Old Glasgow Pubs

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Oceans Eleven.

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468 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. G2 3JU. Tel:

Image of Ocean's Eleven bar Sauchiehall Street 1991
Oceans Eleven. 1991.

Oceans Eleven, Bar Lounge and Off sales.

This pub had a name change in the 1990s from the Beresford then to the Library, hoping to attract the many readers from the Mitchell Library.

Update 2005…

Image of the Library 468 Sauchiehall Street
The Library August 2005.

Passing Sauchiehall Street and noticed the Library has closed down, a short lived pub. Refurbishment is going on at the moment, maybe a new title for this bar too. I will keep you updated.

A new name for this pub “Capitol” 2008.

Image of the Capitol bar 468 Sauchiehall Street
Capitol. 2008.

Capitol was a great venue, you could get cheap drinks in here which is great. Every few months Sauchiehall Street seems to have a new pub, you are spoiled for choice of drinking venues along the full length of Sauchiehall Street.

Image of The Art School bar 468 Sauchiehall Street

The Art School. September 2012.

It seems that every couple of years this Sauchiehall Street bar has a name change. This time it is called “The Art School”, named after the nearby School of Art a Charles Rennie MacKintoch wonder.

Update 2012…

Image of the Brazilliant 468 Sauchiehall Street 2012
Brazilliant. October 2012.

Brazilliant is a Steakhouse & Currascaria. Again this place didn’t last for long.

Image of the Beresford Lounge 468 Sauchiehall Street 2014
Beresford Lounge. 2014.

It is a shame that this Sauchiehall Street venue has had so many businessmen come and go. I thing there is too many licensed premises on Sauchiehall Street, they are all competing against each other for trade. Many years ago when this pub was Oceans Eleven there wasn’t so many pubs.

Update 2018…

Image of the Sly Fox 468 Sauchiehall Street 2018
Sly Fox. 2018.

I wish the owners all the best of luck in competing with the rest of the pubs on Sauchiehall Street especially pubs within 300 yards.

Facts…
Licence Holders.
1991-1972 Joseph Boyle.
1960 James Kyles.

Do you have any memories of this Sauchiehall Street bar? If so please leave a comment.

Old Tavern

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171 Great Hamilton Street, Glasgow. G40. Demolished.

Old Tavern. c 1916. Thanks to Mitchell Library.

This old Tavern was situated at the corner of Great Hamilton Street now London Road and Craignestock Street. There has been licensed premises here since 1845. The first licensee was wine and spirit merchant Robert McIssac.

I am not sure of the name of this old Tavern, however it was a very old one. In 1866 Bowman Miller was trading from here. Bowman lived next door from the pub. He served the locals until 1888.

 William H Parker took over in 1889, William was not new to the trade as he was licensee of a public house at 155 Graeme Street now Bell Street since 1885. Mr Parker’s public house in Bell Street sat at the corner of St John’s Place and next to St John’s Church. Mr & Mrs William Parker lived at 65 Great Hamilton Street a little west from his pub on London Road.

William H Parker’s wife Margaret took over the as licensee of both pubs in 1896 possibly as her husband concentrated on his other business as a Telegraph Office and Newsagent at 174 Great Hamilton Street which was across the road from the pub. William, Margaret and family were now living at Monteith Row an exclusive address in those days, so business was good. Margaret continued as licensee just before the First World War. By this time the pub on Graeme Street was closed down.

The pub and the tenement building was demolished in 1916. The Parker family ceased to trade and the business across the road was also closed. It wasn’t until 1920 that son John B Parker acquired a licence at new premises at 171 Great Hamilton Street.  In 1928 the address was changed to 431 London Road. John continued as licensee until the 1940s.

However John continued as a Newsagents, Stationers, and Tobacconist, at 581 Alexandra Parade, and was living at 27 Aberfeldy Street.

During the 1950s and 60s the pub was run by Denis McEneny then William Donnelly. The City Council saw that the old tenements in the east end of the city were in need of demolition this resulted in the loss of many shops and pubs disappearing for good during the 1960s and 70s.

London Road. 1968. The white building is where William Donnelly had his business.

Facts…
Today London Road starts from Glasgow Cross to Mount Vernon where Mount Vernon railway station stands. However in the 19th century this stretch of road had four different addresses from Glasgow Cross to Ross Street was known as London Street.
From Ross Street to Craignestock Street it was called Great Hamilton Street.
From Craignestock Street to Bridgeton Cross was Canning Street.
From Bridgeton Cross onwards was London Road.
London Street had 7 public houses.
Great Hamilton Street had 10 public houses.
Canning Street 10 public houses.
London Road had 20 public houses.
Total 47 pubs.
Do you remember this old pub or any of the 47 pubs on London Road? If so please leave a comment.

END.

The Old College Bar.

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221 High Street, Glasgow. G1 1PP. Tel: 0141 572 5345.

Old College Bar. 1991.

This is the oldest pub in Glasgow. To read the full history of this historic bar click here.

The Old College Bar with the date 1810.

Note the old windows above the pub have been plastered over.

In this image the old windows can be seen and is still a two storey building. 1980s.

In this image of the Old College Bar you can see there is four storey’s above the pub.

