The Italianate arches that rise from a forgotten stretch of riverfront in the oldest part of Glasgow are about to reawaken. Overlooking the recently completed National Cycle Route 75, between the defunct City Union Bridge and the tangled web of crossings at the Clutha Bar, The Briggait has never looked better.
More than 50 years have passed since the former fish market turned its back on the river, abandoning this stretch of Clyde Street to cars, sporadic cyclists and stragglers from the High Court. But now, thanks to a £4.9 million restoration, the A-listed cluster of buildings is making a comeback.
The first building in the clutch of market halls was designed by architects Clarke and Bell and opened in 1873 with additional buildings added in 1889, 1903, and 1914. Modelled after Les Halles in Paris, each of the buildings cropped up around the Merchants’ Steeple, one of the last vestiges of Medieval Glasgow. The sharp pointed spire on the six-storey tower is one of the city’s oldest surviving structures, its enduring presence lingers in nearly every depiction of the River Clyde’s skyline. It’s a reminder of how key the awkward triangle of land containing The Briggait is to unlocking the Clydeside.
Read the full article by Marissa McWhirter on The Herald’s website here.
