Exploring Glasgow

Glasgow boasts 70 public parks and open spaces, each with its own distinctive charm. On the north bank of the Clyde in the East End is its oldest, Glasgow Green. Originally common grazing land, it has served also for drying greens, bleaching linen, drying salmon nets, sports area, the site for Glasgow Fair, protest marches, hangings, markets, circuses, and theatres.

Its history begins in 1450 when James II granted the Green to Bishop William Turnbull for use as common grazing ground. In the nineteenth century, women gradually started using the area as a drying green and for washing and bleaching linen.

Between 1817 and 1826 unemployed weavers carried out the work to level and drain the land including running the Molendinar Burn, traditionally believed to be where St. Mungo baptised Christian converts in the sixth century, underground. Despite a bye-law introduced in 1819 outlawing sporting and leisure pursuits, golf, tennis, swimming and of course, football were all popular pastimes.

The most important leisure associated with the Green is the Glasgow Fair, which began in the 12th century. The fair originally included sales of horses, cattle, and hiring servants. In the 19th century it began to attract amusements such as theatres, circuses, and drinking booths.

As at Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park, the Green became the place to listen to religious and political speakers debating such causes as electoral reform, trade union rights and women's suffrage. Over the years it has seen off threats to its existence from proposed coal mines, railways, and motorways and remains a vibrant public space at the heart of the city.

Standing behind the People’s Palace is the largest terra-cotta fountain in the world and the best example of its kind. It has five tiers, is 46 feet high and 70 feet across the base – the third of the width of a football pitch. It was gifted by Sir Henry Doulton of the family know for fine tableware and collectables. A sculptural extravaganza, the fountain is designed to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, and celebrate Britain’s Imperial achievements. The fountain’s figurative groups represent Australia, Canada, India, and South Africa.

Across from the People’s Palace is an amazing building - the Templeton’s Carpet Factory. In the late 19th century, its owners wanted to build a carpet factory but the city council rejecting their design proposals. Finally architect William Leiper proposed modelled it on the Doge's Palace in Venice. It was built in 1892 in polychromatic brick - orange, yellow, blue, with turrets and arched and circular windows. It is now a business centre and well worth seeing.

Other items worth a look are: the imposing McLellan Arch at the entrance to the park, James Martin Fountain, Collins Fountain, the High Court of the Justiciary and Nelson's Monument. Standing 44 metres high this obelisk was the first civic monument in Britain to Nelson’s victories.

James Watt came up with his ideas for improving the steam engine here so visit and who knows?

Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art is the second most visited outside London. Opened in 1996, its elegant, neoclassical building is a work of art in itself. On offer are a programme of temporary exhibitions and workshops by local and international artists. Most thought provoking during my visit were displays addressing present-day social issues.

‘Histrionics’ is an exhibition of new work by Glasgow-trained and based artist Roderick Buchanan, which addresses sectarianism and related issues. In 2006 there were 260 political and religious marches in Glasgow and at a minimum of one mile each that would be about 10 marathons. Glasgow contains two major football clubs one of which has Catholic roots and the other Protestant and the fierce competition between them helps to keep the sectarian divide open.

Roderick display includes a large, red, triangular theatre that takes over the roomy Gallery 1. Inside are two revolving films of Loyalist and Republican flute bands performing. On the outside walls of the theatre are displays ranging from photographs of Celtic and Rangers football players to information on historical figures that helped foster the sectarian divide.

It may be stretching one’s definition of art but there is something hypnotic about a marching band that entices people to follow it. Those bands representing opposing sects countermarching also help keep the sectarian divide open. ‘Love thy neighbour doesn’t come into it! Buchanan is reflecting on undesirable parts of Scottish culture, and holding up a mirror to it.

Also following the theme is the ‘Perfectly Wholesome’ exhibition. Councillors identified people who could provide information on sectarianism in Glasgow, and began a series of recorded research interviews. What became obvious was how importance walks, parades and marches were. When the group looked through the footage to develop artwork, it became clear the research films were so powerful that they should become the artwork itself. They appears on a continuous loop, and we become aware while watching them that there are many layers to this complex issue.

