The Glasgow Tolbooth was a municipal structure at

Glasgow Cross Glasgow Cross is at the hub of the ancient royal burgh and now city of Glasgow, Scotland, close to its first crossing over the River Clyde. As a major junction in the city centre, its five streets run: north up the High Street to Glasgow Cathed ...

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 main block, which was the meeting place of the Royal Burgh of Glasgow, was demolished in 1921 leaving only the steeple standing. The steeple is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The first tolbooth erected on the site at

dated back at least to the mid-14th century. After it became ruinous, construction work on a new tolbooth started in 1626. It was designed by the master of the works, John Boyd, in the

Scottish baronial style Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone and was completed in 1634. The building was laid out in two parts: a five-storey main block and a seven-stage steeple at the east end. The design of the main block involved a symmetrical main frontage with six bays facing onto

Trongate Trongate is one of the oldest streets in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Trongate begins at Glasgow Cross, where the steeple of the old Glasgow Tolbooth is situated, being the original centre of medieval Glasgow, and goes westward changing its na ...

; the ground floor was rusticated with a series of openings, the first, second and third floors were fenestrated with rectangular windows with

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

s while the fourth floor was fenestrated with segmental headed windows. The end bays on the fourth floor were flanked by

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of late medieval and early-modern fortifications from the ...

s and the roof line was

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

. The design of the steeple involved small leaded glass windows for each of the second to sixth stages and clock faces in the seventh stage, all surmounted by a

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

led

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, a prominent

crown spire A crown steeple, or crown spire, is a traditional form of church steeple in which curved stone flying buttresses form the open shape of a rounded crown. Crown spires first appeared in the Late Gothic church architecture in England and Scotland dur ...

and a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. The weather vane was gilded by the decorative painter,

Valentine Jenkin Valentine Jenkin or Jenkins was an English decorative painter working in Scotland in the 17th century. Accounts of his work mention that he was an "English man". He was a Burgess (title), burgess of Glasgow. In 1627 he painted the globe and the we ...

. The building was used as a prison and courthouse in the 17th and 18th centuries: a total of 22 executions took place at the tolbooth over that period.

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

who were held in the tolbooth in poor conditions in the 17th century included

Donald Cargill Donald Cargill (1619 – 27 July 1681) was a Scottish Covenanter who worked to uphold the principles of the National Covenant of 1638 and Solemn League and Covenant of 1643 to establish and defend Presbyterianism. He was born around 1619, an ...

and

Robert Ker of Kersland Robert Ker (the younger) known as Robert Ker of Kersland was a Covenanter. He sympathised with the insurgents who fought at Rullion Green and consequently was declared a rebel and his lands became forfeit. He escaped to Holland but following his ...

. The tolbooth also incorporated the burgh chambers and a tavern and its steeple was high. The building continued in these uses until the authorities relocated to the new public offices in the

Saltmarket The Saltmarket is a thoroughfare in the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is a southward continuation of the High Street, running south from Glasgow Cross to the junction with Clyde Street and Crown Street by the River Clyde. It runs past the High Co ...

in 1814. After being sold for commercial use, the tolbooth was renovated to a design by David Hamilton and was used as a drapery warehouse from 1874, before becoming the offices of a firm of auctioneers, John A. Bowman. By the early 20th century the tolbooth was very dilapidated: after the main block had been demolished in 1921, essential repairs and modifications were made to the west face of the steeple, where the tolbooth had previously adjoined it, to a design by Keppie Henderson, in 1923. On 4 June 2021, a night time light projection onto the steeple was installed, under the

Climate Clock The Climate Clock is a graphic to demonstrate how quickly the planet is approaching 1.5 °C of global warming, given current emissions trends. It also shows the amount of CO2 already emitted, and the global warming to date. The Climate Clock ...

initiative. The projected deadline and lifeline statistics counted the time window before 1.5 °C warming becomes inevitable, and the percentage of global energy delivered through renewables, respectively. This initiative was implemented in anticipation of the COP-26 summit in Glasgow in November 2021.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1634 Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Buildings and structures in Glasgow Court buildings in Scotland Clock towers in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References