454 years ago, on May 13, 1568, the most significant battle in Glasgow’s history took place in Langside.
After a devastating defeat, Mary Queen of Scots fled south - where she hid in various parts of England before eventually being beheaded almost ten years later.
In fact, the Battle of Langside was the last time she spent in the north.
Six months before Mary was bested at the site of modern day Queen's Park, the Parliament of Scotland passed an act which dethroned her. She had supposedly signed and sealed a letter handing over the crown and “regiment of the realm of Scotland” to her infant son, James VI.
She was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, while her half-brother the Earl of Moray was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. It came to light that her abdication had been extorted from her, under threats of death.
An act was then passed which declared Moray to have committed treason in his process of becoming Regent. She escaped From Loch Leven Castle in early May and gathered a group of supporters, and hoped to retire to Dumbarton Castle - hoping to avoid battle, but just eleven days later the Battle of Langside began.
After her escape she went to Niddrie in Edinburgh, before moving west to Hamilton.
She should have spent her last time in Scotland, on the edge of the River Clyde. Though Mary and her supporters marched, heading through was then known as Langside, on their way to Dumbarton.
Moray, aware of enemy movements, drew up an army on the moor close to the village of Langside - which at the time was several miles south of Glasgow, though today is well within the city limits. The Regent deployed his men throughout the village - and by the time this was complete the Queen’s vanguard advanced through.
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According to Historic Environment Scotland, Mary’s men were doomed from the beginning. They wrote in an overview of the battle published in 2012: “Mary’s forces appear to have underestimated both the strength of Moray’s army, and the advantage of his position, when they began their attack.
“Mary’s army was commanded by the Earl of Argyll, a man of little military experience.”
By the time the Battle of Langside was over, it's thought that 300 soldiers were killed. Immediately after her loss, Mary fled to England where she was effectively held under house arrest by her cousin, Elizabeth I.
Over the next five years, Mary’s remaining supporters in Scotland fought in the Marian civil war - a period of conflict between those who ruled in favour of Mary’s son.
After being implicated in alleged plots against the English Queen, Mary was beheaded nine years after the battle on May 8, 1587.
And there is a local legend that you can see the ghosts of soldiers fighting it out on this day, at the battlefield near Queen's Park pond - so take care if you're visiting the south side tonight ...
