University Rooftops

Glasgow University moved from its crowded city centre location to the then-suburban Gilmorehill in the West End in 1870 – the magnificent Gothic building was designed by George Gilbert Scott and opened by Queen Victoria.

Part of it is now getting a new roof, so, well…

I love Gormenghast, and the university roof is very like that – hidden roofspaces, little walkways, ladders leading between butresses, tiny doors and little balconies. In the picture below, there’s a ladder off to the left that gets you up onto the turret balcony, though it’s a bit of a squeeze…

Some of these pictures are carefully composed with a tripod – others, like this one, were taken perched precariously on the roof ridge, so they’re a bit blurry – sorry 😉

And finally, this is the 1940 Reading Room across the road – this was taken from the balustrade around the curved roof in pic 2.

All images:

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3 Responses

  1. Love these.. despite having studied at Strathclyde I have a real soft spot for the Glasgow uni buildings. Would actually love a couple of those full size pics to print and frame!

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