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The Hope St Tunnel

PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2004 11:48 pm
by Fossil
Does anyone know about the tunnel running from the Theatre Royal to Central Station down Hope Street. I’ve been told it was built for Queen Victoria visit. It would have been used if there had been civil unrest or if there was fear of an attempt on Her life, while visiting the theatre.
Was it built for her ? Or was it already built for industrial use, any ideas?

hope street tunnel

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 9:02 am
by stunev
Is there a danger that we're getting a bit carried away and imagining tunnels all over the city?

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 9:31 am
by jim
Fuck it! Lets get carried away!

Re: The Hope St Tunnel

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 4:39 pm
by JayKay
The Modern Fossil wrote:Does anyone know about the tunnel running from the Theatre Royal to Central Station down Hope Street. I’ve been told it was built for Queen Victoria visit. It would have been used if there had been civil unrest or if there was fear of an attempt on Her life, while visiting the theatre.
Was it built for her ? Or was it already built for industrial use, any ideas?


Interesting...I was in Hope Street yesterday and I noticed another of the alleged "vents", metal thingy about three feet high full of slats that was merrily pumping out air. Like the one beside the N Hanover Street/Cathedral Street building.

It was beside the Hope Street Post office building,/Molly Malones which apart from housing a Post Office on the ground floor, has the overall look of being a converted GPO building. It is of course next door to a large concrete/reinforced looking office in Renfrew Street which I believe has a BT function.

Re: hope street tunnel

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 6:47 pm
by Fossil
stunev wrote:Is there a danger that we're getting a bit carried away and imagining tunnels all over the city?


I’ve heard about this tunnel from few different sources so I don’t believe I'm imagining them just following up a lead, and where better than here…..

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 9:59 pm
by Ronnie
The BT building behind the Post Office is a telehone exchange, as far as I know.
As for the tunnel, I would say:
+ When did Victoria visit Glasgow?
+ Was there a lot of anti-Royal or anti-establishment feeling around?
+ Who would have paid for the tunnel?
+ Why is it not in any of the records?
+ The geology of the north city centre doesn't lend itself to tunneling, to it would have to have been constructed by cut and cover, which is not a very secret operation - so where are the records in the Herald, the histories and the memoirs?
Sorry if I'm bursting anyone's bubbles ...

PostPosted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 10:37 pm
by Fossil
hi Ronnie
..no probs. I've just heard this over the years and just wanted to get the facts.
bubbles still intact :)

Victoria "first visited Glasgow in August 1849"
http://www.seeglasgow.com/seeglasgow/FAQ.asp?lang=1
then she came back for....
http://www.scotcolour.com/lowlandspm/gl ... square.htm

cheers

PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:14 am
by crusty_bint
"Cut and Cover" is not the only method thatt would have been available to engineers at this time so it could be possible there is something there. Although, Im not sure why they would have built an escape tunnel for Victoria's visit?
If it does exist it's probably connected to this GPO network thats been suggested in one of the other tunnel threads?

that building in renfrew street

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 12:52 pm
by Seamey
If it's just a telephone exchange - why the razor wire on the roof?

Seamey

Re: that building in renfrew street

PostPosted: Thu Mar 04, 2004 7:03 pm
by stinkpad
Seamey wrote:If it's just a telephone exchange - why the razor wire on the roof?

Seamey


um, perhaps because it's a telephone exchange?

PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2004 1:49 pm
by caine
yeah he's got a point. this is a business to them, so they're not going to want plebs trying to break in and destroy thousands upon thousands of £'s worth of equipment are they?

PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2004 2:04 pm
by DVF
It's more likely to keep people off the roof. There is a transmitter tower up there with some VERY powerful (therefore very dangerous)pieces of kit on it, not just thousands of pounds worth, we're talking millions.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:11 pm
by caine
hence the razor wire. :D

PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:19 pm
by caine
hence the razor wire. :D

Re: The Hope St Tunnel

PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:56 pm
by Grahame
The Modern Fossil wrote:Does anyone know about the tunnel running from the Theatre Royal to Central Station down Hope Street. I’ve been told it was built for Queen Victoria visit.


Hmmm... very dubious about this theory. I used to work in Theatre Royal and have never heard of such a thing. Although it does have a pretty deep basement so it's not completely out of the question I guess. I'll ask next time I'm in.