The Ballad of Betsy Bell and Mary Gray

This verse on this glass panel is from one of the traditional Child Ballads.

Betsy Bell and Mary Gray were daughters of two Perthshire gentlemen who in 1666 built themselves a bower to live in to avoid catching the plague. They were supplied with food by a lad who was in love with both of them. However, he caught the plague and passed it on to them. All three sickened and died.

In 1898 there were 58 glass stainers, embossers and guilders in Glasgow. This panel ( see extra photo ) was designed by Harrington Mann, one of the Glasgow Boys around 1896 and made by Guthrie & Wells.