Ghost Signs of Glasgow: Walk around the West End

Posted November 11th 2019

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Saturday 7th December | 2:30 pm | Free, but booking essential

Meeting Point: Botanic Gardens Front Gate, Great Western Road

Ghost signs are the fading remains of old painted signs on buildings, which offer an invaluable window into the past.With the help of our great volunteers we have created engaging and informative walks around the city to highlight and learn more about the buildings and old signs.

Join us for a walk around the West End as our experienced and knowledgeable guides point out ghost signs and old shopfronts, explaining the history of the business and building behind the sign, with a focus on its architecture and design. Our guides will also be showing archive images of the area and buildings we explore. This tour is a great chance to look at the city with different eyes and learn more about often overlooked architecture.

We will be walking along main roads, occasionally crossing very busy roads and areas, and potentially going up or down stairs. Please wear sturdy, comfortable shoes and bring a rain jacket just in case.

The walk will last between 1 hour and a half and 2 hours.

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Walk: Ghost Signs and Old Shopfronts of Glasgow

Posted September 1st 2019

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Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September

Part One: 10am, meet at 17 Bain Street, Barras | Part Two: 1:00pm, meet at George Street (Queen Street Station side) | Part Three: 4pm, meet at Botanic Gardens Front Gate

Become a ghost sign buster as you walk around Glasgow looking at ghost signs and old shopfronts, discovering the hidden stories of the buildings around you.

Volunteers with our Ghost Signs of Glasgow project will lead three different walks, starting at the Barras in the East End, followed by a tour of the city centre, and finishing in the West End. You can choose to book all the walks, or just one or two.

For Glasgow Doors Open Days this year we will be leading a series of walks all over the city, exploring Glasgow’s architecture, history and local culture. The walks are free but booking is required.

For more information about any of our Doors Open Days activities, or for help with booking please email events@glasgowheritage.org.uk

The Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival is an annual event which takes place across the city during the third week in September. Buildings open their doors and give free access to the public to showcase the city’s architecture and heritage. For more information, please visit www.glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk

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Walk: Railway Metropolis

Posted September 1st 2019

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Tuesday 17th September

Part One: 11:am | Part Two: 1:30pm | Meeting point for Parts One and Two is Springburn Railway Station

Author and guide Ian R Mitchell will lead two interconnected walks that explore Glasgow’s railway heritage, which was just as important an industry as shipbuilding. Part One is a loop around Springburn park, former Railway Metropolis, and Part Two heads through Garngad to Dennistoun. Both walks will include a tour of the former North British Locomotive Works. You can sign up for one or both of the walks.

For more information about any of our Doors Open Days activities, or for help with booking please email events@glasgowheritage.org.uk

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Glasgow Doors Open Days Guided Walk 4: George Square

Posted August 21st 2018

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Thursday 13th September, 1pm
Meeting Point: The south side of the Monument to Walter Scott
Duration: 50 mins approx.

Highlights include an examination of each of the monuments, an explanation of why the various people were selected for immortalisation and who the sculptors were. The tour will take a closer look at Sir JJ Burnet’s subtle design for the Cenotaph with its superb sculpture by Ernest Gillick. Finally, the tour will also look at the overall positions of the monuments, how they have moved over time and if a pattern to their arrangement is discernible.

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Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival is an annual event taking place across the city during the third week in September. Buildings open their doors and give free access to the public to showcase the city’s architecture and heritage. As well as access to buildings, the week-long programme includes walks, tours, talks and special events.

You might also be interested in…

Glasgow Historic Environment: A Snapshot – 2019

Ever wondered which buildings in your neighbourhood are listed, or even on Scotland’s Buildings at Risk Register?

Our new interactive map shows data collated between February and April 2018 which gives a snapshot of the current state of Glasgow’s historic built environment.

Blog Post: Ghosts and Zombies

Read our latest blog post about our Ghost Signs of Glasgow project, pondering the nature of ghost signs and what they tell us about the urban landscape.

Enjoy Family Fun with our Kids Trails!

Download our Kid’s Heritage Trails!

Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

Glasgow City Heritage Trust is an independent charity and your support is crucial to ensure that our charitable work promoting the understanding, appreciation and conservation of Glasgow’s historic buildings for the benefit of the city’s communities and its visitors continues now, and in the future.

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

SOLD OUT! Glasgow Doors Open Days Guided Walk 3: Ingram Street

Posted August 21st 2018

WALK
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Wednesday 12th September, 1pm
Meeting Point: The front steps to GOMA
Duration: 50 mins approx.

Highlights include the link between Paris’s Arc du Triomphe and the Monument to the Duke of Wellington; Corinthian’s connection to Liverpool; Sir JJ Burnet’s baroque TSB Banking Hall; one of the finest examples of Post-Modernism in the UK; the decadence of Versailles comes to Glasgow; and, the paired Triumphal Arches of John Street – one of the great moments in 20th Century Scottish architecture.

