The Glasgow Harbour Tunnel Rotundas are two red brick stone

rotundas A rotunda () is any building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (a famous example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). Th ...

which flank the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

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. The North Rotunda is located on Tunnel Street in the

Finnieston Finnieston is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, situated on the north bank of the River Clyde roughly between the city's Glasgow#West End, West End and the Glasgow#City centre, city centre. Finnieston is home to the Scottish Exhibition and Conferen ...

area of Glasgow with the South Rotunda at Plantation Place in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

History

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s which enabled vehicular and pedestrian access to the other side of the river. Pedestrians, horses and carts – and later motor vehicles – would be hauled up by hydraulic lifts provided by Otis Elevator Company of New York. During the Second World War, the tunnels were temporarily closed because all the metal from the lifts was removed to contribute to the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...

. The tunnels were an expensive venture to run and were passed to the council to run as a service in 1926. The increased costs of running the tunnels which were prone to damp and the increase of motor cars on the roads lead to the closure of the pedestrian tunnel in 1980, and the vehicular tunnels being filled in 1986. Though the pedestrian tunnel still exists, it is closed to the public. Originally, three-storey red and white brick towers stood alongside the Rotundas, containing the hydraulic accumulators that powered the lifts, but these have been demolished.

Other uses

Over the years, the Rotundas have served many functions including during the

Glasgow Garden Festival The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the five national garden festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland. It was held in Glasgow between 26 April and 26 September 1988. It was the first event of its type to be held in the cit ...

in 1988 when one housed a replica of the famous Nardini’s ice cream parlour in

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

. The site has also served as a science centre, The "Dome of Discovery", which was funded by Glasgow City Council and BP Exploration to "celebrate the scientific and industrial culture of the city". In 2014, the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

took over the South Rotunda, with "The Tin Forest" project, creating a pop-up arts venue for performance and visual art as part of Festival 2014, the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

strand of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme.

Current use

The North Rotunda is currently in use as a restaurant known as Cranside Kitchen as well as a brand new wedding venue known at "The North Rotunda". Whilst the South has been redeveloped as an office for a local shipping and marine engineering company. The two Rotundas are category B listed buildings, with the South Rotunda identified as being " at risk".

References

External links

Video footage of the North & South Rotundas
* {{coord, 55, 51, 30, N, 4, 16, 59, W, region:GB, display=title, name=North Rotunda Buildings and structures in Glasgow Category B listed buildings in Glasgow Tunnels in Scotland Transport in Glasgow Infrastructure completed in 1896 1890s in Glasgow Govan 1896 establishments in Scotland Transport infrastructure completed in 1896