St Andrew's in the Square

Glasgow, United Kingdom

St Andrew's in the Square is an 18th-century former church in Glasgow, considered one of the finest classical churches in Scotland, and now Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dance.

The church was built between 1739 and 1756 by Master Mason Mungo Naismith, and designed by Allan Dreghorn. It was the first Presbyterian church built after the Reformation, and was commissioned by the city's Tobacco Lords as a demonstration of their wealth and power.

The church was enclosed by a later square, built by William Hamilton between 1786 and 1787, which became fashionable homes for some of Glasgow's wealthiest merchants. The migration of the city westwards throughout the 19th century, however, resulted in a gradual slumming of the area and a dwindling congregation. The church was last used for a religious service in 1993.

St Andrew's has played its part in Scottish history; in December 1745, before the church's completion, the Jacobite army, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, camped around the site, and within its semi-built walls, on its return from their failed battles in England, and on 23 November 1785, huge crowds of Glaswegians gathered to watch Vincenzo Lunardi take off from the churchyard in a hot air balloon on a flight which took him south-east to Hamilton and Lanark, before eventually landing in Hawick.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1739-1756
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in United Kingdom

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Tork Mackenzie (3 years ago)
The cafe was closed on our visit but the church exterior is well worth a visit as its a standout in the local area
ruth guest (3 years ago)
Beautiful place. So near park & River for walks.
Sumit Soni (3 years ago)
Nice architecture.
Leigh Hamilton (3 years ago)
Nice building, good area, pleasant restaurant/bar in the basement
Paul Smyth (5 years ago)
Very good venue good for works xmas party very good and polite staff realy well organized nice food so a must to try the Scottish dancing to finish off
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle

Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.

History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.

Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.

Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.