantations. As demand for experienced mariners rose, many Northern Islesmen were recruited into this expanding transatlantic economy. However, life in the Clyde ports could be precarious. Seamen from Orkney and Shetland who found themselves in ports like Glasgow were vulnerable to hardship if their vessels were damaged or lost. Isolated from home, they could easily become stranded or destitute.
Jan Jannson, Orcadum et Shetlandiae insularum accuratissima descriptio. 1646. National Library of Scotland.
In response to this need, the Glasgow Orkney and Shetland Benevolent Society was established on 11 January 1837. According to its printed rules from 1925, the Society’s primary purpose was "to raise a fund for giving charitable relief to the natives of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, their children or widows, residing in Glasgow or its neighbourhood or travelling through Glasgow, and who, from sickness or sudden emergency, may be in want of temporary aid."
A few decades later, in 1862, the Glasgow Orkney and Shetland Literary and Scientific Association was founded. Like many nineteenth-century ‘county associations’, it served as a social club, support network, and benevolent society. There were almost thirty Orkney and Shetland societies scattered around the globe, from Toronto to Boston and Otago in New Zealand. The Association provided accommodation, advice, referrals, and general assistance to new arrivals in the city. It also offered financial aid to members and their families facing hardship, including support for education and higher learning. Beyond practical help, it promoted self-improvement through lectures, public readings, and debates.
Though the two organisations shared many members, they remained separate until 1900, when the Literary and Scientific Association voted to affiliate with the Benevolent Society. The Association continued as an active social club well into the early 2000s, hosting regular gatherings and ceilidhs. In recent years, however, declining membership has led to a suspension of social activities. The Benevolent Fund remains active, and the committee hopes to see the Association revitalised in the future.
See the Glasgow Literary Bonds website for more information and details on archive documents.
A full history of the Association can be found in Chapter 5 of Lauren Weiss's, ‘The Literary Clubs and Societies of Glasgow during the Long Nineteenth Century: A City’s History of Reading through its Communal Reading Practices and Productions’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Stirling, 2017).
