Merchant Steeple

Moderators: John, Sharon, Fossil, Lucky Poet, crusty_bint, Jazza, dazza

Postby HollowHorn » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:39 pm

Did you actually read the link, Dex? Evidence please.
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Postby Dexter St. Clair » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:01 am

I am keeping it for my talk at the Mitchell in Black History month when I reveal the secret of The Bothwell Street tunnel, White slavery and the whereabouts of Shergar.
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Postby crusty_bint » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:35 am

why do you bother coming here Dex?
here i go, it's coming for me through the trees
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Postby bcuk10 » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:39 pm

Image
steeple jack at work ::):

a great set of pictuers Alex
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Postby onyirtodd » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:47 pm

crusty_bint wrote:why do you bother coming here Dex?


This is where he gets the warmest welcome.
238 to 127. All in all a good afternoon's work
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Postby Alex Glass » Wed Sep 05, 2007 9:53 pm

and he makes me smile :)
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Postby dazza » Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:54 pm

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image
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Postby HollowHorn » Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:23 pm

Very moody, Daz, very nice indeed.
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Postby dazza » Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:50 pm

Thank you :wink:
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Re: Merchant Steeple

Postby HollowHorn » Sun Nov 04, 2007 4:56 pm

Early view of the Merchant Steeple:
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For more than 400 years after it was built c 1350, Glasgow Bridge (also known as Bishop Rae's Bridge, Great Bridge, Old Bridge and Stockwell Street Bridge) was the only bridge over the River Clyde. This view is taken from Select Views of Glasgow and its Environs published in 1828. Note the activity on the banks of the relatively unpolluted river - a horse drinks, women wash clothes and a man is setting off on a fishing expedition.
Over the years the hump-backed bridge was widened and strengthened. In 1765 the town council was forced to make repairs to the structure in the face of complaints from the inhabitants of the south side. Thomas Telford added lamps (visible in this illustration) and cast-iron footpaths when he widened the bridge in 1821. It was demolished in 1847 and its replacement, Victoria Bridge, was completed in 1854.
The Glasgow Story


The Merchants' Hall was built in 1659 on the south side of Bridgegate. The ground floor was taken up by shops whilst the first floor contained the main hall which was used primarily for meetings. The hall was said to have been 80 feet long with portraits of eminent benefactors to the poor on the walls and a model of a ship hanging from the centre of the ceiling. Old and destitute merchants were also housed on the premises.
The main body of the building was taken down in 1818 to make way for tenements. The Merchants' Steeple (erected in 1665) was spared and in 1886 an extension to the fish market was built around it. The steeple is 164 feet tall and Gothic in style, apart from the upper ballustrades which have a Renaissance flavour. The clock, at the top of the first section of the tower is of molten brass and the spire is mounted with a copper ship on a globe (the badge of the Merchants' House) in place of a weathervane.
The Glasgow Story


Guildry Court was erected on the site of the Merchants' House on the south side of the Bridgegate. It was later replaced by the fish market.

From View of the Guildry and Merchants House of Glasgow, by Archibald Orr Ewing, Glasgow 1817
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Photograph of Guildry Court (circa 1890s)from an album of views of Glasgow.
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Glasgow University Special Collections


The area in 1807 , before the construction of Guildry Court:
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http://www.nls.uk/maps/early/788.html

1857-58: Guildry Court would be around 40 years old by this time
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http://www.nls.uk/maps/townplans/glasgow_1.html

1872 AD
A new Fish Market was opened and it was situated between Clyde Street and Bridgegate.
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Business/Markets/chronicleofglasgowsfishfruitvegetableandflowermarket.htm




In 1892-94 Both Guildry Court & the Fish Market can be seen here:
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http://www.nls.uk/maps/townplans/glasgow_2.html
If Guildry Court was replaced by the Fish Market, why do we see them both on the above map? Perhaps the tenements were demolished for an extension to the market?

Here is an aerial view of the area during the mid '60s, Guildry Court would run to the south from the rear of the steeple:
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Fish Market Circa 1970's:
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A nice wee video of the Sculpture Studio interior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zokg5D4a46k
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Re: Merchant Steeple

Postby Fossil » Sun Nov 04, 2007 5:07 pm

Amazing 8)
Bum tit tit bum tit tit play yer hairy banjo
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Re: Merchant Steeple

Postby cumbo » Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:44 pm

Fantastic 8O
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Re: Merchant Steeple

Postby crusty_bint » Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:09 pm

Fantastic stuff HH!! :D

HollowHorn wrote:If Guildry Court was replaced by the Fish Market, why do we see them both on the above map? Perhaps the tenements were demolished for an extension to the market?


It looks as though the fish market has been extended over the Guildry Court sometime after the date of the map. You can see this in the aerial pic, there are three distinct roof structures covering the fish market, the easternmost these covers the Guildry Court and the tenements bounding it to the east as shown on your map :)

HollowHorn wrote:In 1892-94 Both Guildry Court & the Fish Market can be seen here:
Image
http://www.nls.uk/maps/townplans/glasgow_2.html

Here is an aerial view of the area during the mid '60s, Guildry Court would run to the south from the rear of the steeple:
Image
here i go, it's coming for me through the trees
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Re: Merchant Steeple

Postby Anorak » Fri Nov 22, 2013 11:10 am

Was prompted by the recent “building within a building” topic to have a deeper look into the history of the Merchant Steeple, where the old tower is enveloped within the former Fish Market in the Briggait.
Didn't know how the steeple got to be there until I found this fascinating old thread on HG.
Great stuff!

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I have some old engravings of street scenes showing both the steeple and the surrounding buildings before and after the demolition of Merchants' House in 1817.

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The two-storey Merchants' House was designed by Sir William Bruce, who had been appointed as the "Surveyor General of the King's Works in Scotland" after the Resoration of King Charles II. Work commenced in 1651 and completed in 1659, with the tower being added a few years later in 1665. The Merchants' Hall was situated on the upper floor and was one of the largest in the city, being eighty feet long and thirty feet wide.

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This scene from after the demolition shows the tenements to the west of Merchant Lane which were built on the site of the Merchants' House.

Found this old book cutting detailing the reasons for the removal of the building.

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The Fish Market was developed nearby around 1873, and in 1886 the tower was incorporated into an extension to the market hall. I'm surprised it wasn't demolished. The late Victorians didn't care much about conservation elsewhere in the area. This was around the same time that they were flattening the historic Glasgow University buildings.

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The old market hall has been redeveloped and is now occupied by Wasps Artists' Studios.
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