St Andrew's Square is a public square in the city 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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and lies to the south east corner of

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 ...

, close to

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 ...

. The square is noted for its immense 18th-century classical church,

St Andrew's in the Square St Andrew's in the Square is an 18th-century category-A-listed former church in Glasgow, Scotland, considered one of the finest classical churches in Scotland, and now Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dan ...

, from which the square takes its name. The church was completed in 1758, to the designs of architect

Allan Dreghorn Allan Dreghorn (1706–1764) was an 18th century Scottish architect largely associated with Glasgow Life He was born in Glasgow the son of Robert Dreghorn of Ruchill and his wife Margaret Dickie. He was involved in several fields: including ...

and master mason Mungo Naismith and is among the finest of its type anywhere in Britain. The interior has lavish 18th century rococo plasterwork. The building is Category A listed. It is one of six squares in the city centre. The church standing amidst fields on the banks of the Molendinar Burn, was later enclosed by a square, encouraged by the town council who sold the ground to builder developer William Hamilton of Glassford, Lanarkshire, building between 1786 and the early 1790s. He was also the architect of the Tontine in the

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 square became a fashionable residence for some of Glasgow's wealthiest merchants. "Here and in Virginia Street were domiciled the best and wealthiest in the city." The Royal Bank of Scotland opened here in the 18c with

David Dale David Dale (6 January 1739–7 March 1806) was a leading Scottish industrialist, merchant and philanthropist during the Scottish Enlightenment period at the end of the 18th century. He was a successful entrepreneur in a number of areas, m ...

in charge of the agency. Sulman's panoramic Bird's Eye View of Glasgow published in 1864 shows the Square conveniently close to the mercantile centre of Glasgow Cross and the University of Glasgow in High Street. However, the increasing industrialisation in the 19thc of the surrounding resulted in deterioration of houses as many residents moved westward Most of the buildings facing onto the square were demolished in the 1980s; as part of the GEAR Project, Glasgow East-end Recovery Project new buildings in Georgian style were constructed with help from the

Scottish Development Agency Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and making the square traffic-free.

St Andrew's in the Square

is the former church in the centre of St Andrew's Square; it was inspired by

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

in London. Formerly known as St Andrew's Church of Scotland Parish church, it was constructed between 1739 and 1756, and is the fourth oldest church in Glasgow, after the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, the Tron Church in Trongate and the nearby

St Andrew's-by-the-Green St Andrew's-by-the-Green is an 18th-century category-A-listed former church in Glasgow, Scotland, and the first Episcopal church built in the city. It is situated on the corner of Turnbull Street and Greendyke Street, overlooking Glasgow Green, ...

. The church was the first Presbyterian church built in Glasgow after the Reformation. The first organ in a Presbyterian Church was opened in 1807 but its further performance was put a stop to until the opinion of the General Assembly was known. After the congregation moved to another site in 1993 it later reopened as an arts and function venue.

References

{{coord, 55.8549, -4.2430, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Squares in Glasgow