The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and glasshouse situated in

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

, and was opened on 22 January 1898 by The 5th Earl of Rosebery.

Early history

The idea of "palaces for the people" drew on the writings of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

and

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

and the Glasgow People's Palace took inspiration from its counterpart on Mile End Road in the East End of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Anderson, Freddie (1983), ''The Last of the People's Palaces'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 14, Autumn 1983, pp. 17 - 19, At the time, the East End of Glasgow was one of the most unhealthy and overcrowded parts of the city, and the People's Palace was intended to provide a cultural centre for the people. It was designed by the City Engineer, Alexander B. McDonald, and decorated with sculptures representing Art, Science, Shipbuilding, Industry and Progress by William Kellock Brown. At the opening ceremony, Lord Rosebery described it as: "A palace of pleasure and imagination around which the people may place their affections and which may give them a home on which their memory may rest". He declared the building "Open to the people for ever and ever".

Features

Originally, the ground floor of the building provided reading and recreation rooms, with a museum on the first floor, and a picture gallery on the top floor. Since the 1940s, it has been the museum of

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

for the city of Glasgow, and tells the story of the people and the city from 1750 to the present day. The collections and displays reflect the changing face of the city and the different experiences of Glaswegians at home, work and leisure. Current displays (as of March 2009) include glimpses of typical Glasgow history such as life in a "single end" (a one-room tenement home), going to "The Steamie" (the communal laundry), nights out at "The Dancing" in the famous Barrowland Ballroom and trips "Doon The Watter" (down the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

) on steamers such as the Waverley. The palace is also home to renowned Scottish Socialist John MacLean's campaign desk, which can be found on the first floor.

Closure

In the 1990s, the building was closed for almost two years to allow restoration work to be carried out, with the re-opening being timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of its first opening in 1898; this is recorded on a plaque mounted just inside the main entrance. Renovations extended to include the Winter Gardens to the rear of the building, where the glasshouse was extensively restored and reglazed, and the gardens tidied. In January 2019 both the People's Palace and Winter Gardens closed again, with rare plants moved to alternative homes after the site was ruled structurally unsafe. However images of the derelict interior led to criticism of

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

from Glasgow MP,

Paul Sweeney Paul John Sweeney FIES ; born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he currently serves as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region in the 6th Scottish Parliame ...

who described it in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as an "appalling act of civic vandalism". The People's Palace section reopened in June 2019 after a £350,000 refurbishment which saw the relocation of the fire exits away from the Winter Gardens. The venue then suffered an extensive closure during the pandemic from March 2020 before reopening two days a week from June 2021. The Winter Gardens remained closed throughout as the sealant used to attach the glass to the glasshouse frame was considered to be at 'end of life' after its 1998 refurbishment. The SNP-led Glasgow City Council, and its culture and sports subsidiary Glasgow Life, which is chaired by the council's deputy leader, did not have sufficient funds to afford the renovations, estimated between £5–7.5M, with 81 of its 191 venues still remaining closed in November 2021. Glasgow Life's troubles were exacerbated by lost revenue during the

Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland The COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland is part of the COVID-19 pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease-2019, caused by the virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2. The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Scotland on 1 M ...

led to concerns the venue, along with others, would never reopen, which in turn sparked protests. As of January 2022 there was no published plan or timetable for the Winter Gardens to reopen. In January 2024, it was confirmed funding had been allocated by the

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, with an initial £850,000 received by the Glasgow Life charity that will expand to £7.5 million upon a second stage application to the Heritage Fund. Development to the building as a result of this funding was anticipated to take 16 months. ''STV News'' reported that the cost of the restoration project will amount to £35.9 million, which Glasgow City Council has already allocated £2.9 million towards and a further £11 million expected.

Restoration

As part of the restoration the artist Ken Currie was commissioned to create a series of paintings for the ceiling dome of the museum. The eight panels mark the 200th anniversary of the Calton weavers Massacre of 1787 and depict the history of Glasgow's workers from that point to the present day. In 2005 was extensively refurbished and moved to its present position in front of the museum. At 46 feet high and 70 feet across at its base, it is the largest

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

fountain in the world. It was gifted to the city in 1888 after the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry by Sir Henry Doulton to commemorate

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

’s Golden Jubilee, and is decorated with a figure of the Queen and groups from Canada, Australia, India and South Africa representing Britain's Empire.

The People's Palace cat

During the 1980s, a cat called Smudge gained local fame when she became a member of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union, after

NALGO The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

refused her admission as a blue collar worker.

References

External links

People's Palace website

People's Palace and Winter Gardens- Clyde Waterfront Heritage
{{authority control 1898 establishments in Scotland Government buildings completed in 1898 Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Museums in Glasgow History museums in Scotland Gardens in Glasgow Greenhouses in the United Kingdom City museums in the United Kingdom Glasgow Green Sandstone buildings in Scotland Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Museums established in 1898