Glasgow Cathedral area

Glasgow Cathedral

After lunch at the Peoples Palace, the weather and subject material turned interesting but austere and grim. Although it would be a little unfair to suggest that there were parallels with my current life, there were similarities with difficulties that related to the editing of the images and the publication of the post.

For example I kept tinkering with the first image as the light wasn't great in a variety of ways. As in life, time to move on to the next image !!

The first time I visited Glasgow back in 1983 I had two spare hours free in the afternoon and remember an exhausting walk to the Cathedral and back after spending an hour in a large bookshop unique to Glasgow. I didn't do the location justice and felt a little cheated that it didn't look on first glance pleasing to the eye like other Cathedrals that I was more familiar with. At the time I didn't realise the significance of the location away from the city centre as this was where Glasgow was born ... and not George square or ... Glasgow Central station :-)

Chalmers Gate / Gallowgate, Glasgow

Having walked south eastwards to The Peoples Palace in the previous post, I had no specific route in mind to walk northwards to The Cathedral area. The scenery commenced with a journey through a local housing estate.

I was somewhat intrusive and surprised to come across this little gem with it's rear circular staircase. I traced it later from Google maps to find ... that there's not much said about it.There are two images on Flickr of number 4 -7 Chalmers gate (formerly 394 Gallowgate) on the A89 road. The house was built in 1771, became a listed building in 1981 due to the rarity of external brick walls in the 18th century. The building was renovated into flats during 1983. Amazingly it was once used as an establishment for the motor trade ...  394 Gallowgate.

Industrial Unit, Glasgow East End

Continuing further northwards to my next destination, I was well off the tourism track and took in the sites of East Glasgow housing estates and industrial depravation. TV Taggart country indeed !! ... "Let Glasgow Flourish .... " !!

Lord Provost House, Glasgow

Unsurprisingly at the original centre of Glasgow, The Lords Provost house built in 1471 is the oldest. I decided to make the image more authentic by removing the signs, traffic lights, bollards and lamp posts :-)

Built by a former bishop, the building was used to run the affairs of Glasgow on behalf of the Bishops by a Provost (an early Lord Mayor, a role that still exists today although in more salubrious surroundings :-)  ! ). No doubt the Bishops at the time who seemed to have control of the City and the associated power and money that went with it, felt that there was some need for social action. An adjacent St Nicholas hospital was built that was unfortunately demolished in the early 20th century when building preservation was not high on the agenda. It may be sad to think that this building nearly went the same way but was saved due to the noble efforts of the occupants.

Lord Provost House, Glasgow

The building is currently used as a museum furnished with 17th century furniture and needless to say Mary Queen of Scots seems to leave her trail of scent everywhere I go !!

Old house, new Garden, Lord Provost house, Glasgow

To the rear of the building is the redeveloped 1990's "Cloister like" St Nicholas garden with its low hedgerows and covered walkway on two sides.

Garden, Lord Provost House, Glasgow

Various sizeable strange stone Tontine faces that were lost or hidden across Glasgow were eventually brought to this location during the redevelopment  and placed on the walls of the covered walkway.

St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow

Just across the road to left is one of the Glasgow hospitals, possibly replacing the demolished St Nicholas just a stones throw away. To the right is the lane leading to the Cathedral and in the centre is the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. The Museum opened in 1993 and is the ultimate in finding out about comparative religion. Time was pressing on and I visited briefly two of the floors but didn't feel comfortable with some of the extreme material and left for the Cathedral behind with the excuse that I had two more sites to see.

Coat of Arms on a street light, Glasgow

The Glasgow coat of Arms on a lamppost in Cathedral square that remembers St Mungo.

"Here is the bird that never flew, here is the tree that never grew,

here is the bell that never rang, here is the fish that never swam".

(interestingly, I decided to research this and it seems to show that there are many different versions with the order of the lines alternating)

Saint Mungo once entitled a sermon "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word and the praising of His Name" and it was later tagged on to the end of the poem.

Interpretations on the rhyme in a positive way as it was thought to represent various things that St Mungo did in his lifetime such as bringing a robin back to life, restarting a fire with branches of a tree, bringing a bell to the City from Rome and finding a fish in the river with a ring in its mouth to clear the name of Queen Languoreth of infidelity. Various bells have replaced the original and Glasgow's accompanying motto has been shortened to the more secular "Let Glasgow Flourish". ( Hmm, I wasn't quite sure if it was, the bits I saw on the second half of my walk !)

Nave, Glasgow Cathedral

St Mungo was born in Culross (A place I'd love to return to ... "in digital" ) by The River Forth in Fife. He was brought up by Saint Serf in the 6th century and was inspired to become a missionary near The River Clyde. He essentially founded Glasgow and is now known as their patron saint.

Steps and Arches, Glasgow Cathedral

He built a church on the current site of Glasgow Cathedral and was eventually buried on the same site  ... downstairs !!

