John Gorevan

The Blanket.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan 1 Comment

520 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. G 3 3LW. Closed.

The Blanket. 2005.

In 1895 a red sandstone ashlar surround with Greek detailing by David Paton Low. Single storey addition above of circa 1897 by Bruce & Hay. In the late 1890s the Albany Place feus were extended to the north and south to permit frontages on to Sauchiehall Street and Renfrew Street. Thomas Ewing, a piano seller, commissioned David Paton Low to create a single-storey salon fronting on to Sauchiehall Street and linking back to his lodgings at 5 Albany Place. Initially named Albany Galleries, it later became Ewing Galleries.

In 1897 Bruce & Hay were commissioned by Ewing to extend his premises to the rear towards Renfrew Street. A large rooflit hall for performances was linked to the rear of Albany Place. At the same time the Sauchiehall Street elevation was raised by a storey to accommodate a small salon at 1st floor level.

In 1912 the building became a cinema, the Vitagraph (later, the King’s Cinema), with major (principally internal) alterations carried out by John Fairweather in 1914. A lounge and tearoom were created within the Sauchiehall side. It is now a bar and nightclub. The Cinema Theatre Association website notes that “As a cinema, it originally seated around 625 in stalls and circle. Renamed the King’s Cinema in 1914, and additional interior renovations were carried out in 1931.

In 1954 it was the Newscine, a dedicated newsreel cinema, now seating 450. This venture was short-lived, and it started showing full features again, as the Newscine, from 1955. It became the Curzon in 1960, and the Classic in 1964. The building ended its days as a cinema in 1984 as the Tatler Cinema Club”. References and Notes updated as part of Cinemas Thematic Study 2007-08. (Historic Scotland.)

Tatler Club Cinema.

Update 2007…

Now Called The Guru Bar. 2007.

A year later and the premises had a refit and a new name”The Classrooms.”

The Classrooms. 2008.

Five 2 Zero. 2010.

Five 2 Zero. 2013.

Five 2 Zero closed down in 2011.

Club 520. 2012.

Do you have any memories of this Club Bar? If so please leave a comment.

END.

The Blane Valley.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan 4 Comments

76 Glassford Street, Glasgow. G1 1UP. Tel: 0141 552 4130.

The Blane Valley. 1991.

The Blane Valley Spirit Stores. 1887.

Mr Peter Buchanan.

Peter Buchanan of Buchanan Scott & Co. Owner of the Blane Valley in 1887. To read more Click Here.

The Blane Valley Spirit Stores. 1930s.

Blane Valley. 2006.

To read the history of the Blane Valley click here.

Owner Peter Buchanan, see his other premises at

Peter Buchanan 18 Govan Street.

Buchanan Scott & Co, Argyle Street.

Strathendrick Bar, Dundas Street.

Facts…

There has been a pub on this site since 1859.

Peter Buchanan was born in Strathallan, Stirlingshire.

In 1881 Mr Buchanan was living at Park Road, Beaufort Lodge, Hamilton.

In 1865 Robert Cansh owned premises on this site.

Do you know anything about this pub? If so please leave a comment.

END.

Blackfriars.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan Leave a Comment

36 Bell Street, Glasgow. G1 1LG. Tel: 0141 552 5924.

Blackfriars. 1995.

Blackfriars was opened in 1995 and is well established now in the Merchant City. The pub has several awards for music and won pub of the year from CAMBRA. The pub has a good selection of real ale in great condition.

Blackfriars. 2005.

In the News 1978…

Candleriggs Comes Alive…

Normally I don’t walk the length of myself if I can help it. But recently I’ve found myself heading for Candleriggs more frequently. For Candleriggs, perhaps one of Glasgow’s less busy areas seems to have taken on a new lease of life, over the past year with businesses sprouting up with increasing regularity.

Dyer Interiors for instance, have a new showroom there, full of curtain materials and carpet samples all being sold at discount prices. Curtains are made up at the firm’s Anniesland factory and normally take about two weeks to complete.

They have a special American machine at their factory which can give your curtains a pinch pleat effect. Managing director Mr Jim Dyer was so keen about this machine that he travelled all the way to California to get it.

