That's another fine mess you got me into Stanley...

Had a disappointment this week in that the Pope actually drove right past my place of work and I was so busy never even got a photo of him to post up.

Major event in Glasgow and nothing to say for it here. :(

Reminded me of the time I missed getting a photo of Prince Charles by 5 minutes. I'm never going to make it in the Paparazzi.

But this weekend help make up somewhat for that disappointment....

It was Doors Open Day in the city. This started back in 1990 when Glasgow was the European City of Culture. Many of the city's buildings that you don't normally have public access throw down those barriers and welcome you in for a sneak peek. There are now about 100 venues involved so can't possibly do them all but I chose a few I really wanted to see "The Day" and headed out...

A number of you may recognise this ship and it is on top of the first building I went to visit today. This ship has fascinated me since I was a child. Always wondered what it was for. Then I found out it was the symbol of the Merchants House of Glasgow. Now I was curious to see inside. And today I did...

The building on the north west corner of George Square is the third building to be the merchants house. The first was built around 1600 in the Bridgegate and then rebuilt about 1659. This is the steeple you see to this day in the Bridgegate. In 1843 a new hall was opened in Hutcheson Street. The Merchants Guild moved to the building in George Square in 1877.

As you ascend the marble staircase to the 1st floor offices you see these wonderful stained glass windows. They depict the granting of the "Letter of Guildry" to the Merchants Guild in1605. I particularly liked the lower corner with the boy and the dog.


My photos can not do justice to the splendour of the rooms and halls of this building. The main hall is beautifully pannelled.

Some beautiful detail up at the ceiling. This is the symbol of the Merchants House. The ship on top of the world which is the same as the one on the roof. There in the middle is the familiar St. Mungo with his usual tree, fish, bird and bell. And the motto of the house "TOTTIES REDUNTIS EODEM" ("SO OFTEN RETURNING TO THE SAME PLACE").

Merchants House of Glasgow symbology refelcted in every detail on the roof.

And in the Ante room another stunning stained glass window. This time showing the Dean of Guild Court in 1605.

From the Merchants House I headed across George Square. Passed the City Chambers which was also open. But I've already done a tour of these.

And onto another building I have included in another tour but never been inside. The Ramshorn Theatre in Ingram Street.

I love this building. It is a beautifully framed as you look up Candelriggs. There is something strong and elegant about the tower. Another building I never tire of seeing. This was of course once St. David's church as was built in 1824. It was sold to Strathclyde University in 1982 for a fiver and became the theatre for the University. John Anderson, the founder of Strathclyde University (formely Anderson College) is actually burried in the crypt.

If you want to know more go here:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/culture/ramshorn/info/kirk_history.htm

And today got my first chance to go inside...

And was not disappointed when I got there. Absolutely stunning stained glass windows. I didn't count but there are seemingly 32 windows all as beautiful as this. You could spend ages just looking at all the detail in every window. The sun was shining when I got there and made the colours simply come to life.

Glad I took the opportunity to see these hidden gems.

And now on to my final visit of the day. And something special hiding in plain view...

This building in the Trongate is in fact the old Britannia Panoptican theatre. The oldest surviving music hall in the world.

Above the amusement arcade that now occupies the ground floor you can see some lovely detail on the building. Cherubs holding a shield which once again has St. Mungo and his attending fish, bird, bell and tree.

And at the top of the building A.D. MDCCCLVII (1857).

The story of the Britannia is amazing. It opened in 1857 as Campbell's Music Saloon and changed to the Britannia music hall in 1859. Over the next decades many of the big names of the time appeared here including Sir Harry Lauder. The audience were known to be hard to please and often pelted the performers with eggs or rotten fruit. "No turn left unstoned" was the saying. It was bought by Albert Pickard in 1906 and became the Panopticon. "A place to see everything". Pickard added a "zoo" in the basement, a freak show, an American museum...
But life had moved on. In 1920 it was converted into a cinema. The Tron Cinema. And in 1938 it finally closed.

Only to be rediscovered 60 years later. But will get to that bit...

First we will cross the road to the wynd that leads to the entrance door. And here on the wall it the proud sign of the Brits most famous "son". Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.
Stan's father was the manager of the nearby Metropole theatre and Stan had his debut here as an amateur act in 1906. And the rest is history...

Now up the stairs and into the old music hall. And what an amazing place. This picture doesn't really capture the feel of the palce but the gallery and stage areas are still all there. Although you can see the chipped paint and the bad condition of some of the roof you can really strip that away in your mind and imagine that original music hall audience still sitting in the gallery. There is a genuine magical atmosphere about the place. In all the place I have visited doing this blog this is the one that I felt most connected with the past.

For Doors Open Day there was a great exhibition of clothing, posters, movies etc from 1800's and early 1900's.

And this poster made me smile. Reminded me of anytime when I was a kid and couldn't lift something becuase I wasn't strong enough my dad would kid me on that there was "mare strength in a Woodbine". Woodbine's are known for being strong cigarettes.

You can probably tell how taken I was with the Britannia Panopticon. It is a unique place. They are trying to raise funds to save this theatre. And the enthusiasm of the people who look after it is infectious. How amazing would it be for this old music hall to be back to it's original glory?

I had said that if I won the lottery I would get the Odeon in Renfield Street brought back. But think I've actually found a more deserving cause.

To read more about it go here:

http://www.britanniapanopticon.org/

Hope you enjoyed this wee tour and look out for door's open day next year.

Be well, be happy.