464 



GLASGOW. (DESCRIPTION.) 



academic groves ; of its town hall, lolbonth, and 

 tower, buildings of great iiiiigniiiccnce in their day ; 

 of its merchants' hall nml steeple, die latter still one 

 of the finest specimens of steeple architecture in the 

 country ; of its town-hospital, the first of the kind 

 erected in Scotland, and. considering the extent of 

 the city at the time, an elegant and commodious 

 building ; besides, of various churches with spires, 

 Mich as Blackfriars' church, the Tron church, the 

 Kainshorn church, St Knoch's church, &c., and of 

 many private residences unequalled in the kingdom 

 for beauty of architecture. Indeed, no town of 

 similar dimensions, in modern times, can enumerate 

 so many public attractions. Its principal streets, 

 also, which, contrary to what generally obtained in 

 these, days, were wide and clean, consisted of high 

 ranges of freestone buildings, mostly set on pilasters, 

 and bearing altogether a very impressive and pictur- 

 esque character. The public park, or green, was 

 then adorned with beautiful serpentine walks, and 

 within and around the city were numerous flower- 

 gardens and orchards, which, says M'Ure, " by rea- 

 son of the open and large streets sent forth a pleasant 

 and odoriferous smell about it." In short, Glasgow, 

 in these days, with its spacious streets and fine build- 

 ings, its general cleanness and opulence, must have 

 formed a striking contrast to the narrow, nasty, and 

 ill-conditioned towns which then prevailed in Scot- 

 land ; and we can almost conceive M'Ure to be 

 uttering no hyperbole, but sober truth, when he says, 

 that G lasgow was acknowledged by all foreigners to 

 be, " of its bigness, the most beautiful city in the 

 world. " 



Modern Glasgow, though greatly changed since 

 the days of M'Ure changed to an extent enough to 

 make the bones of that old enthusiast stir in their 

 grave may still be considered a beautiful and inter- 

 esting city. Its principal part occupies a plain on 

 the north bank of the river Clyde, whence it rises by 

 a gradual ascent till it is terminated by the cathedral 

 on the north. It resembles London, in that its sub- 

 urbs extend to the opposite bank of the river, with 

 which they communicate by four bridges, three of 

 stone and one of wood. Suburbs also diverge from 

 other directions of the city. The suburbs on the 

 south side of the river are four in number, though 

 they now form one connected whole. The eastern 

 portion is called Hutchesontown; the western, Trade- 

 ston ; and between these stands the old Gorbals, the 

 nucleus of the whole, with Laurieston by its side, 

 which may be considered the youngest, fairest, and 

 most thriving of its progeny. The chief suburbs on 

 the north or Glasgow side of the river are Anderston, 

 Finnieston, and Cowcaddens, to the west and north- 

 west ; and Calton and Bridgeton, to the east and 

 south-east. The principal street of the city runs 

 nearly east and west, bearing at different points the 

 names of Gallowgate, Trongate, and Argyle Street, 

 and is two miles long and about eighty feet broad. 

 Sixty years ago, the Trongate was pronounced by 

 the celebrated Edmund Burke, to be the finest 

 street *in Europe, and it still forms, with its pictur- 

 esque buildings and ever moving crowd, an interest- 

 ing panorama of commercial life. The Trongate and 

 Argyle Street are intersected by a variety of tribu- 

 tary streets, which lead off to the north and south. 

 To the north of the Trongate and Argyle Street 

 diverge the High Street, Nelson Street, Candleriggs, 

 Brunswick Street, llutcheson Street, Glassford Street, 

 Virginia Street Miller Street, Queen Street, Bu- 

 chanan Street, Mitchell Street, Union Street, and 

 others further west ; to the south diverge the Salt- 

 market, King Street, Stockwell Street, Dunlop Street, 

 Mar.well Street, St Enoch Street, Jamaica Street, 

 aiid others further west. There are three leading 



streets, which run parallel with A rgylc Street, nnd 

 are intersected, as in the latter, by cross stnrt.s run- 

 ning north anil south. These are Ingrain Street, 

 George Street, and St Vincent Street. Ingram Street 

 may now be reckoned the centre of the city, although 

 little more than fifty years ago it was quite a ninil 

 road, sprinkled here and therewith ".-'.rdcners' and 

 dairymen's cottages, and receiving the humble cog- 

 nomen of Cow Lone. It is now terminated on (lo- 

 west by the magnificent New Exchange, and is 

 adorned on its northern side by the Assembly Room-, 

 the Bank of Scotland, Ilutchesons' Hospital, and St 

 David's Church. George Street runs west from the 

 High Street, at the point where Duke Street branches 

 off to the east, and is terminated by St George's, 

 Church. St Vincent Street commences at the .south- 

 west corner of George's square, and passing St Vin- 

 cent Place, proceeds westward over Blythswood 

 Hill. West George Street, Regent Street, and 1'atli 

 Street run in a parallel direction , and consist of some 

 beautiful ranges of buildings. These have all a grace- 

 ful ascent towards Blythswood Hill, on the summit of 

 which stands Blythswood square, from which an ex- 

 tensive and varied prospect may be obtained : to tlie 

 east and south, a panoramic view of the city, with all 

 its pinnacles and towers, and the hills of Cathkin, 

 Dychmont, and Tin to; to the west, the vale of Clyde, 

 the town of Paisley, and the distant mountains 

 beyond ; and to the north, Benlomond and the Camp- 

 sie hills. Beyond Blythswood square stretches 

 Sauchiehall Street, which consists of neat rows of 

 houses, with parterres in front, and near the western 

 extremity of which splendid crescents have recently 

 been erected. With the exception of its public 

 works, which are mostly built of brick, Glasgow is 

 almost entirely constructed of hewn stone, which 

 gives in all cases a substantial, in many an elegant, 

 character to the appearance of the city. The greater 

 part of the private buildings, particularly in the an- 

 cient part of the town, are built in what is called flats, 

 by winch one or more families are accommodated 

 under the same roof. In many of the modern erec- 

 tions, however, the tenements are ~so constructed, 

 that one family occupies the whole. Most of the 

 streets are sixty feet wide, and they are all causey- 

 ed with whin-stone, and skirted with hewn-ston<> 

 pavements of various breadths. 



Of the Public Buildings and Institutions of Glas- 

 gow, we can only take a summary view, as any satis- 

 factory detail of them would extend this article too 

 much. First in time, as well as interest, stands the 

 Cathedral or High Church. It was founded, as we 

 have seen in our historical sketch, by John Achaius, 

 bishop of Glasgow, in 1123, and continued to be car- 

 ried on by succeeding bishops, aided by collections 

 from all the churches of Scotland, and a liberal sale 

 of indulgences to all who contributed to the pious 

 undertaking, until, by bishop Joceline, it was dedi- 

 cated to St Mungo, or Kentigern, on the last day ot 

 May, 1197. From an inscription upon the Abbey 

 church of Melrose, it appears that the architect was 

 John Murdo, who by the numerous works which he 

 executed, seems to have been at the head of his pro- 

 fession in Scotland. The original plan of this Ca- 

 thedral was in the form of a cross ; though the trans- 

 verse part on the south side has never been carried 

 higher than the first tier of arches. It is 319 feet 

 long, 65 broad, and 90 feet high within the walls. 

 The circumference, measuring round the walls and 

 abutments, is 1090 feet; it is supported by 147 

 pillars, and lighted by 157 windows of various dimen- 

 sions, many of which are of exquisite workmanship. 

 About the centre of the building, a square tower rises 

 nearly 30 feet above the roof, supported by four 

 uias^y pillars, each 29 feet ti indies in c.irciimfer- 