Health is big business these days, and with this in mind, Alex McGregor, a fourth Dan Karate instructor, has opened the Exclusive Sauna at 89 Candleriggs. It’s a luxury club, open to men only, which offers everything for the man who likes to keep himself in trim.

STEREO

Apart from the sauna, there are showers, lounge with TV and stereo, luxury recliners and if desired, a soothing massage. Free coffee is also available. The Sauna has gymnasium equipment, where you can lose a bit of that pent-up energy you’ve built up during your working day.

It’s only five months since Mr Jim McGavock opened his restaurant and lounge bar, the Bell Geordie, at 36 Bell Street just off the Candleriggs. Mr McGavock reports that business is doing well. Bell Geordie was called after an 18th century Glasgow character, and the decor in the pub is on traditional lines.

Bell Geordie’s menu is really superb. It has a wide selection of mainly British and Italian dishes and has already gained something of a reputation for its steaks.

By the way, Mr Jim McGavock plans to make his restaurant available for private functions every night of the week except Friday and Saturday. They can even cater for functions on Sundays, if necessary.

In the NEWS 1978…

Exterior view of the new lounge bar and restaurant “Bell Geordie.”

A Pub with Character…

I thought my colleague Jack House knew most about the history of Glasgow, but I’ve just met a man who could prove a bit of a rival.

He is Mr Jim McGavock. So keen is he on Glasgow and its history that he has used it as the theme for the decor in his new lounge bar and restaurant in Bell Street.

The lounge and restaurant are called Bell Geordie, after an eighteenth century character, George Gibson, an assistant bell ringer who was eventually dismissed from his job for accusing the city’s magistrates of corruption.

Portraits of George and other well-known characters from the Trongate area of the city appear on the windows of the pub and also on some beautiful mirrors decorating the interior.

“The Trongate in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was full of characters. There were people like Hawkie, a kind of street poet, and Hirstling Kate, who was so crippled that she used two tiny stools to get around,” Mr McGavock told me.

As my new pub and restaurant is near the Trongate I thought it would be apt to acknowledge the characters in some way.”

Celebrating the opening of the “Bell Geordie” (left to right): Waitress Irene Newlands, Glen Daly, Mr Jim McGavock and his wife Frances, Mrs Alice McGavock (his mother) and waitress Anne Ryan. 1978.

FOR ALL TASTES

Bell Geordie is Mr McGavock’s first venture into the entertainment business. He already runs a successful electrical contracting business in the city. With the new complex he is hoping to cater for all tastes whether it’s a business man looking for a quick snack at lunchtime or a couple wanting a quiet evening meal.

It is also ideal for people attending concerts at the City Halls.

SUPERB MENU

Certainly the Bell Geordie’s a la carte menu is superb. It has a wide selection of mainly British and Italian dishes including home-made pate, smoked salmon and seafood salad as starters, and a choice of steaks, veal, and venison, cooked in various sauces, for the main course.

What was particularly appealing about the menu is that the main course includes a choice of potatoes and vegetables. There are no nasty hidden extras.

A comprehensive wine list is also available. Business men’s lunches will be served in the restaurant at a cost, Mr McGavock hopes, of about £1.50 but it you don’t feel like a full meal bar snacks are available in the lounge.

Jim McGavock has spent a lot of money on Bell Geordie. The premises were originally a large butcher’s shop which had to be completely gutted. Now both the lounge and restaurant are warm and comfortable.

The mirrors add an original touch to the place and that combined with soft background music makes Bell Geordie an ideal place to spend an evening. Bell Geordie is open seven days a week and closes at midnight.

In the NEWS 1983…

The Bell Geordie closed and reopened as Rockwells a 1950s / 60s American Bar in 1983. Rony Bridge and Nino Verrico celebrated their new-look bar, with friends Elaine Barton and Carolyn Lynch.

Visit Website http://blackfriarsglasgow.com/

Facts…

Licence Holders.

2007 Manager John McMillan.

1991 Henry Cunninghame for the Townhouse Partnership.

Do you know anything about this pub? If so please leave a comment and we will post your review.

