The Merchants House of Glasgow

Talk: Domestic Bliss and the Hiss of Steam Engines

Join guest speaker Paul Noble as he continues to explore the life and legacy of the McHaffie family. Date: Thursday 30th July 2026 Time: 1 – 2pm Location: Merchants House of Glasgow Cost: £5 (all proceeds to charity) About the Event Come face to face with Betty McHaffie and her entrepreneurial husband David and learn how, from their humble beginnings, together they built a family and a fortune that would see them join the elite ranks of the mercantile class of Georgian Glasgow. Learn how Betty’s amiable temper and conduct would endear her to those who enjoyed her friendship and of David’s stoic work ethic and devotion to his family that drove him ever onwards. But fortune came with a ferocious cost and in David’s own words “may the story of our lives be of benefit to any who hear it, in showing the changes of life and uncertainty of all human affairs”. This event follows on from talks Paul did for us last year about the McHaffie family. Paul explains “When I recovered a few discarded items from beneath the floorboards of my 1930s South Side bungalow, little did I know that it would lead me on a remarkable journey through time, connecting my house and the land it sits upon to individuals from centuries past. The land was once owned by David McHaffie (1755-1837), who in 1780, at the age of 25, purchased his Burgess & Guild Brethren ticket. Through him, his eldest and youngest sons later joined the ranks of the Merchants House in 1820 and 1831, respectively.