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Clyde Navigation Trust and some Greek Gods!

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This spectacular building is the domed Clyde Navigation Trust Building (now The Clydeport Building). The Trust, established by Act of Parliament in 1858, brought city fathers, shipbuilders, merchants and industrialists together to develop and manage the River Clyde and its trade. http://www.clydewaterfront.com/clyde-heritage/the-broomielaw/clyde-navigation-trust    The building was designed by Glasgow architect J. J. Burnet (1882-86 and extended in 1905-8 in an Italianate Baroque style.  Carvings by sculptor John Mossman featuring Father Clyde Enthroned and figures of the Sea Gods Poseidon and Amphitrite with Seahorses and their son Triton, and the Greek Goddess.of harvest and agriculture, Demeter leading a Bull.  There are also statues of Thomas Telford, James Watt and Henry Bell, by Albert Hodge (1908) Photo: J. Wilson Map Reference: Eurowalk 2 : Along the Clyde

Glasgow Cathedral and European Links

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Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral, also called the High Kirk of Glasgow or St Kentigern's or St Mungo's Cathedral, was built before the Reformation from the late 12th century onwards and is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation with its roof on. The cathedral is said to have been built where the patron saint of Glasgow, Saint Mungo, built his church. The tomb of the saint is in the lower crypt.  The congregation is part of the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow and its services and associations are open to all. It sits alongside Glasgow Royal Infirmary, opened in 1794, and the Glasgow Necropolis graveyard, opened in 1833. Information from Visit Scotland - their page is at  https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/glasgow-cathedral-p254881 This is an excellent document about the European influences: Historic-Churches.pdf (cramondassociation.org.uk) Photos of Cathedral and Stained Glass on page by J.Wilson Map Referen...

Free French Memorial Greenock

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On Lyle Hill, high above Greenock, you can find the Free French Memorial. Dedicated to the Free French Navy who were based in Greenock during the war.  The memorial is a combination of an anchor and the Cross of Lorraine (the symbol of the Free French) and overlooks the Clyde estuary. A plaque says:  'THIS MONUMENT IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE SAILORS OF THE FREE FRENCH NAVAL FORCES WHO SAILED FROM GREENOCK IN THE YEARS 1940-1945 AND GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC FOR THE LIBERATION OF FRANCE AND THE SUCCESS OF THE ALLIED CAUSE Photos by J.Wilson (2020) The memorial also remembers the sailors of the destroyer MAILLÉ BRÉZÉ, which blew up off Greenock, with heavy loss of life, as a result of an accident with its own torpedoes: http://westcaledoniansoc.co.uk/qa.html  and also a Captain of a Frigate Rirot. 70th Anniversary in November 2016: Map Reference: West of Scotland Area

Did you know that Chopin played in Glasgow?

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Chopin played a concert in 1848 in the Merchants' Hall - which at that time was situated in the building later known as the Sheriff Court on the corner of Hutcheson and Ingram streets.  The date was September 27, and anyone who was anybody was there. The cream of west of Scotland society and the aristocracy turned out for the occasion, including the Duchess of Argyll, countless countesses, lords, ladies, and baronesses. The occasion was extremely well-documented. Diarists, commentators, and all the papers were there. The Herald recorded the nineteenth-century equivalent of a city-centre traffic jam as the ''large concourse of carriages began to draw up in Hutcheson Street and the streets adjoining''  The matinée musicale given by Chopin on the 27th of September 1848 in the Merchants? Hall, Glasgow, attracted many a music-lover. The organizer of the concert - John Muir Wood - was told that "so many private carriages had never been seen at any concert in the town...

University of Strathclyde and the King of Norway

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The University was founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, and is Glasgow's second-oldest university. It was founded through the will of John Anderson, professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, who left the majority of his will, along with specific instructions to create a place of "Useful Learning", specialising in practical subjects "for the good of mankind and the improvement of science".  In 1828, the institution was renamed Anderson's University but this name was changed in 1887 as there was no legal authority to use the title "University".  It was called at that time the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, then becoming the Royal Technical College in 1912 and then the Royal College of Science and Technology in 1956. The University's City Centre campus is now named after its founder John Anderson. It received its royal charter in 1964 as the first technological university in the United Kingdom. The Uni...

Provand's Lordship and why a Bishop went to Norway!

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The oldest existing house in Glasgow. Built in 1471 by Bishop Muirhead who had previously built St Nicholas' Chapel (to the south of Provands Lordship) in 1456, along with St Nicholas' Hospital which adjoined it.  Bishop Muirhead, as Bishop of Glasgow was appointed to the Council of Regency which ruled Scotland until James III was old enough to take over.  James III was only 9 years old when James II died. Bishop Muirhead was sent as ambassador to arrange the marriage of young James to Margaret, princess of Denmark, which took place in 1469.  At the same time, he helped negotiate the cession of the Orkney and Shetland Islands from Norway to Scotland. More info:  https://www.theglasgowstory.com/image/?inum=TGSA05012&t=2 Provand's Lordship Photo: J.Wilson Can also see some of this and further Norwegian links on the Scottish diaspora tapestry: http://www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org/norway Map Reference: Eurowalk 1 : Cathedral and Necropolis to Bucks Head Building

Kelvingrove - masterpieces of Spanish and Dutch Art to be seen! And The Glasgow Boys!

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The European Commission commented in 2019: "As the UK’s top cultural and creative city, Glasgow is home to world-class museums, galleries, family-friendly attractions and an edgy contemporary art scene that shows the city at its energetic finest."  And surely the top Museum venue in Glasgow is Kelvingrove Museum, which was constructed as the Palace of Fine Arts for the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1901 and designed by English architect Sir John William Simpson using red sandstone in Spanish Baroque style .  One of the external sculpted figures was carved by the Italian sculptor Aristide Luigi Fabbrucci (1859 - 1903) http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=fabbrucci_a# . And another, representing "Religion" was carved by Johan Keller, born in the Hague, Netherlands and who became professor of Sculpture at Glasgow School of Art : http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=keller_j# Within the museum itself, probably the most well known an...