Old Glasgow Pubs

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Church on the Hill.

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16 Algie Street, Glasgow. G41 3DS. Tel: 0141 649 5189.

Image of the Church on the Hill Algie Street Glasgow 2018
Church on the Hill. 2018.

THINK YOU KNOW CHURCH ON THE HILL? THINK AGAIN.

Once in a while, even the greatest of classics need to be restored, reworked and reimagined. Welcome to the new and improved Church on the Hill! The same iconic concept, with a refreshed look and reinvigorated food and beverage offering, aligned with the ever growing and diversifying Southside. A community bar, run by locals, for locals, intent on celebrating the Southside!

Every guest at Church is a VIP in their own right, so whether it’s featuring your fluffy friend on our Doggy Wall of fame or grabbing your own chalk bottle to flaunt your visits, you are the most important part of our business and we will be visiting regular rewards on frequent friends. So whether it’s mates night, date night, family fun or time to visit our book exchange for some R&R (relaxing and reading), we hope to become your favourite neighbour to visit!

Find out more at the Church on the Hill.

This was formerly Langside Hill Church.

Image of Langside Hill Church Algie Street Glasgow 1959
Langside Hill Church. 1959.

Thanks to Carnmore for the image.

Update 2019…

Formerly known as Bar Budda.

Do you have any memories of the Church on the Hill? If so please leave a comment.

END.

Chequers.

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Tollcross Road, Parkhead Cross, Glasgow. Closed.

Image of Chequers Parkhead Cross 2005
Chequers. 2005.

This was one of the shortest openings of a Glasgow pub, it only stayed open for a few years and is now closed down. It was formerly the T S B Bank.

Image of Chequers Parkhead Cross 2005
Chequers. 2005.

After a few years it opened again by the people who own Fullarton Park Hotel and renamed it the Bank.

The pub was changed to the Bank and again stayed open for a few years and closed down. It now lies empty. 2008.

Do you remember this Pub? If so please leave a comment.

END.

Chess Board.

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176 West Regent Street, Glasgow. G2 4RL. Tel: 0141 248 3801.

The News in 1970…
Image of the Chess Board West Regent Street 1970
Dining area at the Chess Board. 1970.

Chess Board All Set

In Victorian times many parts of Glasgow had a regal atmosphere of some grandeur, and perhaps none more than Blythswood Square area. To-day many of the buildings thereabouts still have the Victorian stamp on them.

If you take a walk in that direction up West Regent Street and feel the need for a refreshment you might well pop into the Chess Board, Drybrough’s newest lounge-cum-restaurant with the clubby atmosphere and a deliberately retained Victorian decor, at number 176.

No one’s quite sure how the chess theme came about. Mr. Donald Taylor, area manager of the West of Scotland, says “We all got together one day and pooled our ideas. This was the one we liked best.” It was Glasgow architect Stuart MacKenzie, who got the job of transforming the one-time electrical showroom into a club-type pub which will appeal especially to those who favour a drink and a meal in quiet surroundings.

Image of the interior of the Chess Board West Regent Street 1970
Chess Board dining area. 1970.

Interior view of the Chess Board dining area.

Mr. MacKenzie told me – “This particular building in West Regent Street is about 176 years old and we wanted to retain the frontage. So we had to create a pub as near to the existing image as possible. Fortunately the wallpaper of that period are now back in vogue, and we kept the fancy cornice ceiling, merely using modern fabrics here and there.”

The fitted carpet in the L shaped Chess Board was specially designed for them by Bill Murray, chief designer for Stoddarts. It’s in shades of orange and shows – what else – Chessmen. The entire project has cost about £40,000, and something which no doubt took quite a slice of the expenses is the considerable amount of solid Australian walnut panelling and the solid timber used for the bar and gantries.

The atmosphere is rather Regency. The curtains are Regency striped. “We have hung chandeliers at the windows and we want the soft lights to shine out on to West Regent Street,” I was told. You’re wondering how all this connects with chess? Yes. Well… There’s the carpet of course, and the menus are designed as chess boards. These will be changed monthly, not so much for the benefit of a cook who might tire of preparing the same dishes week after week, but in order to present regular customers with a new chess problem!

