Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | James Cleland |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 28 January 1770 |
| Died: | 14 October 1840 |
| Bio Notes: | James Cleland was born in the Trongate, Glasgow on 28 January 1770. He was educated at the High School in Glasgow and completed his training in London. In 1791 he returned to Glasgow and joined his father’s business as a cabinet maker and trunk maker. The business premises were in Virgina Street and in the Post Office directory for 1790-91 the firm is listed as J & J Cleland. The younger Cleland branched out into other businesses and became a successful urban property developer. His first appointment to a public office was in 1794 when he was elected collector to the Incorporation of Wrights. In 1800 he was first appointed a member of the Town Council and he became a Baillie of Glasgow in October 1803. It was at this point that he became involved in architecture and building as in 1804 he was authorised to superintend the building of a new toll-house. In 1807 his plan for the building of a new grammar school was adopted. In 1809 he was Convenor of the Trades House and in 1814 he was appointed Superintendent of Public Works, a post which he held until 1834 when he was ousted by a post-reform administration. In this post he performed his duties in an exemplary fashion. From 1814 to 1818 he was also superintendent of statute labour to the city of Glasgow. In 1831 he became a JP. His first essay in the realm of statistics was in the 1790s when he published a small pamphlet entitled ‘Tables for Showing the Price of Packing-Boxes of Sundry Dimensions and Thicknesses’ which was used widely by tradesman and established Cleland’s interest in the standardisation of weights, measures and prices. His awareness of the deficiencies of parish records led him to his 'Letter to His Grace the Duke of Hamilton, respecting the Parochial Registries of Scotland' in 1813. This was sent out widely to all the presbyteries of the church and to Members of Parliament. In this he can be seen to becoming interested in the collection of detailed statistics of the structure of the country. In 1816 he published the ‘Annals of Glasgow’ which provided a history of the City’s public works, societies and institutions. It showed his concern with issues such as population growth, commercial matters and the condition of the poor. This was republished in 1820 as ‘The Rise and Progress of the City of Glasgow’. In 1819 he carried out a classified census of the population of Glasgow, the first ever of its kind ever taken in the United Kingdom. In 1836 he followed this up with ‘An Historical Account of the Bills of Mortality, and the Probability of Human Life in Glasgow and Other Large Towns’. Cleland’ s pioneering approaches to census taking and demographic statistics were adopted by the British Government officials for the national censuses of 1821 and 1831. His contribution in this field was widely recognised in Britain and Europe as a result of his numerous publications, public lectures and membership of learned societies. He rose to become a leading figure in the Age of Improvement. He was a remarkably able man and his public spirit combined with his energy in promoting schemes for the improvement of the city made him one of the outstanding figures in Glasgow during the first three decades of the 19th century. For his achievements in statistics he was awarded an honorary LL.D from the University of Glasgow in 1826. He retired in 1834 and a building known as ‘The Cleland Testimonial’ was erected at the south east corner of Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Street and presented to him as a mark of public esteem. Although he was esteemed as a statistician and public administrator, Cleland designed a number of buildings. He also founded the Cleland Gold Medal at the University. He died on 14 October 1840. A portrait by William Ross appears on the website www.theglasgowstory.com. Publications by James Cleland, City of Glasgow Superintendent of Public Works 1816. Annals of Glasgow (republished 1820 - see below) 1820. Enumeration of the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow and its connected suburbs; together with population & statistical tables relative to Scotland & England. Glasgow, 1820. 41p. Statistics BB1444.G5 1820-C. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). Microform at University of London Library. Also at Dundee University Library. Advertisement: ‘recourse has been uniformly had to the public registers and other authentic documents. Should this first effort towards numerical classification, be periodically followed up in this important City, data will be furnished, from which the Political Economist may draw results beneficial to society’. p.1 ‘As the parochial Beadles, who were fixed on by Government, to prepare the Enumeration Lists, had no allowance for assistants, and as some of them had private business to transact, exclusive of their parochial engagements, it is impossible that the survey could be conducted without interruption; and if one or more of these persons, from these and other causes, made erroneous returns, the statement would necessarily be incorrect’. Enumerations recorded from circa 1560. Followed by details such as number of shops on Glasgow streets, a breakdown of population by age, religion and country of birth; a table of occupations, a statistical description of each parish with its boundaries; an annual record of births, marriages and deaths (with record of causes of death); record of income, property and assessed taxes; record of number of persons incarcerated for debt and delinquency; executions; statistical table of rate of wages of labour and money expended for poor relief; index and postscript of details of property pledged at pawnbrokers (including 48 Waterloo medals!) 