Trongate

The Trongate was originally known as St. Thenew’s Gait because it was the way to St. Thenew’s Chapel, named after the mother of St. Mungo, and situated where St. Enoch Square is today. It should be noted that the term “gait”, also spelled “gate”, does not refer to a gated entry but is instead an old Scottish word meaning “the way to”. In 1491, a trone or balance for weighing goods was set up at Glasgow Cross and St. Thenew’s Gait subsequently became known as the Tronegait or the way to the trone.

We are now approaching the intersection with Glassford Street on the left and Stockwell Street which is off camera to the right. On the right is part of the Granite House building which occupies a prominent position on the corner with Stockwell Street. They are holding a sale of men’s and youth’s clothing and this was probably a regular event. Gow & Son, the Upholsterers, occupy the building next door and beyond is Slater’s, known as the Great London Tailors. ( Postcard published by E. A. Schwerdtfeger & Co., London E. C. and printed in Berlin. )

It’s just 12.30 by the Tron Steeple clock in this sunny 1920 view and the north side of the street is busy. All of the women in the picture are wearing hats, most of which are in transition from the broad brim to the narrow style that would become popular during the 1920’s. On the south side of the street, the Britannia Panopticon, which served as both a theatre and a cinema, is showing the “The Wilderness Trail”, a 50-minute silent Western in black and white that had been released in the U.S.A. on 6 July, 1919. ( Valentine’s X L Series )

This high-resolution printed view depicts a scene in the Trongate looking east to Glasgow Cross, circa 1903/4. The Tolbooth Steeple visible in the distance still attached to the five-storey building modified from the original Tolbooth. In the foreground of the picture, the entrance to King Street is on the immediate right and Candleriggs is on the left. The clock on the Tolbooth Steeple reads a quarter past ten and the one on the Tron Steeple reads a quarter past six, so at least one of them is wrong. The Tron Steeple, built in 1637, is all that remains of the Collegiate Church of St Mary and St. Anne which was burned down by drunken members of the Hellfire Club in 1793. A replacement church built to a design by James Adam was completed in the following year and now houses the Tron Theatre.

In the distance, one of the original “Room and Kitchen” single-deck tramcars is approaching its London Street ( later London Road ) terminus. These trams were not an unqualified success and most did not last long in active service beyond 1905. They were subject to frequent derailments which is why they were latterly placed on the relatively straight London Street to Clydebank route.

We are now approaching the eastern end of the Trongate as we head towards Glasgow Cross in this mid to late 1920’s scene. The Tron Steeple is visible on the right and, in the distance, the now freestanding Tolbooth Steeple is coming into view. King Street is on the immediate right and the Scottish Clothing Company is advertising merchandise costing 21 and 30 shillings each, possibly coats or suits. Further along is a vendor of prams and Jack’s Doll Hospital. In the days before plastic became popular, dolls were made of ceramic material and they would often be subject to cracking and breakage. Because such dolls could be expensive to replace, there was clearly a business for Jack in repairing them. Six tramcars are in view and Car 128 nearest the camera is on the long run out to Dalmuir West. ( Anonymous publisher )

In this later photograph, the items on sale in the foreground are Ladies Rain Coats, 30/- ( or possibly 36/- ) and Ladies Waterproof Coats, 24/-. We cannot be certain that these are the same items as advertised in the previous photograph ( subject to price inflation ). What could be the difference between the Rain Coats and the cheaper Waterproof Coats? Perhaps the Rain Coats were made of more expensive fabric but were not guaranteed to be waterproof. The Waterproof Coats were certainly not “plastic macs” as they were not available in the 1920’s. The term “mac” is derived from Charles Macintosh, a Glasgow industrial chemist, who applied a solution of rubber dissolved in naphtha to fabric and found that the resulting material was waterproof once the naphtha had evaporated. Coats manufactured in this way with a layer of rubber sandwiched between two layers of fabric became known as Mackintoshes ( with a k ) and the first one was sold in 1824.

The image on this postcard may be a reproduction of an 1870’s Thomas Annan photograph of the Tontine Hotel.  It was established in 1783 after the Tontine Society purchased the original buildings and converted them into a hotel. As well as catering to travellers, the Tontine Hotel was renowned for its coffee room which proved very popular as a place to conduct business, while its assembly rooms hosted regular social meetings and dances.  

In 1897, the statue of King Billy on his mount was moved from the location shown in this view to one in the centre of the Trongate, facing west and in front of the new Glasgow Cross Station building designed by J. J. Burnet for the Caledonian Railway Co.  By this time, the Tontine building had ceased to be a hotel, and space has been leased for use as a warehouse by the drapers Moore, Taggart & Co.  The arches at the front were subsequently obscured by store front.  Sadly, in 1911, there was a serious fire on the premises.

In this scene, taken before 1910, we are looking west from the Gallowgate across Glasgow Cross, and down the Trongate. There are military personnel in the right foreground, including one soldier in full dress uniform with a kilt, spats and a chest full of medals. Perhaps a recruiting campaign was underway and there was a recruiting office in nearby Rendezvous Court. Beyond the soldiers, the Tolbooth Steeple and Building are visible across the entrance to the High Street. The curious ornate octagonal building on the left of the picture is the Caledonian Railway building ( 1896 ), designed by J. J. Burnet and part of Glasgow Cross Station whose platforms were below street level. The wrought ironwork on the other side of the building enclosed a ventilation shaft that allowed smoke to escape from the tunnels below. Beyond this, the mounted statue of King William III, Prince of Orange, better known as King Billy, looks down the Trongate, taking in the view with the Tron Steeple on the left. King Billy’s statue was in the Trongate for 163 years before it was taken down in 1923 and, after a short period in storage, erected in the Cathedral precinct in 1926. ( Postcard published in the Philco Series. )

Rendezvous Court, just off the Trongate near the Tontine building, was the location for an army recruitment centre. The soldier seen in the vicinity in the previous photograph, wearing full military dress, complete with medals and spats, may have been seeking recruits.  ( Postcard published in the Reliable Series. )

Tagged as: Charles Mackintosh, Collegiate Church of St. Mary and St. Anne, Glasgow Cross Station, Glassford Street, Granite House, Hellfire Club, J. J. Burnet, King Billy Statue, Mackintosh waterproof coat, Panopticon, Rendezvous Court, Scottish Clothing Company, Stockwell Street, Tontine Hotel, Tron Steeple, Trongate