The PANOPTICON SLIDE SHOW
A miscellany of
photographs of the Panopticon - its history and its stars - past
and present.
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.
.jpg "Judith Laurie Kitty")
