Barony Hall, also known as Barony Church, is a red sandstone Victorian
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
-style building on Castle Street in the
Townhead
Townhead ( gd, Ceann a' Bhaile, sco, Tounheid) is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated immediately north-east of Glasgow city centre and contains a residential sector (redeveloped from an older neighbourhood in the mid 20th ...
area of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland, near
Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...
,
Glasgow Royal Infirmary
The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...
and the city's oldest surviving house,
Provand's Lordship
The Provand's Lordship of Glasgow, Scotland, is a medieval historic house museum located at the top of Castle Street within sight of the Glasgow Cathedral and Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and next to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art.
...
. The original or Old Barony Church was built as a part of the Barony Parish in Glasgow by architect, James Adams. It opened in 1799 and served ceremonial and other congregational purposes. The replacement for the old building was designed by J. J. Burnet & J. A. Campbell and raised in 1889, and incorporated architectural artifacts from the old church and a number of other relics.
The New Barony Church was acquired by the
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
in 1986. It was restored in 1989 and is now a ceremonial hall and events venue known as the Barony Hall. It is one of the few buildings in the area that survived the slum clearances of the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Townhead 'Comprehensive Development Area' (CDA).
History
The Barony Church existed from at least 1595 until 1985. Among its notable ministers were
Zachary Boyd
Zachary Boyd (1585–1653) was a Scottish minister and university administrator who wrote many sermons, scriptural versifications and other devotional works.John White (1911-1934). Barony Parish received its name from the
Barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of Glasgow.
The early Barony Church, which was established in a crypt was mentioned in
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
's '' Rob Roy''. In the book, which was set in the early 18th century, the church was described as :''"an extensive range of low-browed, dark, and twilight vaults, such as are used for sepulchres in other countries, and had long been dedicated to the same purpose in this, a portion of which was seated with pews and used as a church. The part of the vaults thus occupied, though capable of containing a congregation of many hundreds, bore a small proportion to the darker and more extensive caverns which yawned around what may be termed the inhabited space."''
The condition of the church gradually worsened over time, until it was rebuilt in 1798 by architect James Adam. The new design was praised and criticised. Some considered it an architectural jewel, whilst others despised its looks and considered it borderline unappealing, even repulsive. One of the Church's own ministers, Dr. Norman McLeod, is reported to have advised Queen Victoria that it was ''"the ugliest Kirk in all Europe".'' After the new church opened, the old crypt was used as a burial ground until 1844.
However, not even the new building could solve some of the Barony Church's problems. The few roads leading to the church were little more than dirt tracks, making traveling to and from the church difficult for many of the congregation, especially during winter. It also could not sustainably fulfil all the spiritual requirements of the congregation. This led to several Chapels of Ease being built throughout the Barony area, usually by the local people.
The congregation split into four different parishes:
Shettleston
Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland.
Toponymy
The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a multi ...
Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, t ...
(1850) and
Springburn
Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households.
Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...
(1854). Church attendees decided to return to St. George's Tron, others to Dennistoun Blackfriars and many came back to the place where Barony originated from, Glasgow Cathedral. Some of the relics from the Barony Church were taken back to the cathedral, including the Communion Table, and a chapel was established in the cathedral's crypt.
Eventually, it was decided that a new building was needed to solve the various problems. A site was acquired on the west side of Castle Street and a red sandstone Gothic church, inspired by
Girona Cathedral
Girona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Girona (in Catalan: ''Catedral de Santa Maria de Girona'' or simply ''Catedral de Girona''), is a Roman Catholic church located in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the seat of the R ...
and
Dunblane Cathedral
Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland.
The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standi ...
, designed by J.J. Burnet & J.A. Campbell as a part of a competition, was finished in 1889. This new building incorporated architectural artifacts from the old church and a number of other relics. It was dedicated in a service on 27 April 1889. An article in the following day's ''
Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'' made no direct comment on the building but focused on the sermon by John Caird, the Church of Scotland minister and Principal of the University of Glasgow, in which he ''"dealt with art in relation to worship, stating that it was weak and foolish to identify purity of worship with ruggedness and baseness of form".''