END.

The Old Black Bull.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan Leave a Comment

228 Main Street, Cambuslang, Glasgow. G72 7EN. Tel: 0141 641 2407.

The Old Black Bull. 1991.

In 1880 William Cook arrived in Cambuslang to set up as a wine & spirit merchant and acquired a licence to sell wines, spirits and beer. This pub was known as the Black Bull.

Another member of the family James Cook also acquired a licence at the same time, his pub was known as James Cook Wine & Spirit Merchant.

The Old was taken away from this Cambuslang local.

One of the nice windows. 2005.

The Black Bull. 2005.

The Black Bull. 2012.

Do you know anything about this pub? If so please leave a comment.

END.

The Old Black Bull.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan 1 Comment

1316-18 Gallowgate, Glasgow. G31 4DR. Tel: 0141 551 0400.

The Old Black Bull. 1991.

The Old Black Bull near Parkhead Cross was founded in 1760 and is still a landmark on the Gallowgate.

In the 1860s Andrew Stout the landlord was more than just a publican he also manufactured his own aerated water, soda water and brewed his own ginger beer, he was also a pastry baker. He did all this within the grounds of the Old Black Bull. His mineral water was carted to the iron-workers and coal-men in the many factories in the area including Parkhead Forge. Mr Stout’s son’s worked in the Old Black Bull as well as in the old weaving shop where the ginger was manufactured, George did the bottling and James delivered the goods to the thirst workers in the district. Ancestors of Mr Stout still ran the pub in the 1950s.

The Old Black Bull, Gallowgate taken before demolition. Today’s Old Black Bull sit’s on the site of the old pub.

One of the licensee Margaret Rennie worked in the pub when she was 14 years of age.

William Rennie a trustee and licence holder worked as a check weigher at the Parkhead Forge.

A G Barr took over Mr Stout’s ginger and aerated water business in 1887. Barr’s became known as Scotland’s other national drink, Irn-Bru the drink that was advertised as been made from girders.

The Old Black Bull. 2005.

The Old Black Bull. 2006.

Old Black Bull. 2012.

Black Bull. 1960s.

To read more on the pubs on the Gallowgate read up & Doon the Gallowgate by John Gorevan. A copy can be bought for a few pounds at the Hielan Jessie on the Gallowgate or contact me at [email protected]

Facts…

Licence Holders.

1991 William Mitchell.

1972-1957 John Hamilton.

1950 Mrs M Rennie.

1928 Margaret Whitton.

1912 Allan Shaw.

1899-1896 Mary Stout Shaw.

1895-1863 Andrew Stout.

1856 William Smith.

1853-1847 William McNee.

Do you have anything to say about the Old Black Bull? If so please leave a comment.

END.

Black Bull.

November 10, 2016 by John Gorevan 2 Comments

111 High Street, Glasgow. G1 1PH. Tel: 0141 552 5216.

The Black Bull. 1991.

On this site away back in 1845 stood a licensed grocers business. A full public house licence was obtained in 1873.

Audley Thomson the spirit merchant had a lot of competition then as there were 25 licensed premises on High Street, this was half the amount in the 1840s, he continued to serve the public here until Peter Paterson took control of the business in 1893. Mr Paterson was paying an annul rent of £90.00. He lived at 119 Paisley Road West. Peter did not last long in this pub as he sold up in 1901.

Mr Peter Paterson. C 1901.

Bernard McAnulty the took over the pub, he was no stranger to the trade as he also owned a pub at 11-13 South St Mungo Street now Ross Street at the world famous Glasgow Barras, and the Old Ship Bank on the Saltmarket. McAnulty lived in posh accommodation at Monteith Row.

Black Bull. 2011.

Black Bull. 2007.

Black Bull. 2011.

Facts…

License Holders.

1991 Gordon Moffat.

1973 William Dougan.

1950-1937 William Smith.

1932 Arthur Francis Donnelly.

1919 Elizabeth McCann or Dowdall or Murphy.

1910 John Dowdall.

1905 Laurence Dowdall.

Do you have any memories of the Black Bull? If so please leave a comment.

END.