1st – 17th May 2026
Explore & Enjoy
2026 Events coming soon – plus new Blythswood Festival Awards 2026 – watch this space & Facebook
‘Square Mile of Murder’ workshop
May 5 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Dive into the dark tales and twisted mysteries behind Glasgow’s infamous Square Mile of Murder of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Join our Special Collections librarians to explore our resources relating to four notorious cases, and draw your own conclusions:
Madeleine Smith
The privileged daughter whose torrid love letters were read out in court. Did she murder her lover or was the case found ‘not proven’ because of her well-to-do background rather than lack of evidence?
Jessie McLachlan
Lucky not to be hanged, servant Jessie McLachlan still spent 15 years in Perth Prison for a horrific murder that no-one – except the judge and jury – thought she had committed. And the prime suspect? Never brought to trial for lack of evidence.
Dr Edward Pritchard
When Dr. Pritchard’s wife and mother-in-law died within a month of each other, an anonymous tip-off alerted the police to the possibility of foul play. Their bodies were exhumed, poison discovered and the philandering Pritchard became the last man to be publicly hanged in Glasgow in front of 100,000 spectators.
Oscar Slater
Wrongly-identified as the man seen leaving a crime scene, Oscar Slater spent 18 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Although innocent, he happened to be foreign, Jewish and living with a woman who was not his wife.
These murders, with the exception of the case of Dr. Pritchard, remain unsolved.
This event will take place in the Old Glasgow Room – access via Granville Street (accessible), or North Street (with steps).
Mitchell Library main entrance is in Granville Street G33 7EE
Free – but ticket required