This old painting is dated 1891. The Old College Bar on the right hand side.

In the News 1974…

The bride is pictured arriving at Netherlee Church, Glasgow, on the arm of father, Mr. O. G. Prosser. 1974.

Glasgow Licensee’s daughter weds.

Miss Louise E. Prosser, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O. G. Prosser, who are well known in Glasgow licensed trade circles, was married recently to Mr. Colin Kerr, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts.

Mr. Prosser is a director of the Glasgow and District Licensed Trade Association and vice-president of the Royalty Burns Club. Mrs. Prosser is immediate past president of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Women’s Auxiliary Group.

The groom is the eldest son of Mr. Archibald Kerr, formerly a licensed grocer in Girvan, Ayrshire, and Mrs. Kerr.

Up-to-date NEWS 26th March 2013…

The news that the oldest pub in Glasgow is to be demolished. Owner Colin Beattie, say’s he will rebuild another Old College Bar on the site of the old one. Apart from being the oldest pub in Glasgow there is nothing of historic interest in the pub.

The pub is to be demolished despite the building is not dangerous, in fact the building is very strong and well built, the walls are over a foot deep. It will be a shame to see it go.

Up-to-date News 15th April 2014…

I phoned the secretary of the owner of the Old College Bar Colin Beattie the other day, the reason for this phone call was to see if I could get access to the closed Old College Bar. I was stunned to say the least to learn that the Old College Bar was still open.

A well-known Glasgow Newspaper reported that the Old College Bar was closed for good and will not open again after the owners who least the pub got into financial difficulty owing a lot of money to Sky for not paying for the rights to view Sky programs.

However Colin Beattie reopened the Old College Bar with a new manager.

I visited the Old College Bar the other day and got some great images of the interior and exterior. Images coming soon…..

For all you drinkers and historians out there, please take this opportunity to visit the Old College Bar before it is completely demolished. Please Please support your local.

Update 18th August 2014…

We all know that the Old College Bar is the oldest pub in Glasgow, but did you know there is an old pre Victorian Street in the cellar of this old establishment?
This antique pub was built in 1810 and had its first licence in 1812.
When John Gorevan started his search for Glasgow’s oldest pub, he was talking to the manager of the Old College Bar. John took some photos of the interior and exterior and was invited to have a look downstairs.
The trap door behind the bar, leading to the cellar adds to the fantastic aged feel to the pub.
When you come down the wooden steps, you are transported into a time before the Victorian Era.
There is a cobbled street starting at the rear wall, curving around the cellar heading towards the St Mungo’s Cathedral. You must watch your step as you might trip over the kerb while you imagine what it would have been like to walk along this street in the Napoleonic Era.
Unfortunately back then, the camera equipment available was very poor. The poor lighting in the cellar meant that we couldn’t get any proper photographs of the street.
The Old College Bar is now soon to be demolished! I couldn’t live with myself if we weren’t able to document this hidden gem for everyone else to see.
We were given permission to access the cellar again this year to document this wonderful street only to be quite disappointed.
We also tried to figure out where the room would have been for the Professor’s and Student’s for their private parties when the old Glasgow College was thriving across the Street.
The street had been given a DIY cement job to make it easier to walk on for the staff as this is where they kept their supplies. HOWEVER there was still some of the cobbles from the street visible from the surface of the cement that we documented. The kerb was also slightly visible with a very noticeable curve up to the Cathedral.

Written by John Gorevan jun.

I would like to thank the manager of the Old College Bar and would recommend popping in before it’s too late!

Here are some images of the cellars floor …

Cobbles from an old Street, most of the cobbles have been cemented over since the first time I visited the cellar over 24 years ago.

Another image of the cellar floor.

Do you have any memories of this old Pub? If so please leave a comment.

Update 04-05-2021…

The building next to the Old College Bar was suspiciously set on fire in the early hours in the morning in a very very wet night. The building and the Old College Bar is set to be demolished to make way for student accommodation. In the years I have researched Old Glasgow Pubs I have seen many of our city pubs being set on fire or the buildings surrounding the pubs mysteriously catching fire in the early hours. Most of these pubs were in the way of the developers. It’s an old trick that’s been going on for decades. Isn’t it ironic that these pubs go on fire in the middle of the night when we are fast asleep. What do you think? Please leave a comment and tell us what you think.

What is the Oldest Pub in Glasgow?

The Old College Bar is the oldest pub in Glasgow.

Where is the Old College Bar in Glasgow?

The Old College Bar is on High Street, Glasgow.

Is there an old street under the Old College Bar?

There was a possibility that there was an old street under the Old College Bar. Unfortunately the cobbled street has been concreted over, but you can still see some remains.

Old Quarry

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38 Cathcart Road, Rutherglen, Glasgow. G73 2QZ. Tel: 0141 647 5196.

Old Quarry Bar. 1991.

Update…2007. Now called Best Cellar’s.

The Best Cellar’s didn’t last long and the pub was reverted back to the “Old Quarry Bar.”

Update…2008.

The Old Quarry Bar. 2014.

The Old Quarry Bar. 2014.

This bar is well known as a Rangers F.C. Bar. If you support Celtic, this bar is not for you.

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

END.

The Old Black Bull.

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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.

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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.