Britannia Panopticon

The Britannia Music Hall (later known as The Panopticon or The Britannia Panopticon) in Trongate, Glasgow, Scotland is one of the oldest remaining music halls in Britain. It is located above an amusement arcade, at 113-117 Trongate. Built in 1857/58 by and for city builder Archibald Blair whose architects were Thomas Gildard and Robert H. M. MacFarlane, the Trongate building was a speculative building, soon with lessees for each of its four shops on the street level. The floors above were advertised as being suitable for a drapery warehouse, but they opened as an entertainment centre, firstly as the Britannia Music Hall. Britannia Panopticon was an early building to become powered by electricity and one of the first cinema venues in Scotland. The Britannia Music Hall, leased to John Brand, opened on Christmas Day 1859. Successive lessees include HT Rossborough, William Kean, Arthur Hubner and AE Pickard and was closed in 1938 when the Trongate building was sold by the Pickard family to the multiple tailors Weaver to Wearer Ltd of Leeds, which in the 1950s became part of Great Universal Stores Ltd. Fortunately, following the removal of the false ceiling on floor one in 2003, the Britannia was opened again. It is currently being conserved by a trust who regularly perform traditional shows in the auditorium. In 1977 the building became a category A listed building. The Panopticon Trust has been formed as a building preservation trust to help acquire and restore the entire building as an entertainment venue and as a hub for the community. An annual programme of entertainments and events is managed by the Friends of the Britannia Music Hall Trust.