[3][4] He was born in Auchtermuchty on 27 January 1848 the eldest son of John Glasse and educated there in the Free Church School.

[6] At Greyfriars he was at the centre of a socialist studies group held at his manse in Tantallon Place whose membership included Annie Besant, Peter Kropotkin, and William Morris.

[12] In his 1919 history of the Scottish Labour Party David Lowe observed that Glasse "gathered around him many ardent idealists, to whom he administered doses of Proudon and Marx".

[11] Glasse was a pivotal figure in the emergence of Scottish socialism in Edinburgh, going on to found the Glasgow branch of the Independent Labour Party with John Bruce Glasier.

[13] He was unusual for the time for being one of the few Church of Scotland ministers who was politically committed to the Labour movement before World War One.

[14] His holding a respected position within the Church while espousing socialist beliefs and publishing the below-mentioned pamphlets indicated a significant shift towards political pluralism in the attitudes of the Church since the middle of the 19th century, when radicals such as Rayner Stephens and Patrick Brewster had incurred more negative consequences for their beliefs.

[9] He wrote that "The object of my paper was to persuade the ministers and members of the Church of Scotland that they were not worthy of their privileges or position unless they resolved in the spirit of the prophets and of Jesus, and work along with Socialists in breaking every yoke and letting the oppressed go free.

[19] In response to an appeal by Edward Carpenter for songs for a forthcoming socialist songbook, Glasse wrote "A Processional Hymn", to be sung to the tune St Gertrude by Arthur Sullivan, which was printed in the 22 October 1882 edition of The Commonweal.