Glasgow City Chambers

The need for a new city chambers had been apparent since the 18th century, with the old Glasgow Tolbooth at Glasgow Cross becoming insufficient for the purposes of civic government in a growing town with greater political responsibilities. In 1814, the tolbooth was sold – with the exception of the steeple, which still remains – and the council chambers moved to the public buildings in the Saltmarket, near Glasgow Green. A subsequent move took the city council to the city and county buildings between Wilson Street and Ingram Street in 1844. In the early 1880s, City Architect John Carrick was asked to identify a suitable site for a purpose-built City Council Chambers. Carrick identified the…

The entrance hall of the Chambers displays a mosaic of the city's coat of arms on the floor, which dates from the 1950s when the city's coat of arms was last modified. The arms reflect legends about Glasgow's patron saint, Saint Mungo, and include four emblems – the bird, tree, bell, and fish – as remembered in the following verse: The room hosted Nelson Mandela and Sir Alex Ferguson when they received the Freedom of the City in 1993 and 1999, respectively. The Council Chamber is clad in Spanish mahogany panelling and its windows are made of Venetian stained glass.

The building was used as a stand in for the British Embassy in Moscow in the film An Englishman Abroad in 1983, and as the Vatican in Heavenly Pursuits in 1986. It was also used for the film The House of Mirth in 2000 and featured more recently in the television series Outlander.