The Contemporary Collection is a changing collection. Pop artist Andy Warhol’s work is to appear soon! Currently the collection contains collections by Glasgow-based artists at different stages of their careers. All the artists represented studied at Glasgow School of Art, and most continue to live and work in Glasgow. Like modern art everywhere some of it appears delusional but experimentation is everything in modern art. One collection contains art from homes in a particular housing estate. It shows the broad range of art people do appreciation, which is fairly conservative.

Part of the job of modern art galleries is to be controversial or at least thought provoking. The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art performs the task admirably. It is a free Gallery and worth visiting both for the art which will make you pause to ponder and to see its building which once belonged to a tobacco baron and was at one time the finest house in Scotland.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum opened in 1901 and is still going strong. In the UK only London museums can match its popularity. Its curious red sandstone Spanish Baroque building holds 8,000 display items and is the most popular in Glasgow.

On entering beautifully gilded ceilings and magnificent stonework greeted us. A Glasgow Squadron Spitfire suspended from the ceiling appears to swoop low over a display of exotic animals. On a balcony above us the second largest organ in Scotland struck up as a concert began. The building designed with such events in mind has acoustics among the finest.

The layout borrows from retail with the most popular displays such as ancient Egypt, the French impressionists and Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the extremities to draw people through. Art and artifacts combine to form stories that enthral the visitor.

Kids are welcome. The ground floor contains a Mini Museum, which gives them a chance to enjoy hands-on experience. The Environment Discover Centre also offers educational interactive displays. Other galleries on the ground floor include Creatures of the Past, Ancient Egypt, Glasgow Stories which could fill a museum by itself, Scotland's Wildlife, Scottish Art, Looking at Art, Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style, Looking at Design and Expression. This latter is especially eye-catching and a favourite with photographers. It consists of many heads, each with a different expression, floating above sculptures.

The first floor homes the multimedia Object Cinema, the History Discovery Centre, and the Study Centre. There is a strong focus on Scottish artwork with exhibitions such as Scottish Identity in Art, Glasgow and the World, Scotland's First People, Sculpture Highlights, and Picture Promenade.

There is also a display of Italian Renaissance art including the Madonna and Child with the infant St John and two Angels, from the workshop of Pesellino. The French 19th century display includes the beautiful contributions of Monet and Vuillard and works by Rembrant appear within the Dutch painting section. Perhaps the most famous piece is Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali. It shows Christ on the Cross high above the world looking down. It is the major icon which people from all over the world visit to see.

Conflict and Consequence displays everything from the grandeur and spectacle of the cult of the warrior through to the Holocaust. Conflict is a display with armoury and weaponry spread between the battle scenes staged using armoured mannequins.

The most interesting part of the basement, which contains the restaurant and shop, is a piece between Glaswegian composer Craig Armstrong and Scottish visual artists Dalziel and Scullion, which combine sounds and imagery of Glasgow.

Rarely do you walk into a museum or gallery and find such a diverse public enjoying the history of not only such a beautiful building but also its contents. This is a testament to the successful recent restoration and updating of the museum. This Art Gallery and Museum is worth many visits, and why not - admission is free!

The People’s Palace sits at the heart of the historic Glasgow Green by the River Clyde. This free museum covers the social history of Glasgow, with displays on how ordinary people have lived their lives since the industrial age. You can see paintings, prints, and photographs displayed alongside a wealth of historic artifacts, film, and interactive displays - good for kids.

The red brick building itself was purpose-built in 1898 as a cultural museum for the people of Glasgow’s East End. The large glass-topped atrium in the back contains an exotic garden, known as the Winter Gardens, and cafe. Wandering round the displays gives a real feel of living in Glasgow and what makes its people the way they are.

Over 20,000 Glasgwegians lost their lives in the World War I alone. Personal stories bring the visitor into the period. For instance there is Private James Riley. A German Drill book he had picked up saved his life. The bullet went through the book but only dented a shaving mirror behind it. An Anderson Shelter on display, a small hut made of steel sheets, showed the poor protection for many from bombs in World War II.

