The 30 Minute Geek Walk

Transcription

1 Dr Baker s Geek Guide to Glasgow Join me, Dr Nina Baker, for a short guided walk around the city centre and I will open your eyes to the many features within a few metres of George Square that highlight our industrial history. If, just sometimes, you ve had enough of shopping and art galleries and seek something a bit different, this might be for you. The 30 Minute Glasgow Geek Walk is a treasure trove of things to see and do and places to visit that you might not have been aware of in our city. START Start on the east side of George Square, facing the City Chambers. N.B. See the map on page 11 for an outlay of the route. Glasgow City Chambers, George Square The architect William Young designed our amazing City Chambers, which was opened in It was built to use electric light from its inception the first major public building to have this. The impressive electroliers can still be found in the ceremonial rooms and their original hand winches remain in use today. When first built, the City Chambers even included bacteriological and chemical laboratories! Note the engineers and scientists depicted above the entrance to the City Chambers (to the right of the main door) as well as a nod to other engineering trades and occupations above the windows. James Watt is to the left of the group in his characteristic knee breeches. Cross the road to the City Chambers and look at the two metal plaques on the wall to your right (south east). 1

2 THE STANDARDS OF MEASURE, George Square To ensure fair trading by merchants, shopkeepers, surveyors, architects and builders, strict standards of measurement were prominently provided in public places during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the days before metrication, every child had to learn that three feet makes a yard, 22 yards make a chain, 10 chains make a furlong and eight furlongs make a mile! There are three sets of measurement standards which remain on view in George Square to this day: 1. The standard inch, foot, two-feet and three-feet measurements are mounted on the exterior wall of the City Chambers and can be located on the right hand side of the entrance as you face the building with your back to the Square. 2. There is a standard chain measure, complete with its links in the Square, located at the east side of the north lawn. A small plaque is embedded at the start of the 100 link measure to commemorate the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland s centenary year ( ). 3. There is a 100-feet measure located at the west side of the north lawn. Following the Treaty of Union with England in 1706, the traditional Scots measurement units of ells, falls and miles were legally replaced with the English measurement system, however, they continued in use in some areas of Scotland into the 20th century. An ell represented 37 inches. A fall represented six ells, or 222 inches. A Scots mile represented 320 falls or 1,973 yards. The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is roughly the length of a Scots mile and longer than an English mile (which measured 1,760 yards). Now cross back to the Square at the traffic lights. 2

3 THE STATUE OF THOMAS GRAHAM, George Square This statue is to be found at the south east corner of the square near the war memorial. Dr Thomas Graham ( ) was a brilliant experimental chemist, who pioneered laboratory-based chemical education. He invented the technique of dialysis, so essential in the treatment of kidney illnesses, and formulated a law on gas diffusion. Strathclyde University s chemical engineering building is named in his honour. Now walk to the north east corner of George Square and cross George Street walking eastwards. ELECTRICITY PIONEERS The first places to have electric light were Queen Street and St Enoch stations (latter now demolished) and the head post office (1 7 George Square) which until then had been lit by open gas burners. In 1893, electric street lighting was established in Glasgow. There was a power station in Waterloo Street, and arc lamps lit Sauchiehall Street, Renfield Street, Union Street, Jamaica Street, Argyle Street and Trongate. Walk two blocks along George Street to the imposing building in red sandstone of the Royal College Building. NOTES 3

4 James Watt Statue, Royal College Building, University Of Strathclyde, George Street Go into the entrance lobby (Mon Fri 9am 5pm only although you can peer through the glass doors) of this building and you will find James Watt on your right, leaning with his elbow on a cylindrical piece of equipment representing his famous invention the steam condenser. Watt realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and re-heating the cylinder, so he devised the separate condenser. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Now walk back westwards along George Street, towards George Square. THE LAND SHIP, STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY Here, there used to be a ship on the roof of the Royal College building for training Merchant Navy apprentices in compass and navigation work. The Land Ship had a mock navigation bridge built on the roof of the School of Navigation in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, with a revolving platform with a Kelvin compass mounted on the top. It was used to teach the principles of compass adjustment. It is thought to have operated for most of the first half of the 20th century. Walk along George Street to West George Street, past the entrance to Glasgow Queen Street station and stop at the corner of Dundas Place. You will want to cross West George Street to see some of what is described next. 4

