Situated on Glasgow’s historic Trongate, this music hall began life in 1857 at a time when Glasgow’s population was booming, and its streets were overcrowded with working folk desperate to be entertained. 

The audience of the Britannia Music Hall (as it was originally known) comprised of 1500 people, who would cram into the small auditorium four times a day, squeezing up cheek to cheek on the rough wooden benches that served as seating for those who could afford it. Those who couldn’t got to stand at the sides and back of the hall. Wherever they sat and whoever they were, they all came for the same reason, to be entertained, blow off steam, have a laugh and escape from their difficult lives.

It is now operated by a registered charity, The Friends of the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall Trust (SCIO), who work tirelessly to promote and continue the legacy of the world’s oldest surviving music hall, advance its conservation, and ensure the buildings future as a viable visitor attraction, living museum and venue.

The visit to the music hall includes a walk around the stalls, exhibition of artefacts found in the building, and a 40-minute talk about the incredible history of this unique survivor by Judith Bowers, who began the campaign to save it in 1997.  

Please note that there is no disabled access to the building and there are two flights of stairs up to the music hall.