A new exhibition has launched that examines the history of the former Bryant & May match factory in Maryhill.
Strike! Stories of Bryant & May, which is being held over the summer months at Maryhill Burgh Halls, will collect people's oral histories and memories of the famous plant at Ruchill, which iconic brands Swan Vestas and Scottish Bluebell.
It includes work by Wyndford-based artist and volunteer at Maryhill Burgh Halls, Rabia Saleem, who has produced art inspired by the 1888 match strikes of London, that saw unskilled women coming together to demand better working conditions.
READ MORE: The Glasgow match factory that made iconic brands Swan Vestas and Scottish Bluebell
Upon discovering Maryhill Museum’s ambitions to create an exhibition around the former Bryant & May match factory in Maryhill, the idea to marry both projects together was born.
The result is an exhibition showcasing Rabia’s artwork on different media, alongside personal oral histories of former local employees of the factory.
Rabia said: “It’s a unique exhibition as my artworks are being displayed within the larger context of the history of match manufacture in Britain and the memories of former Bryant & May employees.
"I like that the exhibition explores aspects I didn’t touch upon and connects the 19th century labour strikes to recent history.
‘’I am proud that some of my work is now on display as part of that exhibition. It has not only helped me personally, but it has also given me a platform to develop as an artist.’’
Situated at 201 Shuna Street close to the Forth & Clyde Canal, the Bryant & May factory incorporated parts of the old Ruchill Sawmills, built around 1885 for D McFarlane and son.
In 1921, Bryant & May, who were the leading matches manufacturers in Britain, moved in and added a new fragrance to an area already filled with the distinctive reek of the McLellan rubber works.
Whole forests of trees would arrive by canal, pass through the sawmill, and end up in boxes of matches in folks’ pockets and purses.
Whole families worked in the factory, with the sweet and sour smell of freshly cut wood, sulphur and potassium chlorate blowing east across the city.
Bryant & May were the bright sparks behind such famous names as Swan Vestas, and Scottish Bluebell. Such was the demand for matches, Bryant & May even planted their own forest, at Ballochyle in Argyllshire.
With demand fast declining, in part due to the advent of cheap, disposable lighters, Bryant & May extinguished their Glasgow operations in 1981.
After the company's Garston plant closed in 1994, production was relocated to Sweden, effectively marking the end of match manufacturing in the UK.
As a result of the Scandinavian relocation, boxes of Scottish Bluebell latterly read 'Made in Sweden'. The iconic brand has since been discontinued.
Strike! Stories of Bryant & May is open now and runs throughout Summer 2023, at Maryhill Burgh Halls, 10-24 Gairbraid Avenue G20 8YE. Entry is free and opening hours are Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. For further information visit the Maryhill Burgh Halls website.
READ NEXT:
70 photos that capture life for Glasgow residents in the 1970s
Tour the shops of Glasgow's Braehead shopping centre as they were 20 years ago
Glasgow's best Oasis gigs recalled as reunion rumours hit fever pitch
Six reasons why the movie Trainspotting is undeniably Glaswegian to the core
Glasgow's lost villages that vanished during city's Victorian expansion
