The Ramshorn is a former church building located on Ingram Street in the

Merchant City The Merchant City, a new name introduced through urban renewal by the Scottish Development Agency and the city council in the 1980s is one part of the metropolitan central area of Glasgow. It commences at George Square and goes eastwards reachin ...

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. It is home to SCILT, Scotland's National Centre for Languages and the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools (CISS), both centres within 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 ...

. The building is owned by the University, which bought the church in 1983 and used it as a theatre and performance space from 1992 until 2011. The former church building sits within the

Ramshorn Cemetery The Ramshorn Cemetery is a cemetery in Scotland and one of Glasgow's older burial grounds, located within the Merchant City district, and along with its accompanying church, is owned by the University of Strathclyde. It has had various names ...

, one of Glasgow's oldest burial grounds.

Architectural significance

The Ramshorn was originally built as St David's Parish Church in 1824, replacing a church that had stood on the site since 1720. Now a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * ...

, it was designed by English architect

Thomas Rickman Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...

in the Gothic Revival style. This was the only Scottish church he designed. Many of the stained-glass windows in the building are the work of W and J J Kier of Glasgow. They depict stories from the Old and New Testament.

Historical significance

Known popularly as the Ramshorn Kirk, the church was in a wealthy and sought after area of Glasgow at the time. As such you will find many prominent Glaswegians buried in the surrounding

, including industrialist

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 ...

, and tobacco merchants Andrew Buchanan and

John Glassford John Glassford of Dougalston and Whitehill (1715 – 27 August 1783) was a Scottish Tobacco Lord, considered by his contemporaries to be the greatest of the era. He owned tobacco plantations in Virginia and Maryland, as a result, his name is sy ...

. Pierre Emile L'Angelier is also buried in the graveyard. He is the victim in the 1857

Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...

murder case. The exterior of the building features a plaque to Sir John A MacDonald, the first prime minister of Canada, who was born in the parish. You will also find plaques to Professor John Anderson, natural philosopher and founder of the institution that would become the University of Strathclyde, and his grandfather John Anderson, who was minister at the Ramshorn Church.

Current use

In 1982, the church's dwindling congregation merged with that of the nearby

Barony Church Barony Hall, also known as Barony Church, is a red sandstone Victorian neo-Gothic-style building on Castle Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland, near Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the city's oldest surviving ho ...

on Castle Street. The University of Strathclyde bought the church in 1983 and commissioned Page/Park Architects to convert it into a theatre and performing arts space. It operated as a theatre and performance space from 1992 to 2011. In May 2018, plans were submitted by the University of Strathclyde to Glasgow City Council to renovate the former theatre into offices and an exhibition area. The Ramshorn reopened in September 2019 as the home of SCILT, Scotland's National Centre for Languages and the Confucius Institute for Scotland's Schools (CISS), based within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde.

References

External links

SCILT, Scotland’s National Centre for Languages

Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde

University of Strathclyde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramshorn, The Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed theatres in Scotland Listed churches in Scotland Former churches in Scotland Theatres in Glasgow University of Strathclyde Education in Glasgow Chinese-language education