Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

GLASGOW

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 86 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

GLASGOW  , a See also:

city, See also:county of a city, royal See also:burgh and See also:port of See also:Lanarkshire, See also:Scotland, situated on both See also:banks of the See also:Clyde, 4o1z M . N.W. of See also:London by the See also:West See also:Coast railway route, and 47 M . W.S.W. of See also:Edinburgh by the See also:North See also:British railway . The valley of the Clyde is closely confined by hills, and the city extends far over these, the irregularity of its site making for picturesqueness . The commercial centre of Glasgow, with the See also:majority of important public buildings, lies on the north See also:bank of the See also:river, which traverses the city from W.S.W. to E.N.E., and is crossed by a number of See also:bridges . The uppermost is Dalmarnock See also:Bridge, dating from 1891, and next below it is Rutherglen Bridge, rebuilt in 1896, and superseding a structure of 1775 . St See also:Andrew's suspension bridge gives See also:access to the See also:Green to the inhabitants of Hutchesontown, a See also:district which is approached also by See also:Albert Bridge, a handsome erection, leading from the Saltmarket . Above this bridge is the tidal See also:dam and See also:weir . See also:Victoria Bridge, of See also:granite, was opened in 1856, taking the See also:place of the See also:venerable bridge erected by See also:Bishop See also:Rae in 1345, which was demolished in 1847 . Then follows a suspension bridge (dating from 1853) by which See also:foot-passengers from the See also:south See also:side. obtain access to St See also:Enoch Square and, finally, the most important bridge of all is reached, variously known as Glasgow, See also:Jamaica See also:Street, or Broomielaw Bridge, built of granite from See also:Telford's designs and first used in 1835 . Towards the See also:close of the See also:century it was reconstructed, and reopened in 1899 . At the busier periods of the See also:day it bears a very heavy See also:traffic .

The stream is spanned between Victoria and Albert Bridges by a bridge belonging to the Glasgow & South-Western railway and by two GLASGOW bridges carrying the lines of the Caledonian railway, one below Dalmarnock Bridge and the other a massive See also:

work immediately west of Glasgow Bridge . Buildings.—See also:George Square, in the See also:heart of the city, is an open space of which every possible See also:advantage has been taken . On its eastern side stand the municipal buildings, a palatial See also:pile in Venetian See also:renaissance See also:style, from the designs of See also:William See also:Young, a native of See also:Paisley . They were opened in 1889 and cost nearly £600,000 . They See also:form a square See also:block four storeys high and carry a domed See also:turret at each end of the western See also:facade, from the centre of which rises a massive See also:tower . The entrance See also:hall and See also:grand See also:staircase, the See also:council chamber, banqueting hall and reception rooms are decorated in a grandiose style, not unbecoming to the commercial and See also:industrial See also:metropolis of Scotland . Several additional blocks have been built or rented for the See also:accommodation of the municipal See also:staff . Admirably equipped sanitary See also:chambers were opened in 1897, including a bacteriological and chemical laboratory . Up till 1810 the See also:town council met in a hall adjoining the old tolbooth . It then moved to the See also:fine classical structure at the foot of the Saltmarket, which is now used as See also:court-houses . This was vacated in . 1842 for the county buildings in See also:Wilson Street .

Growth of business compelled another See also:

migration to See also:Ingram Street in 1875, and, fourteen years later, it occupied its See also:present quarters . On the See also:southern side of George Square the See also:chief structure is the massive See also:General See also:Post See also:Office . On the western side stand two ornate See also:Italian buildings, the Bank of Scotland and the Merchants' See also:House, the See also:head of which (the See also:dean of gild), along with the head of the Trades' House (the See also:deacon-convener of trades) has been de facto member of the town council since 1711, an arrangement devised with a view to adjusting the frequent disputes between the two See also:gilds . The Royal See also:Exchange, a Corinthian See also:building with a fine See also:portico of columns in two rows, is an admired example of the work of See also:David See also:Hamilton (1768-1843), a native of Glasgow, who designed several of the public buildings and churches, and gained the second See also:prize for a See also:design for the Houses of See also:Parliament . The See also:news-See also:room of the exchange is a vast apartment, 130 ft. See also:long, 6o ft. wide, 130 ft. high, with a richly-decorated roof supported by Corinthian pillars . See also:Buchanan Street, the most important and handsome street in the city, contains the Stock Exchange, the Western See also:Club House (by David Hamilton) and the offices of the Glasgow See also:Herald . In Sauchiehall Street are the Fine See also:Art See also:Institute and the former See also:Corporation Art See also:Gallery . See also:Argyll Street, the busiest thoroughfare, mainly occupied with shops, leads to Trongate, where a few remains of the old town are now carefully preserved . On the south side of the street, spanning the See also:pavement, stands the Tron See also:Steeple, a stunted See also:spire dating from 1637 . It is all that is See also:left of St See also:Mary's See also:church, which was burned down in 1793 during the See also:revels of a notorious See also:body known as the See also:Hell See also:Fire Club . On the opposite side, at the corner of High Street, stood the See also:ancient tolbooth, or See also:prison, a turreted building, five storeys high, with a fine Jacobean See also:crown tower . The only remnant of the structure is the tower known as the See also:Cross Steeple .

Although almost all the old public buildings of Glasgow have been swept away, the See also:

cathedral remains in excellent preservation . It stands in the north-eastern See also:quarter of the city at a height of 104 ft. above the level of the Clyde . It is a Mungo's beautiful example of See also:Early See also:English work, impressive Cathedral. in its simplicity . Its form is that of a Latin cross, with imperfect transepts . Its length from See also:east to west is 319 ft., and its width 63 ft.; the height of the See also:choir is 93 ft., and of the See also:nave 85 ft . At the centre rises a fine tower, with a See also:short octagonal spire, 225 ft. high . The choir, locally known as the High Church, serves as one of the city churches, and the extreme east end of it forms the See also:Lady See also:chapel . The See also:rich western See also:doorway is See also:French in design but English in details . The See also:chapter-house projects from the north-eastern corner and somewhat See also:mars the See also:harmony of the effect . It was built in the 15th century and has a groined roof supported by a See also:pillar 20 ft. high . Many citizens have contributed towards filling the windows with stained See also:glass, executed at See also:Munich, true See also:government providing the eastern ;tlorm.tlos emL,.y.J trom.L . ON lurey. by permiel.n .t lb .

Copwll./ N fl . N.8.e.iwerg pffier . GLASGOW and Environs English See also:

Miles o 2 t . Buchanan Street Station t; . St.Mungo's Catnedral a . See also:Queen Street Station ts . Onnarsity Central Station 1f . See also:Anderson Coiltyc Y St.Enpch Station - f4 Royal Botanic Cardene S . Bridge Street Station 1T . Thectre Rog.' 6 . See also:Bridgeton Cross Station 1B Oaimcrroch Bridge 7 . George Square 1e .

Ruthergien Bridge B . Municipal Buildings - us . SL See also:

Andrews Bridge 9 . Post Office _ t . Aibert Bridge o . Royal facnangs ' an . Victoria Bridge 11 . Stock &See also:change s; . Suspension' Bridge 12 . Ton Steeple se . Clasgou Bridge Ernety Wnlltet sc . window in recognition of their enterprise .

