There's nothing like a good bit of class warfare to stir the emotions.

Nowadays ramblers and hillwalkers often find themselves locked in conflict with foreign landowners who try to deny them the right to roam in the Scottish countryside.

But Alexander Allan was no foreigner - he was a Glaswegian and a very rich one at that.

A sugar baron, Mr Allan owned Newhall, a mansion in the newly-established east end village of Bridgeton.

His house overlooked the Clyde but Allan had one problem - he couldn't directly access the riverside because of a public footpath that had been there since time immemorial.

It was extremely popular with his fellow Glaswegians, most of them far less fortunate than he was.

So he decided to take action to keep them off what he regarded as his property.

Allan built a large earthworks covering the pathway close to where Rutherglen Bridge now stands.

He then reinforced it with stone walls and had a tunnel built through it so the walkway wasn't blocked off entirely.

It became known as Allan's Pen and caused what, in Glasgow, can only be described as a massive stooshie.

The people of the area were incensed, partly because their rights had been infringed, but more importantly because Mr Allan presumed his wealth had given him the right to act in the way he had.

Local weavers refused to work for him, even when he promised to up his prices.

There was never any direct action taken but Allan felt the full force of the wrath of the good people of Bridgeton.

Ironically the matter was settled not through any human endeavours but by the forces of nature.

During a particularly bad winter the Clyde at Dalmarnock and Bridgeton became frozen over and then flooded the area, washing away Allan's notorious "pen".

The plaque that marks the spot was put there by Glasgow Corporation in 1938. It reads simply: "The Site of Allan's Pen."

Finding the plaque is not easy, it is hidden in the wall a few hundred yards from Rutherglen Bridge.

The walkway is more popular than ever with no hint of the controversy of the late 1700s.