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Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

Glasgow Doors Open Days Guided Walk 1: Buchanan Street

Posted August 21st 2018

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Monday 10th September, 1pm
Meeting Point: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Steps
Duration: 50 mins approx.

Highlights include a little slice of Italian fascist architecture; a Testimonial which turns a corner German style; Sir JJ Burnet’s Athenaeum and Athenaeum Theatre; Glasgow’s ‘Anything you can do I can do better’ moment; a Venetian palace with some very stern keystones; why Plagiarism is not a good strategy, especially when you get caught; and, Glasgow’s Versace moment.

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Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

SOLD OUT! Glasgow Doors Open Days Guided Walk 2: Royal Exchange Square

Posted August 21st 2018

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WALK

Tuesday 11th September, 1pm
Meeting Point: Entrance to former St Vincent Place public toilets
Duration: 50 mins approx.

Highlights include the tragedy of W J Anderson, James Miller’s Anchor Line Building, the influence of Michelangelo; David Hamilton’s Royal Exchange Square; a Renaissance palace; Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow Herald Building (aka the Lighthouse); can Brutalism be touchy feely; and, the site of the original Miss Cranston’s Buchanan Street tea room.

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Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

Guided Walk: Sports on Glasgow Green

Posted July 13th 2018

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Wednesday 15th August 2018 | 6-8pm | 54 Bell Street

Long before there was a Hampden Park, Kelvin Hall or a Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Glasgow Green was where the city went to play and compete.

Join Ingrid Shearer, from Northlight Heritage, on a leisurely stroll around Glasgow Green’s sporting highlights, including the West Boathouse, a lost lido, and a one of the oldest outdoor gyms in the UK.

Half time oranges will be available to keep us refreshed!

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Please note: Payment is taken via PayPal but you do not need to have a PayPal account to pay online.

Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

Guided Walk: Glasgow Through the Ages IV – The Gilded City

Posted June 26th 2017

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Sunday 17th September 2017 | 2pm

Niall Murphy takes us on our final tour exploring Glasgow’s ‘Golden Age’, an era which gave birth to some of Glasgow’s finest buildings lining the gridded streets of the western City Centre.

Highlights include Central Station, James Salmon’s ‘Hatrack’ and Mercantile Chambers, CR Mackintosh’s Daily Record Building, and James Miller’s American influenced commercial buildings. See Glasgow’s most public IOU and the apprentice’s touching tribute to his master; the sculptor who helped those scarred by the Great War; the War Criminal’s prison; the hidden influence of the Vienna Secession; Glasgow’s skyscraper race; the links between Glasgow and New York; Roman Baths and Venetian Palaces; a stone Dreadnought; the influence of the Chicago World’s Fair; and Beaux Arts and Glasgow Baroque masterpieces.

No booking required.
Meeting point: The Lighthouse, Mitchell Lane
Duration: 2 hours approx.

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Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership

Guided Walk: Glasgow Through the Ages III – The Enlightenment City

Posted June 26th 2017

WALK

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Sunday 17th September 2017 | 11am

Niall Murphy shows us how Glasgow evolved from the age of the Scottish Enlightenment and as a result of the innovative works of the Glasgow City Improvement Trust.

Highlights include the lost realm of the Tobacco Lords, the high jinks of the Hellfire club, the devastating economic impact of the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank, the works of the City Improvement Trust, Glasgow’s interwar ‘Avenue of the Americas’ and the County Buildings.

No booking required.
Meeting point: St Andrews in the Square
Duration: 2 hours approx.

You might also be interested in…

Guided Walk: Glasgow Through the Ages I – The Medieval City

Wednesday 13th September 2017 | 6pm

Join GCHT Historic Buildings Officer Niall Murphy to explore how Glasgow evolved from its ancient origins.

Guided Walk: Glasgow Through the Ages II – The Industrial City

Saturday 16th September 2017 | 11am

Join GCHT Heritage Outreach Officer Gemma Wild on a tour showing how Glasgow developed following the arrival of the Forth & Clyde Canal, the motorway of the 18th century.

Walk: Railway Metropolis

As part of Glasgow Doors Open Days this year, author and guide Ian R Mitchell will lead two interconnected walks that explore Glasgow’s railway heritage. Part One is a loop around Springburn park, former Railway Metropolis, and Part Two heads through Garngad to Dennistoun.

Become a Friend of Glasgow City Heritage Trust

The easiest way to support the Trust’s work is to join our loyalty scheme. Our tiered loyalty scheme means you can choose the level that’s right for you.

Click to find out all the benefits of membership