The See also:

crypt beneath the choir is not the least remarkable See also:part of the edifice, being without equal.in Scotland . It is See also:borne on 65 pillars and lighted by 41 windows . The See also:sculpture of the capitals of the columns and bosses of the groined vaulting is exquisite and the whole is in excellent preservation . Strictly speaking, it is not a crypt, but a See also:lower church adapted to the sloping ground of the right bank of the Molendinar See also:burn . The dripping See also:aisle is so named from the See also:constant dropping of See also:water from the roof . St Mungo's Well in the south-eastern corner was considered to possess therapeutic virtues, and in the crypt a recumbent effigy, headless and handless, is faithfully accepted as the See also:tomb of See also:Kentigern . The cathedral contains few monuments of exceptional merit, but the surrounding graveyard is almost completely paved with tombstones . In 1115 an investigation was ordered by David, See also:prince of Cumbria, into the lands and churches belonging to the bishopric, and from the See also:deed then See also:drawn up it is clear that at that date a cathedral had already been endowed . When David ascended the See also:throne in 1124 he gave to the see of Glasgow the lands of See also:Partick, besides restoring many possessions of which it had been deprived . Jocelin (d . 1199), made bishop in 1174, was the first See also:great bishop, and is memorable for his efforts to replace the cathedral built in 1136 by Bishop See also:John Achaius, which had been destroyed by fire . The crypt is his work, and he began the choir; Lady chapel, and central tower .

The new structure was sufficiently advanced to be dedicated in 1197 . Other famous bishops were See also:

Robert See also:Wishart (d . 1316), appointed in 1272, who was among the first to join in the revolt of See also:Wallace, and received Robert See also:Bruce when he See also:lay under the See also:ban of the church for the See also:murder of See also:Comyn; John See also:Cameron (d . 1446), appointed in 1428, under whom the building as it stands was completed; and William Turnbull (d . 1454), appointed in 1447, who founded the university in 1450 . See also:James See also:Beaton or See also:Bethune (1517–1603) was the last See also:Roman See also:Catholic See also:archbishop . He fled to See also:France at the See also:reformation in 156o, and took with him the treasures and records of the see, including the Red See also:Book of Glasgow dating from the reign of Robert III . The documents were deposited in the Scots See also:College in See also:Paris, were sent at the outbreak of the Revolution for safety to St Omer, and were never recovered . This loss explains the paucity of the earlier See also:annals of the city . The zeal of the Reformers led them to threaten to mutilate the cathedral, but the building was saved by the prompt See also:action of the craftsmen, who mustered in force and dispersed the fanatics . Excepting the cathedral, none of the Glasgow churches possesses See also:historical See also:interest; and, speaking generally, it is only the buildings that have been erected since the churches. beginning of the 19th century that have pronounced I architectural merit . This was due largely to the long survival i of the severe sentiment of the See also:Covenanters, who discouraged,• if they did not actually forbid, the raising of temples of beautiful design .

Representative examples of later work are found in the See also:

United See also:Free churches in See also:Vincent Street, in See also:Caledonia Road and at Queen's See also:Park, designed by See also:Alexander See also:Thomson (1817-1875), an architect of distinct originality; St George's church, in West George Street, a remarkable work by William See also:Stark, erected in the beginning of the 19th century; St Andrew's church in St Andrew's Square off the Saltmarket, modelled after St See also:Martin's-in-the-See also:Fields, London, with a fine Roman portico; some of the older See also:parish churches, such as St Enoch's, dating from 178o, with a See also:good spire (the See also:saint's name is said to be a corruption of Tanew, See also:mother of Kentigern); the episcopal church of St Mary (187o), in Great Western Road, by See also:Sir G . G . See also:Scott; the Roman Catholic cathedral of St Andrew, on the river-bank between Victoria . and Broomielaw bridges; the See also:Barony church, replacing the older See also:kirk in which See also:Norman See also:Macleod ministered; and several admirable structures, well situated, on the eastern confines of Kelvingrove Park . The See also:principal burying-ground is the See also:Necropolis, occupying See also:Fir Park, a See also:hill about 300 ft. high in the See also:northern part of the city . It provides a not inappropriate background to the cathedral, from which it is approached by a bridge, known as the " Bridge of Sighs," over the Molendinar See also:ravine . The ground, which once formed portion of the See also:estate of Wester Craigs, belongs to the Merchants' House, which See also:purchased it in 165o from Sir Ludovic See also:Stewart of See also:Minto . A Doric See also:column to the memory of See also:Knox, surmounted by a See also:colossal statue of the reformer, was erected by public subscription on the crown of the height in 1824, and a few years later the See also:idea arose of utilizing the See also:land as a See also:cemetery . The See also:Jews have reserved for their own See also:people a detached See also:area in the north-western corner of the cemetery . See also:Education.—The university, ' founded in 1450 by Bishop Turnbull under a See also:bull of See also:Pope See also:Nicholas V., survived in its old quarters till far in the 19th century . The paedagogium, or college of arts, was at first housed in Rottenrow, but was moved in 1460 to a site in High Street, where Sir James Hamilton of Cadzow, first See also:Lord Hamilton (d . 1479), gave it four acres of land and some buildings . Queen Mary bestowed upon it thirteen acres of contiguous ground, and her son granted it a new See also:charter and enlarged the endowments .