The church was in use for over 100 years, but the congregation dwindled rapidly from the 1950s onward after the Townhead CDA was established and the mass demolition of surrounding homes took place to make way for the
Royal College of Science and Technology
The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964, and is the predecessor institution of the University of Strathclyde. Its main building on George Street now serve ...
's growth into what is now the University of Strathclyde. In its final years, the congregation joined with St. Paul's & St. David's (Ramshorn) to form the Barony Ramshorn in 1982. The last service was held on 6 October 1985 and all the Castle Street buildings were acquired by Strathclyde University in 1986, making it the third church in the area to be acquired by the university and its predecessors - it having already purchased the Ramshorn in 1983, and St. Pauls Church on Martha Street had been purchased by the Royal Technical College in 1953.
After a restoration in 1989 by the university, the building is now called Barony Hall. The development, designed by David Leslie Architects, cost £3.4 million, with sums received through grants and hundreds of private donations.
Barony Hall today
The war is also marked by a memorial to the dead – a plaque bearing 125 names connected to the church at the side of the stage in the Great Hall. Below sits the 1799 building's foundation stone, bearing the names of the ministers who served there during its 90-year life.
An original inscription can be found on a pillar of Barony Church on the corner of the Rottenrow street and Castle street, dedicating the building to the glory and worship of God. The date on the pillar dates back to the first dedication service held in the rebuilt building, on 27 April 1989. A new inscription can be found under the original one, which was added after the acquirement of the Church by the University of Strathclyde, addressing the building as Barony Hall and as a part of the university campus.
The Barony houses the Maurice Taylor Organ, which was installed in 2010. A Bach-style organ, the first of its kind to be commissioned in the UK, the instrument is designed for performances of Bach's music in its original form and has since been played in numerous concerts and recitals. It has forty-one speaking stops, three manuals, one pedal, three thousand pipes, and features mechanical key and stop action. The bellows feed air blown by foot pedals, as happened in the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period, or can be worked electronically.
Restoration work by Strathclyde University won awards from Europa Nostra Award, the
UK Civic Trust
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Glasgow Civic Trust
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population#Localities, most populous City status in the United Kingdom, city in Scotland and the List of cities in the United Kingdom, fourth-most p ...
and the
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland.
History
Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...
. The certificates for these awards are displayed in the corridor which connects the Great Hall to the cloakroom. Also on display are thousands of degree certificates which have been presented in the Barony since 1989.
Functions
After the Barony Church building was acquired by the University of Strathclyde in 1986, it became the university's Barony Hall, hosting graduations, major exams, examinations, and functions. Aside from university purposes, the Barony Hall is a well-known venue in the city. The hall hosts a variety of celebrations and formalities including:
* Weddings - The Great Hall and the Winter Gardens are often used as wedding venues. Their city centre location is close to public transport such as
Buchanan bus station
Buchanan bus station is the main bus terminus in Glasgow, Scotland.
The bus station is the terminus for journeys between the city and other towns and cities in Scotland, as well as long-distance services to other parts of the United Kingdom ...
and
Glasgow Queen Street railway station
Glasgow Queen Street ( gd, Sràid na Banrighinn) is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals (the larger being Glasgow Central station, Glasgow Central ...
.
* Graduation - The Barony Hall hosts annual inauguration events and graduation ceremonies for the students of the University of Strathclyde.
* Exhibitions
* Meetings
* Seminars
* Concerts
* Functions
There are three more areas in the building - the Winter Gardens, the Bicentenary Hall, and the Sir Patrick Thomas Room. These can be used for many purposes such as registration, catering, and break-out areas. Main events taking place in the Barony Hall are exhibitions, weddings, dinners, dinners/dances and receptions. The Hall offers more than 250 square metres of space and can hold up to 500 people (theatre-style) on the flat floor area in the Great Hall or up to 600 when using the Balcony.
Cosmo Gordon Lang
William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
from 1928 until 1942, was a minister at the Barony Church.