Records of West End School of Cookery, teacher training school, Glasgow, Scotland

Scope and Content

  • Registers of diplomas 1885-1908
  • Certificates c1878-c1908
  • List of examination results 1903
  • Published works on cookery by Margaret Black c1887-c1903
  • Obituaries of Margaret Black 1903

Administrative / Biographical History

The West End School of Cookery, Glasgow, Scotland, was founded in 1878  and opened to the public on 29 October of that year. The founder of the West End School of Cookery was Margaret Black (1830-1903), who had also been an instructress at the Glasgow School of Cookery. She was a teacher of cookery and published many books on the subject of domestic science. In 1908 , the School amalgamated with the Glasgow School of Cookery to form a Scottish Central Institution under the title the Glasgow & West of Scotland College of Domestic Science (Incorporated). The School’s first premises were at 2 Dalhousie Street, Glasgow, in the Corporation Galleries’ building. Later premises included 346 Sauchiehall Street and 1 Scott Street.

Initially the School provided for private teaching but in 1885, the Scotch Education Department recognised it as a teacher training centre. The School prior to this date had been running classes in Glasgow and Govan board schools. The subjects taught at the School covered diplomas in cookery, housewifery and laundry, along with certificates to housewives, housekeepers and cooks. Teaching also included lessons on domestic subjects and providing instruction to certificate students under the Glasgow Provincial Committee for the Training & Certification of Teachers.

In 1903, after the death of the founder Margaret MacKirdy Black, her niece Mary MacKirdy (1874-1957) became the principal of the school.

Arrangement

The material has yet to be formally arranged and listed

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

The Queen’s College, Glasgow

Other Finding Aids

Rough box list available in the search room

Further information can be found via the Glasgow Caledonian University Archives homepage at http://www.lib.gcal.ac.uk/archives/archives.htm

A fully searchable multilevel description of this archive is available via the Gateway to the Archives of Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) web site at http://www.gashe.ac.uk

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 1847 procedures

Custodial History

Retained in the custody of Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science (Incorporated), subsequently The Queen’s College, Glasgow

Accruals

None expected

Related Material

GB 1847 GSC Records of Glasgow School of Cookery

GB 1847 QC Records of The Queen’s College, Glasgow

The Queen’s College Special Collection (Glasgow Caledonian University Library Special Collections) see http://www.lib.gcal.ac.uk/specialcollections/qcsc/index.htm

Bibliography

Miller, E. , Century of Change 1875-1975: One Hundred Years of Training Home Economics Students in Glasgow, (Glasgow: The Queen’s College: c1975)

Thompson, W. and McCallum, C., Glasgow Caledonian University: Its Origins and Evolution, (East Linton: Tuckwell Press: 1998)

Additional Information

This material is original

Revised by Victoria Peters, GASHE project manager, 21 November 2001

Revised by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 30 July 2002

Geographical Names