Overview of Barras, The

Established on a site near the Barrier's Gate, one of the old city gates of Glasgow, the Barras has been a part of the city's heritage since the early 1920s. The initiative of Maggie McIver, a native of Galston in East Ayrshire, who began renting street barrows at threepence a day or eightpence a week. In time she bought the land and built a roof to make the site permanent. Principally an area of market stalls, it has expanded to include 10 markets and in excess of 1000 stalls and shops. It is also the location of the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, the city's main rock concert venue.