1820 Description of the ten parishes into which the city of Glasgow was divided, in the year 1820, exhibiting the population of each parish; and a description of the twenty-four police wards. Glasgow, 1820. 20p. (also known as Cleland’s Classified Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the City and Suburbs). BG33-e.20; Mu26-d.5. 1820 The rise and progress of the city of Glasgow, comprising an account of its public buildings, charities and other concerns. 296p. Mu26-d.3. Includes and 88p appendix of statistics and a discussion of a variety of issues. Describes parishes, boundaries and population plus a description of the police wards and an abstract of population for each parish for 1820. 1823 Enumeration of the inhabitants of Scotland, taken from the Government abstracts of 1801, 1811, 1821. Glasgow, 1823. 91p. (GUL copy presented by Cleland) . AA1-b.29. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). Microform at University of London Library. EUL ‘It would be unjust not to mention, in this place, that Mr. Cleland has transmitted printed documents, containing very numerous and very useful Statistical Details concerning the City and Suburbs of Glasgow, and that the example has produced imitation in some other of the principal Towns in Scotland, though not to the same extent of minute investigation by which Mr. Cleland’s labours are distinguished’. Government Enumeration Volume, 1821 1823 A general view of the proportionate increased rate of population in the following 86 counties or districts in England, Wales, and Scotland; comparing the enumeration of 1821 with that of 1811. Edinburgh, 1823. 2 sheets. NLS. 1823 Statistical tables relative to the city of Glasgow with other matters therewith connected.. Glasgow, 1823. 208p. 3rd ed. Location as above. Microform at University of London Library. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). Available also via the Internet Archive (www.archive.org). EUL Additional information includes modes of church government, etc; details of the university and other schools of learning; meat, milk, bread; commerce and manufactures; weights and measures; hospitals and poor relief; Glasgow Provident Bank; historical scraps. 1828 Enumeration of the inhabitants of Scotland, taken …from the Government abstracts, containing an account of the population of every parish in Scotland, … from 1820 to 1828 inclusive. 102p. (Details of all Scots parishes, together with a view of the longevity in all the Counties. Cleland claims this as the first published compendium of its kind) Bo9-a.9 1828 Statistics. Carriages and steam-boats. 3p. Mu25-b.31. Dated 12th September 1828. Includes small table of Glasgow statistics. 1828 Statistical and population tables relative to the city of Glasgow, with an abstract of the conversion of weights and measures for the counties of Edinburgh, Lanark, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Ayr, Bute, Stirling, and Perth. Glasgow, 1828. 226p. 3rd ed. MLG 226p. Also at NLS, Essex UL. (Earlier edition in 1823 as Statistical tables…) 1831 Statistics of Glasgow and the county of Lanark. 7p. Mu25-b.31. An abstract from his classification for the census with details of a variety of statistics of population, religion, trade and business, livestock and other matters. Dated 21st September 1831 1831 Enumeration of the inhabitants of the City of Glasgow and County of Lanark for the Government census of 1831; with population and statistical tables relative to England and Scotland. 2nd. ed., 1831. 318p. EUL Special Collections 1831 Enumeration of the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow and county of Lanark for the government census of 1831. 192p. Copy at NLS at EL.4.79.5, a presentation copy inscribed to Sinclair. EUL. 1832 Enumeration of the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow and county of Lanark for the government census of 1831. 318p. 2nd ed. Bh14-x.7 NLS, EUL. London Borough of Hounslow. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). Microform at University of London Library. Includes appendix of biographical sketches of distinguished individuals, including James Watt and Sir John Moore. 1832 [A second edition of the] Statistics of Glasgow and the county of Lanark. 4p. 2nd ed. NLS. 1833 [Letter] to the Lord Provost, magistrates and council of Glasgow. 1833. 12p. Columbia UL 1834 Letter to His Grace the Duke of Hamilton … respecting the parochial registers of Scotland. 40p. (includes bills of mortality for Glasgow for 1820-1 and 1830-1) BG34-h.5; Ea4-f.2. Also at NLS, EUL, Essex UL, NLW. 1834 Statistics relative to Glasgow. Glasgow, 7p. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). BG33-g.7. Microform at University of London Library. This paper was drawn up for the BAAS meeting in Edinburgh on 8th September 1834. Subtitled: Glasgow: Bills of mortality. The paragraphs are headed ‘Concerning Births’, ‘Concerning Marriages’, ‘Concerning Deaths’, ‘Concerning the Population of Glasgow and its Suburbs’, ‘Bills of Mortality from 14th Dec. 1829 to 15th Dec. 1830’, ‘Classified List of the Ages of Persons in Glasgow and the suburban Parishes of Barony and Gorbals’, ‘Concerning the Probability of Human Life in Glasgow’, ‘Description of Householders’, ‘Country to which the Population belongs’, ‘Religion of the Population’, Number of Paupers and Expense of maintaining them’. 1836 A few statistical facts, descriptive of the former and present state of Glasgow. Drawn together for the Statistical Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science… Bristol, 22nd August 1836. 40p.BG33-g.7 1836 A historical account of bills of mortality and the probability of human life in Glasgow and other large towns. 16p. Microform at University of London Library. Available as Internet Resource via www.gale.com/ModernEconomy. (No subscribing institution in UK). Y10-f.3, BG33-g.7 Microform at University of London Library. 16p. Includes a discussion of registers of births, marriages and burials, in addition to tables of Glasgow mortality. 1837 Statistical facts descriptive of the former and present state of Glasgow. Read in the Statistical Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Bristol 22nd August 1836. 24p. BG33-g.7 1837 Supplement to the statistical tables of the city of Glasgow, descriptive of its former and present state. 24p. Associated to the above. Mu26-d.3 1840 A general view of the population, trade and commerce of the city of Glasgow. [23p] Prepared for the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Glasgow, 17th September 1840. Mu22-b.9, 12. 1840 The former and present state of Glasgow. 92p. Y10-f.3 (frontispiece title: The rise and progress of the city of Glasgow). This copy has extensive corrections by the author. 2nd ed. Also 1840 but 119p. ‘Preface: When it was fixed that the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1840, should be held in Glasgow, I felt desirous of contributing some information for the Statistical Section. From the continued infirm state of my health, however, I found that this would be very inconvenient; but I could not resist calling to mind the benefit which science received from the meeting in Edinburgh in 1834, when I had the honour of being associated as Joint Secretary to the Statistical Section… I therefore resolved to make the attempt of exhibiting the unprecedented increase which has taken place during the last twenty years in this my native city, particularly in population – trade and commerce – sailing and steam navigation – manufacture of malleable and pig iron – river dues – custom-house duties – post-office revenue – provident banks – intercourse with Glasgow, &c – an increase which must be alike interesting to the political economist and to the statesman.’ ‘I lie under deep obligation to actuaries at home and abroad; and the memory of the Right Hon. Sir John Sinclair, Bart., the father of Scotch statists, is ever dear to me.’ ‘As it is indispensible, on the score of health, that I leave Glasgow for a definite period, I prepared the following articles and sent them to press in detached pieces, as health would permit; and I trust that the circumstances will blunt the edge of criticism for the unavoidable want f classification in some of the articles.’ Also: 1835 An account of the City of Glasgow, for the New Statistical Account of Scotland, [drawn up by Very Reverend Duncan MacFarlan and James Cleland], 141p. GUL Y10-f.3 |
Private and Business Addresses
| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | |||||
| Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | |
 | Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland | Business | |||
Buildings and Designs
| This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | |||||||
| Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | |
| 1807 | Baths and lodging house | Ardrossan | Ayrshire | Scotland | ||
| 1807 | Grammar School | Glasgow | Scotland | |||
| 1810 | Post office | Glasgow | Scotland | |||
| 1812 | Magdalen Asylum | Glasgow | Scotland | |||
| 1812 | Tron Steeple | Glasgow | Scotland | Purchased the Tron Steeple building and employed David Hamilton to produce design for jail. | ||
| 1817 | City Halls and Bazaar | Candleriggs | Glasgow | Scotland | Responsible for the Bazaar adjoing the City Hall. | |
| 1820 | High School | Glasgow | Scotland | |||
| Before 1827 | St Enoch's Church | Glasgow | Scotland | Cleland claimed he altered St Enoch's before David Hamilton. | ||
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Chapman | 1822 | Picture of Glasgow | pp170, 190 | ||
| Cleland, J | 1878 | The History of the High School of Glasgow | Glasgow | ||
| Colvin, Howard | 2008 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | London: YUP. 4th edition | ||
| Edina website | www.edina.ac.uk | Accessed September 2014. | |||
| Eyre-Todd, G | 1934 | History of Glasgow | Volume iii, pp424-7 | ||
| Irving, Joseph | 1881 | The Book of Scotsmen | p72 | ||
| New DNB | New Dictionary of National Biography | ||||
| Renwick (ed.) | 1913 | Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Glasgow | chapters ix, x | ||
| Senex | 1884 | Glasgow Past and Present | I | p392 | |
| Senex | 1884 | Glasgow Past and Present | II | p129, 389 | |