Steps, Glasgow Cathedral

The current 12th century building is significant because it was the only medieval cathedral in Scotland to make it through the Reformation. Due to a legacy of land and money, the King of Scotland and the town councillors came to an agreement to look after the Cathedral.

Flowers, Glasgow Cathedral

To the choir, Glasgow Cathedral

The building was once a Roman Catholic cathedral but was converted into a protestant cathedral at the time of the Scottish Reformation

Up the steps, Glasgow Cathedral

Lecturn, Glasgow Cathedral

"... with the Preaching of the Word" !!

It seems another one of my obsessions to photograph Eagle Lecturns in Cathedrals ... Chester, Bangor, Sheffield ......  haha

Necropolis Gates, Glasgow

On leaving the Cathedral it was time for my last and most grim location of the day, The Necropolis.

Necropolis Entrance, Glasgow

Crossing over the valley on "The Bridge of Sighs", the Victorian deceased and the modern tourist are met by this structure that welcomes them. The inscription above the closed door reads...

"The adjoining bridge was erected by The Merchants house of Glasgow to afford a proper entrance to their new cemetery combining convenient access to the grounds with suitable decoration yo the venerable cathedral &surrounding scenery to unite the tombs of many generations who have gone before with the resting places destined for generations yet unborn whee the ashes of all shall repose until the resurrection of the just when that which is born a natural body shall be raised a spiritual body when this corruptible must put on incorruption when this mortal must put on immortality when death is swallowed up in victory. A.D. MDCCCXXXIII "Blessed is the man who trusteth in God and whose hope the Lord is"

Tombstone, Glasgow Necropolis

In 1831 a competition was held to transform Fir Park into a cemetery with a few prizes ranging from £10 - £50. The winner was announced and a landscape gardener was given the task to bring the plans to reality.

Glasgow Necropolis

Necropolis, Glasgow

                              I thought I'd keep the grass green ... if nothing else !!!

The Necropolis opened in 1833 and was a place that became fashionable for the Victorian rich and famous to be laid to rest with a colossal 3500 monuments on site and 50,000 people buried here.

Mausoleum, Glasgow Necropolis

Tomb or Time Machine ?? !

At this point in the day I just wanted to be transported out of this place (maybe the weather didn't help) and back to the railway station...

East Coast Liveried Class 91, Glasgow Central station

Unfortunately when I arrived on my own steam, it seemed that my real time machine wasn't going anywhere as there turned out to be a 90min delay due to fallen overhead power cables further south than I was going.

It might have been better using a nearby TV Doctor Who style Police box for time travel ... bringing me back from the 6th and 12th century if nothing else !! ..... 3 types of tardis in the last 3 images haha

Police Box, Glasgow East End

Bangor, North Wales

The small university city of Bangor in the North West corner of Wales was one of many places I researched for a five night accommodation break to combine a mixture of hill walking and tourism.
My eventual chosen location was half way between here and the distant hills in the background.

After the drive along one of my favourite main roads, the North Wales A55 coastal route (particularly the Conwy to Llanfairfechan section), I dropped my luggage off at the bed and breakfast and headed to my local town. As a car driver, the west end of the A55 was a little unfamiliar to me in parts as I was more used to the scenery near all the railway stations particularly during the mid 90's.

This gave me the opportunity of visiting Bangor pier for the first time albeit with a 15 minute period before it closed for the evening.

The Pier was built quite late after the Victorian tourist boom in the 1890's and stretches out into the Menai straits facing the island of Anglesey.

Originally there was a landing stage at the head of the pier from which steam ships took passengers to Liverpool, Blackpool and The Isle of Man. A railway track on the pier for transporting luggage was removed at about the same time that a ship collided ( bad weather conditions) with the pier in 1914 causing a gap. This structural damage took another 7 years to complete the repairs.

The sun was about to set on the pier when it closed the gates in 1971 due to safety concerns and 3 years later it was saved from demolition by a council objection. The road to restoration was a long and torturous one starting with listed building status as one of the top three surviving piers in Britain. Ownership was secured by buying the pier for 1 pence, but restoration funds took another 7 years followed by 6 years spending the money ! The Pier finally re-opened it's gates in May 1988.

Looking up the Menai straits from the Pier

The main and historic building of Bangor University is a prominent part of the city on one side of the valley above the road systems ( including the high street) that track down the valley from the railway station to the seafront. It started in 1884 after donations were given by local quarrymen campaigning for better education in the area for their city and families. The degree qualifications were affiliated with London until it became The University of Wales in 1893.

Famous paintings were initially stored here during the second World War to protect them from German bombings before being transferred to underground slate mines in the nearby mountains. The University has grown in size and so too has the town with the number of students not quite doubling the population.

The name Bangor comes from an ancient Welsh word that refers to a fenced enclosure. Bangor Cathedral now stands on the site of what was that primitive 6th century monastery built by a celtic saint called Deiniol.

