IT’S unclear exactly how many landmark city-centre buildings currently have washing-lines on their roofs, but Merchants House, in Glasgow, certainly had one in its rooftop garden in 1961.
The photograph here appeared in the July 21st edition of the Evening Times.
Mrs Kitty Moore, enjoying the rooftop garden 100ft above George Square, told a reporter: “The Smoke Abatement Act has made a tremendous difference to my washing up here this year”.
Her husband, James, the Lord Dean of Guild’s officer, said he was pleased with his garden “despite sabotage by George Square pigeons and starlings”.
There wasn’t a weed to be seen in the garden, the paper’s reporter observed.
The Merchants House of Glasgow is one of the oldest and most important bodies in the city.
A history of the building, detailed on a video on the website (www.merchantshouse.org.uk/history) describes it as a “hidden treasure set in the very heart of Glasgow city centre... This unique and magnificent luxury venue is steeped in history and character”.
It was built in 1877 by the prominent architect, John Burnet, replacing the institution’s original home, in the Bridgegate (the ‘Briggait’), which was opened in 1601.
The elegant West George Street building incorporates a number of features from its Briggait predecessor, including a stone, dated 1601, in the Lord Dean’s room.
A stained glass window in the room depicts the first Lord Dean of Guild and the signing of the Letter of Guildry in 1605, the video adds.
The original door from the Briggait venue now graces the second floor of the modern-day building.
The other photograph here was taken in 1981, when new office suites were built in the Merchants House.
Read more: Herald Diary
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here