See also:

Prior to the Revolution its fortunes fluctuated, but in the 18th century it became very famous . By the See also:middle of the 19th century, however, its surroundings had deteriorated, and in 186o it was decided to rebuild it elsewhere . The ground had enormously increased in value and a railway See also:company purchased it for £See also:loo,000 . In 1864 the university bought the See also:Gilmore Hill estate for £65,000, the adjacent See also:property of Dowan Hill for £16,000 and the property of Clayslaps for £17,400 . Sir G . G . Scott was appointed architect and selected as the site of the university buildings the See also:ridge of Gilmore Hill—the finest situation in .Glasgow . The design is Early English with a See also:suggestion in parts of the Scots-French style of a much later See also:period . The See also:main structure is 540 ft. long and 300 ft. broad . The principal front faces southwards and consists of a lofty central tower with spire and corner blocks with turrets, between which are buildings of lower height . Behind the tower lies the See also:Bute hall, built on cloisters, binding together the various departments and smaller halls, and dividing the massive edifice into an eastern and western quadrangle, on two sides of which are ranged the class-rooms in two storeys . The northern facade comprises two corner blocks, besides the museum, the library and, in the centre, the students' See also:reading-room on one See also:floor and the Hunterian museum on the floor above .

On the south the ground falls in terraces towards Kelvingrove Park and the See also:

Kelvin . On the west, but apart from the main structure, stand, the houses of the principal and professors . The See also:foundation . See also:stone was laid in 1868 and the opening ceremony was held in 1870 . The See also:total cost of the university buildings amounted to £500,000, towards which government contributed £120,000 and public subscription £250,000 . The third See also:marquess of Bute (1847-1900) gave £40,000 to provide the Bute or See also:common hall, a room of fine proportions fitted in See also:Gothic style and divided by a beautiful Gothic See also:screen from the See also:Randolph hall, named after another benefactor, See also:Charles Randolph (1809-1878), a native of See also:Stirling, who had prospered as shipbuilder and marine engineer and left £6o,000 to the university . The graceful spire surmounting the tower was provided from the See also:bequest of £5000 by Mr A . See also:Cunningham, See also:deputy town-clerk, and Dr John M`Intyre erected the Students' See also:Union at a cost of £5000, while other donors completed the equipment so generously that the See also:senate was enabled to carry on its work, for the first See also:time in its See also:history, in almost ideal circumstances . The library includes the collection of Sir William Hamilton, and the Hunterian museum; bequeathed by William See also:Hunter, the anatomist, is particularly rich in coins, medals, See also:black-See also:letter books and anatomical preparations . The See also:observatory on Dowan Hill is attached to the See also:chair of See also:astronomy . An interesting See also:link with the past are the exhibitions founded by John See also:Snell (1629-1679), a native of Colmonell in See also:Ayrshire, for the purpose of enabling students of distinction to continue their career at Balliol College, See also:Oxford . Amongst distinguished exhibitioners have been See also:Adam See also:Smith, John See also: