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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
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
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?
HollowHorn wrote:In 1892-94 Both Guildry Court & the Fish Market can be seen here:
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:
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