A History of Glasgow

By Patrick Gorevan,
Glasgow, Scotland

info[at]scottishaccommodation.org
www.scottishaccommodationindex.com/glasgow.php

 

Glasgow??™s proximity to Scotland??™s beautiful Highlands and the legendary friendliness and humour of its inhabitants are probably the most commonly cited reasons for its position as third most visited city in the UK (after London and Edinburgh). This overshadows the fact that Glasgow is without doubt one of the most architecturally remarkable cities in the British Isles. From the tall confident early Victorian neoclassical buildings of the city centre to the ???space-age??™ Clyde Auditorium (or Armadillo) and Science Centre, Glasgow??™s architecture exudes a dynamism which has emerged from a complex and often dramatic history.

Glasgow??™s massive expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries did much to destroy evidence of early settlement in the area. Nevertheless, what remains is of tremendous interest. Amongst the earliest traces of inhabitation are the remains of a Roman bathhouse, at Bearsden in Greater Glasgow. This is the last visible part of a fortified complex built by the 20th Roman Legion on the Antonine Wall, which marked Glasgow as a dangerous outpost on the northernmost frontier of the empire.

Nonetheless, it is St Kentigern (or St Mungo) who is usually regarded as being Glasgow??™s founding father. His journey in the 6th century BC to find the burial ground, dedicated by St Ninian a century earlier, brought him to the green hollow where Glasgow Cathedral now stands. The small church he built here became his burial place. The tomb remains the focal point for one of Scotland??™s outstanding medieval buildings, as well as the resting place of one of northern Europe??™s most influential missionaries.

Nonetheless, it was 3 centuries after St Kentigern??™s death and across the River Clyde at Govan that real political power first came to the Glasgow area. The Kingdom of Strathclyde built its capital here, possibly at the site of a prehistoric burial mound, after Viking attacks made the continuing occupation of Dumbarton Rock untenable. For the following three hundred years Govan remained the capital of this sizeable realm, until its incorporation into Scotland by King David I in the 12th century. Govan??™s ancient origins can most clearly be seen at Govan Parish Church, once the site of the royal complex. The highly decorated hog back grave markers and stone crosses on display constitute the largest collection of such stones in Scotland outside of Iona.

As part of a policy designed to crush the aristocracy of Strathclyde, David I moved the centre of power in the area to the site of Kentigern??™s church. In the centuries that followed the cathedral began to take shape as well as the adjacent Bishops Palace (on the site of the Museum of Religion). Other stone structures began to spring up such as the 15th century Provand??™s Lordship, opposite the Museum, which is now Glasgow??™s oldest house. Once similar houses continued all the way down High Street towards Glasgow Cross and the imposing 17th century Tolbooth Steeple, which once greeted travellers arriving along the Gallowgate from Edinburgh.

Much of the centre of the Glasgow we know today began to take shape from the 18th century onwards. The so called ???Tobacco Lords??™ were the first in a long line of entrepreneurs and businessmen to leave their mark on the city. Having become extraordinarily wealthy and powerful re-exporting tobacco from the Americas to the continent, a trade which they all but monopolised until US independence, they fashioned great mansions and palaces for themselves in what became Glasgow??™s Merchant City, to the west of High Street. At this time Glasgow was considered by some to be the most attractive town in the newly formed United Kingdom.

The Tobacco Lords were followed by the first generations of industrialists, whose pioneering spirit became the foundation of the British Empire. The exportation of textiles and later industrial goods required the development of Glasgow??™s port and led to a huge demand for ships. Consequently, Glasgow??™s era as shipbuilding capital of the world began. Glasgow also became the major supplier of ships for the Royal Navy and, resultantly, the centre of the empire??™s munitions industry. Machine tools, sewing machines and locomotives were amongst Glasgow??™s other specialities. Glasgow became the so called Second City of the Empire and Workshop of the World; the industrial city of the industrial age.

Glasgow??™s extraordinary success as an industrial giant is reflected in her rich architecture. Arguably no other city has been bequeathed with finer examples of both Edwardian and Victorian buildings. Two Glasgow architects whose buildings are amongst the city??™s finest are worth a special mention; Alexander ???Greek??™ Thomson (1817-1875), acclaimed for his innovative reinvention of the classical Greek style, and the world renowned Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), whose unique style remains highly influential internationally.

The wealth apparent in Glasgow??™s finest buildings was not shared equally. Industrial Glasgow gained a reputation for its extreme poverty. Frustration with social inequality was expressed through the arts, football, sectarianism and politics. While the idea that the city was perpetually on the verge of Revolution is rather far fetched the legends of ???Red Clydeside??™ play a large part in both Glaswegian and Scottish identity. In more practical terms, Glasgow??™s industrial environment was the birthplace of the British Labour movement.

Glasgow remained an industrial giant until the after WWII. Some suspect governmental industrial policies and increased foreign competition led to a decline in the shipbuilding sector by the late 1950s, which culminated in the failure of Glasgow??™s industrial economy as a whole. In the years since, the service sector and tourism have done much to reverse the trend in Glasgow??™s fortunes. At the same time successes such as the Glasgow Garden Festival and accolades such as the award of European City of Culture and European City of Architecture have gone a long way in enhancing Glasgow??™s image both at home and abroad. Glasgow remains a great city and as Scotland??™s largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the West of Scotland is arguably the major generator of modern Scottish culture. One of Glasgow??™s new titles, ???The First Post Industrial City??™, suggests that yet again Glasgow may well be at the cutting edge of economic, social and cultural developments. For more Glasgow services and information: http://www.scottishaccommodationindex.com/glasgow.php

Iain Cairns MA (hons) graduated from Glasgow University in History. His latest work includes a comprehensive history of Scotland which can be found via http://www.scottishaccommodationindex.com/

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