5 Connal Building, 1 Dundas Place and 34 West George Street This building is in Historic Scotland s Listed Buildings Register (B listed). Designed by James Thomson in 1900, this is one of the city s most ornate buildings. You can see a carved train and other industrial products for which the city was famed, carved into the upper floor window pediments, made by the sculptor James Young of Locharbriggs sandstone. The faces of Donaldson, Watt, and Connal, are in roundels left to right at the first floor level on the Dundas Place façade. Similarly in the roundels, left to right, at the first floor level of West George Street façade, there can be seen the faces of a male (perhaps the building s architect, James Thomson), two females, a male in the classic style and then Neilson, Baird and Dixon. William Connal Shipping magnate and a partner in the Cunard Line. James Baird Director of the Caledonian Railway Company and the Forth and Clyde Canal. James Donaldson (10 December December 1830) was a Scottish printer and newspaper publisher, founded Donaldson s Hospital, the school for deaf children in Edinburgh. James Beaumont Neilson Innovator in early town gas lighting and inventor of the hot blast method of smelting iron. William Dixon Ironfounder, colliery and railway owner. It s also worth going inside to admire the wall tiles and the ancient electrical equipment by Alexander Lindsay of 173 Bath Street, up the first flight of stairs. Continue along West George Street and follow round to the north side of the church in the middle of Nelson Mandela Place, stopping to look up at the building in the corner on your right. 5

6 James Watt statue, Athenaeum building, Nelson Mandela Place On the façade of the Athenaeum building there are two seated figures on either side above the entrance. The left hand one is James Watt holding a governor (the object with two balls) and presumably giving technical instruction to a youth. James Watt designed his first governor (which regulates machine speed) in 1788 following a suggestion from his business partner Matthew Boulton. Continue around Nelson Mandela place to the southern side and again look up at the pale grey building above the shops on your right. Building, Engineering and Mining Images, Stock exchange building, Nelson Mandela place The Stock Exchange building was erected between 1875 and 1877, designed by John Burnet. The roundels depict the various industries with which the Stock Exchange dealt. Follow round to your right and walk down Buchanan Street, crossing St Vincent Place until you reach the junction with Gordon Street. Look at the large shop on your left that faces towards Gordon Street. NOTES 6

7 Sewing Machines, Allsaints, 98 Buchanan Street AllSaints, fashion retailer, has some 400 old sewing machines in the window and even more inside, including cast iron tables and showcasing stock, continuing this industrial theme. In the 19th century, the Singer Sewing Machine retail shop was just along the street at 65 Buchanan Street. The Singer Corporation also had the largest clock face in the world, at its Clydebank factory which opened in 1885 and closed in Singer railway station, built to serve the factory, is still in existence to this day. Now turn down the pedestrianised part of Gordon Street and look at the bank building on your right. Coin and Notes Makers, Royal Bank of Scotland Building, Gordon Street The finest feature of this classic solid grey sandstone bank building is the quality of the stonecarving, by Alexander Handyside Ritchie ( ). There are two square panels (around three feet across) showing small children using printing presses to print money and diestamp coins. Reverse your route and walk back along Gordon Street to cross Buchanan Street and pass to the left (north) of the AllSaints shop. As you get towards the archway facing you, look up at the wall to your left. NOTES 7

8 Plaque of Medieval Masons at Work, Beside Allsaints Commissioned by the Glasgow Incorporation Of Masons to depict the activities of their historic trade. Mortar is being mixed, bricks laid and there is also a hand-operated machine, perhaps a crane or saw. Walk through the archway and continue along the side of the gallery of modern art building to the statue outside the front entrance. Duke of Wellington s Statue, east frontage of GOMA, Royal Exchange SquaRE The relief panels around the base of the Duke tells the story of Wellington s career. On the northern panel you can see the aftermath of a battle, presumably Waterloo. The British soldiers were struggling away from the field of victory, clutching their firearms. These will almost certainly be: The Baker rifle (officially known as the Infantry Rifle) was a flintlock rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was the first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces. The Baker Rifle was first produced in 1800 by Ezekiel Baker, a master gunsmith from Whitechapel. The British Army was still issuing the Infantry Rifle in the 1830s and more of these were issued than any other single weapon since. Continued over. 8

