Òran Mór (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: "great melody of life" or "big song") is a theatre, restaurant, entertainment and music venue 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 ...

. From 1862 until 1978 the building was the Kelvinside Parish Church (Botanic Gardens) before becoming redundant and then converted into an entertainment venue in 2004.

History

The building was founded as the Kelvinside Free Church, as a parish church of the Free Church of Scotland. The foundation stone was laid on 4 September 1862, and the church was built in the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style, on designs by J. J. Stevenson. A spire was built in an Italian Gothic Pyramid style. After the Free Church of Scotland joined the United Presbyterian Church in 1900 to form the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), majority of the 19th-cen ...

, the church was renamed the Kelvinside United Free Church. The name was once more changed when the

merged into the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, becoming Kelvinside Parish Church in 1929. Between 1929 and 1978, the church served as a

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of the

. By the late 1970s, the congregation had dwindled and in 1978, it was decided to merge Kelvinside Parish Church with Hillhead Parish Church, and retaining the use of the latter building for worship. Consequently, the former Kelvinside Parish Church became redundant and derelict. In 2002, works commenced to refurbish the building and turn it into an arts and leisure centre, with it being renamed Òran Mór. The building was opened in June 2004. The building appeared in ''The Amazing Race'' in 2022, and was the venue for the memorial service for Derek Watson (actor and musicologist).

References

{{Reflist Theatres in Glasgow Restaurants in Glasgow Music venues in Glasgow 1862 establishments in Scotland 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Former churches in Scotland