ARCADES PROJECT

Argyll Arcade in Glasgow is approaching its bicentenary, making it one of the UK’s oldest arcades.

These days the arcade is home virtually exclusively to jeweller’s, some of whom have been in business in the arcade for over 150 years. It also has the entrance to one of Glasgow’s culinary institutions, Sloan’s restaurant, with its sumptuous ballroom (still playing host to weekly ceilidhs) and its stories of Glasgow society meeting here from the arcade’s early days.

There is something of London’s Burlington Arcade in the structure of Argyll Arcade, with the shop fronts on the ground floor and, above them but still under the arcade’s glass ceiling, an upper level, with office-style windows. Down at the Argyl Street end of the arcade, there is also a large panel, put in place in 1904, giving clear instructions to dog owners and to those using the arcade merely to shelter from Glasgow’s elements.

The awning at the entrance in Buchanan Street makes it hard these days to get a good view of the arcade’s best original feature, with its ornate gold-leaf mosaic announcing the arcade name and showing the Glasgow coat of arms. Other features not to be missed are inside: with the decorative ironwork up above and some stained-glass windows on the upper floor.

Some of the jeweller’s names are also Glasgow institutions: Laing or Porter, though other jewellers from the early days like Todd, are now sadly gone, and there are none of the basic shops initially advertised for in 1828 like the corset makers or whip makers.

My favourite shop today

I’m not one to buy much in the way of jewellery, but I do love a good cafe and a big ballroom so Sloan’s upstairs in the arcade gets my vote here, for its magnificence and its history.

My pick of the arcade’s past

Argyll Arcade was built in 1827 and was open for business in February 1828, so officially it is Georgian architecture, not Victorian as the arcade’s own website claims. When first open, unlike today, it was not dedicated exclusively to jewellery. The adverts for businesses to open up in the new arcade suggested a whole range of shops were looked for, including straw hat makers, corset and stay makers, saddlery and whip makers, tea and coffee dealers, as well as shops more familiar in the 21^st century like grocers, confectioners or opticians, and jewellery!

The advert described the shop units as “neat, well-aired and lighted,” and on a par with Paris or London. The glass ceiling was mentioned, as were the ‘extensive vaults under the arcade.’

In 1838, a lieutenant from the Hussars was arrested after riding a horse through Argyll Arcade. The judge in the court case that followed called the lieutenant’s behaviour ‘wanton and reckless in the extreme,’ causing a danger to people walking through the arcade. The maximum fine was imposed at £5, but the lieutenant revealed later that by riding his horse there he had won a bet worth £50…

There was a tradition among Glasgow women that on the first spring Monday, they would put on their best bonnets and walk through the arcade three times, ending up with afternoon tea above the bakery in the arcade. This was known locally as Bonnet Monday.

According to one correspondent in the Devon Valley Tribune, the Argyll Arcade was a favourite ‘trysting place’ for young couples. There are few Glasgow couples, he reckoned, who would not have pleasant memories of meeting there.

Sources for the stories in this section all come from www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk: 1) Edinburgh Evening Courant, 16 February 1828 (British Library Board); 2) The Scotsman 16 October 1838 – National World Publishing Ltd; 3) Devon Valley Tribune, 13 November 1923, British Library Board

This arcade in films or books

Amazingly, I have yet to find any films set in Argyll Arcade or even books with scenes taking place in Glasgow’s arcade. Surely someone can help me out here?

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes, indeed, Argyll Arcade has its own website but as far as I could see is not active on social media. There is a good history section to the arcade website, linked to here.