Martyrs Monument, Woodside Cemetery, Broomlands Street, Paisley

Heritage listing

Category B Date Added 16/05/1986 Last Date Amended 26/03/2024 Local Authority Renfrewshire Planning Authority Renfrewshire Burgh Paisley NGR NS 46979 63901 Coordinates 246979, 663901 — A freestone obelisk memorial erected in 1867 by public subscription and located in Woodside Cemetery, Paisley. It is the work of the monumental sculptor, William Robin of Paisley, and may have been executed or adapted from a design by Alexander Thomson (information taken from listed building record dating to 1986). The monument is approximately 17 feet tall and comprises an ashlar, double-stepped plinth, battered pedestal with cavetto cornice and inscriptions on all four faces, surmounted by an ashlar obelisk with a moulded base. The obelisk is decorated with incised double bands at the bottom and mid-shaft, with anthemia (or palmettes) above the bands. There is a further incised band at the top. The main inscription reads: 'Erected/by public subscription/1867/to the memory of/Andrew Hardie and John Baird/who were executed at Stirling/and of/James Wilson/who was executed at Glasgow/in the year/1820'. Historical background The memorial commemorates the three men who were executed for high treason following a week of strikes and unrest that occurred across much of Central Scotland in the first week of April 1820. This failed uprising is variously known as: the Radical Rising, the Radical War, or the Scottish Insurrection of 1820. It is believed to have been the last armed uprising in Britain. Between 1 st and 8 th of April 1820, it was estimated that 60,000 workers initiated a series of strikes and social unrest in Glasgow, Paisley, Ayrshire and Renfrewshire to demand widespread political reform in response to economic depression. This general strike was planned as a prelude to the uprising

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.