9 Duke of Wellington s Statue, east frontage of GOMA, Royal Exchange SquaRE The defeated French are represented by a broken artillery piece on the far left of the panel. This is almost certainly a 12 pounder bonze cannon of Gribeauval design, as this was the most commonly used at the time: the box at the rear axle and the handles on the cannon barrel are typical. Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval (15 September May 1789) was a French artillery officer and engineer who revolutionized French cannon, creating a new production system that allowed lighter, more uniform guns without sacrificing range. He is considered to be important in the development of interchangeable manufacture. Now turn left (north) along Queen Street and walk back towards George Square to the pair of equestrian statues facing the western side of the square. Prince Albert, George Square By Baron Carlo Marochetti ( ) Unveiled This was commissioned after Albert s death and was to commemorate his impact on the nation s progress. One side panel reflects this with images of industry and engineering. The reliefs depict the fine arts on the left side and the industrial arts on the right. The two central figures in the latter (shown here) represent Education and Industry and are shown reclining on a locomotive; the outer figures are personifications of Agriculture and Commerce. The Prince was educated at home and later in Brussels by Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet 22 February February 1874), a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in introducing statistical methods to the social sciences. Albert had a special interest in applying science and art to the manufacturing industry. The public fund in his memory helped to found Imperial College. Turn back to the southwest corner where you will find the master James Watt, sitting waiting for you. 9

10 JAMES WATT STATUE, SW CORNER GEORGE SQUARE A seated statue in the classic style, of James Watt, is at the south west corner of George Square, adjacent to Queen Street and St Vincent place. There is a very similar one in white marble in the atrium of the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, where you can just about see his book has engineering drawings in it. I have often wondered if the Glasgow book does too. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and re-heating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Finally, cross Queen Street at the traffic lights beside James Watt to find yourself at the end of the tour. COUNTING HOUSE PUB, GEORGE SQUARE Finish up in the Counting House pub in George Square and take a good look at all the banking history on its walls. We hope you enjoyed this mini Geek Guide to Glasgow! We d love to hear your feedback on the walk and if you have any other suitably geeky things to do in the city, please share it with us by ing info@glasgowgeekguide.com And for more information about what to do in Glasgow visit 10

11 NORTH HANOVER STREET BATH STREET BUCHANAN STREET HOPE STREET RENFIELD STREET CATHEDRAL STREET JOHN STREET WEST NILE STREET MONTROSE STREET SOUTH/NORTH FREDERICK ST GEORGE SQUARE W GEORGE ST GEORGE STREET ST VINCENT PLACE GORDON STREET COCHRANE STREET INGRAM STREET QUEEN STREET BUCHANAN STREET UNION STREET Start 1 Glasgow City Chambers façade 2 The Standards of Measure, George Square 3 Statue of Thomas Graham, George Square 4 Electricity pioneers 5 James Watt statue, Royal College building, University of Strathclyde, George Square (Open Monday Friday 9am 5pm) 6 Land Ship, University of Strathclyde (Archives Monday Friday 9am 5pm) 7 Connal Building, 1 Dundas Place and 34 West George Street 8 James Watt statue, Athenaeum building, Nelson Mandela Place 9 Building, Engineering And Mining Images, Stock Exchange building, Nelson Mandela place 10 Sewing Machines, Allsaints Shop, 98 Buchanan Street 11 Coin and Notes Makers, RBS Building, Gordon Street 12 Plaque Of Medieval Masons At Work, Beside Allsaints 13 Duke Of Wellington s Statue, east frontage of GoMA, Royal Exchange Square 14 Prince Albert, west side of George Square 15 James Watt statue, southwest corner George Square 16 Counting House banking history Finish 11