This morning I joined in an escorted tour of Glasgow City Chambers (Town Hall) in order to get a better understanding of the interior decor and design of this important building which was built 1883-1888. This proved of great interest. A truly sumptuous building reflecting the grandeur and confidence of the late Victoria era.

• Architect was William Young, a London based architect born in Paisley and trained in Glasgow.
• Original budget was GBP150,000 compared to final cost of GBP578,232.
• The first four to six feet of the external wall are of red Aberdeenshire granite.
• Entrance arch was influenced by the historical arch of Constantine in Rome.
  

This is the ground floor. The ceilings are decorated with mosaic tiles. Altogether some 1.5m tiles were laid in the ceilings and domes. The pillars are made from grey Aberdeen granite, hand-polished red Scottish granite and topped with dark green marble in Ionic style.



This is the Council Chamber with 79 seats for the Councillors. Decoration is primarily Spanish mahogany. Meetings are held at six weekly intervals.

Lord Provost's Chair. This was donated by Queen Victoria in 1888.

Fire place in Council Chamber.

Glasgow coat of arms.

Banqueting Hall. The chandeliers date from 1885 when they were known as "electroliers".

Wedgwood feature in Upper Gallery.

Video clip of Upper Gallery which features portraits of former Lord Provosts (Mayors) of the City of Glasgow.

Labels: Glasgow

posted by Nigel Cole @ 11:22 AM