The seventeenth-century Coventanters were people who believed in the presbyterian form of Protestant worship and organisation, and who had signed the various National Covenants. This was as much a political act as a religious one as it flew in the face of the beliefs and power of the British monarchy. Scotland was intent on keeping its church independent from the English-based state machine and its episcopal church and this led to a political crisis as signing the Covenant was seen as treason. The resulting strife between the Scots and the government came to a head in the three decades up to 1690, during which some 18,000 people died in battles and persecutions such as the infamous `Killing Times` of the 1680s organised by John Graham of Claverhouse.

There are a number of Covenanting memorials in the Glasgow area, including The Martyrs` Tomb in Cathcart and the Covenanters` Memorial in Glasgow Cathedral.

This article is based on the guidebook "The Glasgow Guide".

This is The Martyrs` Tomb in Cathcart Old Parish Church Graveyard. It is the grave of three Covenanters murdered by government troops in 1685.