On the top floor is the Glasgow history painting series made by artist Ken Currie in 1987. The series commemorates the massacre of the Calton Weavers, which marked the birth of the trade union movement and visually presents the political history of working-class struggle in the city.

The displays also explain the Glasgow dialect, speech patterns, and expressions that even Scots from outside the city can have trouble deciphering. I loved the shows featured clips of comedian Billy Connelly and the TV show Rab C Nesbitt.

I also found the displays on dancing at the Barrowlands funny. The building opened in 1934 and could hold 2,000 dancers. Any woman not getting dances was likely to dread these words, ‘come on lads she paid her tanner and is entitled to a dance’. Beetroot red would probably describe her.

Boards showing how petty hanging offences could be. A stark bare little prisoner’s cell showed little indication of the rights they now claim. Marriage and attitudes towards it receive attention. Total ignorance towards sex was the rule for many. Wife’s comments gave the impression that some of the men were sex mad beasts – headaches were of no concern.

In overcrowded Glasgow, the tenement city, until the 1940s most Glasgwegians lived in a one-or two roomed house. An example room brings the grim conditions to life. These people worked in what was the workshop of the world. The industry then and its disappearance are explained.

What I like about this museum is that it shows what people get up to in their spare time, how they live and entertain themselves. The People's Palace is the first port of call for anyone who wants to know why Glasgwegians are the way they are.

Union with England propelled Glasgow into becoming second city in the Empire. Its sailing ships often crossed the Atlantic before those from London could even clear the Channel. Combined with astute business sense Glasgow merchants made millions out of the tobacco trade. The wealth they created fuelled expansion and laid the foundations for Glasgow’s industrial revolution. Expansions in trade included shipping sugar and tea to the Clyde and manufactured goods to the Americas.

These wealthy merchants built classical villas to the west of the old town. Warehouses and commodity markets also sprang up. This area with its wide, straight streets, vistas, and squares became Merchant City. Virginia, Jamaica, Tobago and Antigua streets recall the locations of the ‘baron’s’ estates and their western trading partners. The Virginia Buildings in Virginia Street was the meeting place for many in the tobacco trade.

The Merchant City transformed in recent years as a residential, shopping and leisure area is a pleasant and interesting area to explore. A good place to start is Hutchesons' Hall, at 158 Ingram Street. It is a distinguished Georgian building in neoclassical style with a traditional Scottish ‘townhouse’ steeple. On its frontage are statues of the founders of Hutchesons' Hospital, George and Thomas Hutcheson. It is now the National Trust for Scotland's regional headquarters. Inside are a shop and an information service. Upstairs is a sumptuous hall remodelled in 1876.

The former tobacco and sugar exchange in Crown Arcade is now beautifully converted to a glass-roofed arcade of antique and craft shops. At 42 Miller Street you'll find the oldest surviving house, the Tobacco Laird's House, dating from 1775.

William Cunninghame, a tobacco merchant, build in Queen Street one of the finest houses in Scotland. Now further extended the property forms the Gallery of Modern Art. Few of the 400,000 people who visit the gallery each year will realise that they are in the house of a tobacco baron.

Nearby, on Ingram Street, is another fine building, ‘The Corinthian’ dating from 1879. Its interior riches are now a stunning combination of bars, restaurants, and meeting rooms. It is impressive at night when floodlit.

At 85 Glassford Street is Glasgow's oldest secular building, the Trades Hall, designed by Robert Adam and built in 1794 as the headquarters of the city's trade guilds. It still serves its original purpose. It is one of the few public buildings in Glasgow to have its own Masonic Hall, where the Trades House Lodge and several other lodges meet. Apart from the medieval cathedral, it is the oldest building in Glasgow still used for its original purpose.

In George Square is the City Chambers one of the finest public buildings of 19th century Britain. It took seven years to build and engaged skills from as far a field as France and Italy. Daily tours are available.

Get a copy of ‘Merchant City Trail’ from the tourist office in George Square and get exploring. I have only mentioned a fraction of what is on offer here.