Kelvin Hall

Little is known about the manual workers who constructed major Victorian buildings, but Joseph Sharples of the Hunterian, University of Glasgow, has researched in detail the lives of about 100 of the 900 masons, joiners, bricklayers, etc., who built the University between 1867 and 1871, under contractor John Thompson of Peterborough. Their recruitment, experiences before […]

Will Jess and Lucy Janes of Arlington Baths History Group will bring to life this Grade 'A' listed Victorian bathing complex designed by John Burnet and other eminent architects. Owned and run by members, the club is the oldest of its kind in the world, and successfully maintains its 154-year old tradition of a relaxed […]

Glasgow’s West End is renowned for its glorious Victorian townscape, but there's also a rich legacy from its earlier history. In this talk, historian Gordon R. Urquhart will examine the settlement of the city’s western hinterlands, from the Neolithic period, through the Viking hogback tombs in Govan, to the era of the grand Georgian country […]

Michael Meighan, author and historian, remembers riding a trolleybus or tram to visit relatives and taking a steam train and paddle steamer ‘doon the water’ to Dunoon. Since then, trams and trolleybuses have given way to modern buses, the electric ‘Blue Train’ and the diesels arrived, and paddle steamers, ferries, ships and shipyards disappeared from […]

Rowena Statt, local resident and architect, presents old maps and archive images to explain the Victorian evolution of North Kelvinside, when speculative building rapidly consumed the R. Kelvin's beautiful wooded north bank. The tenements, terraces and villas remain, still in demand today, as are churches, shops, schools, bridges and even an industrial relic, the North […]

Websters Theatre, formerly Lansdowne Parish Church, is home to stained glass windows by highly acclaimed Glasgow designer Alf Webster. David Robertson, Director of Four Acres Charitable Trust describes this wonderful stained glass, and the massive glass conservation project which the public will be able to visit and observe. Along with the public realm upgrade at […]

Veteran festival and events director Michael Dale, who founded the West End Festival in 1996, reviews his experiences of being the boss not just of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1980s but also the very successful Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988 and many more besides. Michael left WEF in 2021 to take on other […]

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) was established in 1982 to rescue, repair, restore and rehabilitate significant historic buildings at risk across the city. The retention of our historic built environment is pivotal to our sense of place and contributes to making Glasgow a beautiful and vibrant city to live, work and visit. Without the Trust’s […]

"Fragments of Glasgow" was published in 2022 and documents Glasgow’s rich architectural heritage through photographs mainly from the Victorian Era. The wealth and prosperity of the time provided Glasgow architects unprecedented opportunities to innovate and use the finest quality building materials. Rosalie Menon, Glasgow School of Art, shares the impressive conservation, creativity, and investment undertaken […]

Ewen Donaldson, former General Manager, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, will present the prestigious 200-year history of the Botanic Gardens from its inception in Sandyford, to the current location in Kelvinside. Includes recent milestones such as the major refurbishment of the “Main Range” glasshouses, restoration of the “A” Listed Kibble Palace, and the Tearoom in the Curator's […]

Share in the compelling and historically rich journey from Glasgow’s first Lunatic Asylum at Dobbie’s Loan to Gartnavel Royal Hospital, with Eileen Ross as your guide. She will reflect on how our local services have promoted wellbeing and provided mental health care to their communities over the last two centuries. Presented in conjunction with Art […]