The story of Bangor Cathedral is a bleak one as it suffered numerous destructions from English Kings in the post Norman years. Reconstruction after centuries of unrest was completed in 1532 with subsequent work being done in 1824.

Further external work was carried out in the middle of the 19th century with features that we see today.

Although you don't know it yet, I first discovered the Eagle lecturn as a child in the church next door to my Junior school when we sung Carols there at Christmas time. As an object of photographic beauty, I discovered it's merits in Sheffield at the beginning of the year .....  it is rapidly becoming an obsession of mine to photograph these objects in Churches and Cathedrals. The Chester lecturn missed the edit cut and I also have ...... a little secret ...... examples still to publish from Glasgow and Haworth at some quiet moment another time.

The uglier side of Bangor !! ...... watching the seagulls !!

Like most cities and towns, there is a normality behind the facade .... whether that is student life or living in an outpost of Great Britain where employment prospects may not be the best for some. Bangor is more normal than most tourist places as I couldn't even buy a box of souvenir biscuits here.

Arguably ... the longest High Street in Great Britain... it seems to go on forever !

One of the things about this blog and my adventures through certain cities and towns that readers occasionally miss, is the artistic photographic viewpoint I take when all else seems dull and uninteresting. It is my challenge to find something to photograph even if it has to stoop to humour ...

Different kind of busy High Street !!

Balance of money ... Bank, Cash point collection, Big Issue seller ... Nice dog !!

I was left to consider much of nearby Bangor and those less fortunate than myself.... to find themselves imprisoned on Bangor Pier ........

A Chinese Panda holding a Welsh flag ..... a prisoner of thee tourist war !!

Chester

Chester is one of the historic cities of the UK that attracts a lot of tourists. For me it is usually either a convenient destination on a scenic North East Railtours day trip or as in this particular case, a handy car / lunch break (3 hours from home) as I travel onwards to another location.

A quiet monday afternoon on Bridge street

Chester's history can be traced back to Roman times when four main roads (Northgate, Eastgate, Watergate and Bridge ) all met in the centre of "Deva". Chester was the name chosen by the Saxons who were responsible for further protection of the inhabitants and as a result was one of the last places to fall to the Normans.

Chester Cathedral demonstrates a variety of architectural designs as the building was modified through the ages since it's 11th century construction with major restoration work being undertaken during 19th century.

Cathedral crypt

Mission control !

"Water of Life" by Stephen Broadbent

In the centre of the cloisters is a sculpture that depicts Jesus giving "the woman at the well" water that would never make her thirst again. It was ironic at this point in the day that not only did the sculpture and the surrounding pond contain large amounts of water but so did the skies above me and I had to dash back under cover quickly !

Chester Cross or ... Fridge magnet scene !!

One of the most unique things about Chester and the main reason why people visit here is the "Chester Rows".

These are a series of medieval buildings in the city centre that can be traced back to the late 13th century although many houses in these sections were rebuilt a few centuries later.

After ascending the steps and turning right in one of the previous images, this is the best preserved example of an upper Row containing shops.

Half way down this row, St Michaels Arcade was built in a neo  - classical style which forms part of the Grosvenor shopping centre (no doubt named after sir Richard Grosvenor who tried to enclose sections of the Rows)

The view from the left hand side of the stairs looking across to the end of Northgate.

and as if theres isn't enough black & white !!

On the other side of Bridge street at Chester cross, the steps are a little more modern in places !!

... with the buildings here seeming to be a bit more of a residential nature.

Chester Town hall was built in 1869 following a fire that destroyed the previous building that stood for 200 years. About 30 years later another fire destroyed the second floor but was restored quickly within a year.

It may come as a surprise to know that the clock faces on the tower were added as late as 1979.

Monochrome Town Hall steps ... Grim history / grim day !!

Chester clock is arguably the second most photographed clock after Big Ben in London. It was built on the site that marked the entrance to the Roman settlement of Deva and stands on a stone footbridge walkway that forms part of Chester's city wall. (see title image). The clock commemorated the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

curving King street

The Blue bell is Chester's oldest surviving house dating from as early as 1250. It's early use was as accommodation for pilgrims visiting the shrine of St Werburgh on the site of what is now Chester Cathedral. Later the building became an Ale house, a grain store, a private house and then by the turn of the 19th century, a public house once again. During the 20th century, it was twice threatened with demolition due to road expansion plans and later became a clothes shop followed by a restaurant.

Lastly, Chester is famous for it's Zoo which opened in 1931 and currently lies outside the city centre to the north. A bronze sculpture was donated by Chester Zoo in  2010 and stands opposite the Town Hall in Northgate street & is no doubt to remind visitors about Chester's distant attraction or ... to tame the mood of those who disagree with the use of Zoos !! .........

Woah, Janya has escaped, careful now when you cross the road !