Britannia's New Face Lift

152 years after being completed the Britannia Music Hall on Glasgow’s historic Trongate has had a facelift. For nearly a year the four storey edifice has been hidden behind scaffolding whilst the stone masons of CBC Stone have worked their magic on the crumbling facade.

The historic clean up was completed under the direction of conservation architect Keith Hamilton of B3 Architects. B3 specialises in museums and listed buildings and includes the restoration of Nottingham Castle in their prestigious list of credits.

Now the peeling blue paint which had been a familiar sight since the 1930’s, has gone to reveal a magnificent façade which was the original vision of Glasgow Architects Thomas Gildard and Robert H. M. MacFarlane in 1857. In addition to peeling off the blue and repairing the stone some of the original historic features have also been restored and recreated, including the missing Putti (small children – usually boys - which are traditionally depicted naked).

The Putti were recreated by sculptor, Jez Ainsworth, who in recent years worked with Hathernware on the restoration of the magnificent Doulton Fountain which has been relocated to the front of the People’s Palace on Glasgow Green. This work was funded by Historic Scotland, Merchant City Townscape Heritage Initiative and the Mitchell Family (the erstwhile owners of the building) and cost in the region of £900,000.

But the work hasn't finished yet - watch this space as the plate glass shop front is removed in favour of...? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.