There’ll be a different one on the back of the menu each month, and customers are invited to take the menu away with them, work on the problem and then hand their solution into the manager by the first Friday of the month. Entries will be judged by Gerald Bonnar, a past Scottish champion and an ex-chess international. A prize will be awarded to the best solution.

“We’re thinking of having small chess boards here to hand out to customers,” said Mr. Taylor. “And that’s one of the reasons why there’ll be no music – quietness will help them concentrate.”

Joint managers of the Chess Board are Mr. Peter Clarke and his wife Kay, who will supervise a staff of around a dozen initially.

Image of Mr Peter Clarke manager of the Chess Board 1970
Mr Peter Clarke. 1970.

Mr Peter Clarke, manager of the Chess Board. 1970.

Mrs Kay Clarke manageress of the Chess Board 1970
Mrs Kay Clarke. 1970

Mrs Kay Clarke, manageress of the Chess Board 1970.

THE MENU…

“We’ve presented a new form of catering,” I was told by Mr. Donald Taylor. “We wanted to get away from grill monotony.” A perfect example of that is tripe and onions (7s 6d at The Chess-board). Then there’s braised ox-tail (7s 6d too) and pickled silverside (11s 6d.)

Advert for the Chess Board West Regent Street 1970
Advert for the Chess Board. 1970.

About 120 can be seated for meals and I’m quite certain that anyone who sits in the Victorian-styled seats, looks around at the complete set of etchings of Glasgow done between 1905-13 by Robert Bryden, and drinks in the old-time atmosphere., will agree that the architect and Drybrough’s have achieved their aim.

Update 2019…

This is now Brain Maule at Chardon d’Or. If you like the finest dining in Glasgow this is the place for you. Well worth a visit. [email protected] 

Image of Brian Maule restaurant West Regent Street 2018
Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or. 2018.

Do you remember the Chess Board? If so please leave a comment.

END.

Cheers.

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82-84 Main Street, Cambuslang, Glasgow. G72 7EP. Tel: 0141 641 9090.

Cheers. 2005.

Cheers. 2005. What a nice building.

Chester’s Bar. 1991.

This old Cambuslang local was once called Chester’s Bar.

Mr John Morrison. 1948.

Mr John Morrison was born in Glenbuck, Ayrshire. He took over premises at 82-84 Main Street, Cambuslang around 1929. He previously was manager for Mr A Thomson who held the licence for premises in Wallace Street, Glasgow.

Mr Morrison was keenly interested in Trade activities, he was a member of the Scottish Licensed Trade Defence Association in 1942 acting as Managing Committee and had served on the Executive Committee of the Scottish Licensed Trade Veto Defence Fund. He was President of the Cambuslang Association with which he had been identified for some years.

John Morrison’s favourite pastime was bowling, a sport in which his enthusiasm and skill had brought him international honours. In 1946-47 he represented Scotland against England, Ireland and Wales, and in July 1948 he was again honoured by being selected to play at Edinburgh in the Test Match against America.

In connection with Cambuslang Bowling Club, of which he was past president, Mr Morrison had won numerous competitions, including four Presidents’ competitions and on three occasions the Club Championship. Since 1941 he was a member of the Glasgow Ex-Presidents’ Bowling Club. He gained another notable success in 1942 when he won the Glasgow District Championship and went on to complete at Queen’s Park in the Scottish Singles Handed Championship.

Do you remember this old Pub? If so please leave a comment.

END.

The Centre Court

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431 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. G2 3LG. Tel: 0141 332 5431.

image of the interior of the Centre Court bar Sauchiehall Street 1979
Interior view of the Centre Court. 1979.

Tennis is the name of the game in the Centre Court decor. 1979.

The Pub that’s set to March them All…

An Upmarket Pub which is oozing with style has just opened in Sauchiehall Street at Charing Cross.

It’s called Centre Court, and you don’t have to be a genius to figure that the theme of the decor is based on Tennis.

Wimbledon, in fact.

Ironically, Gordon McMurray and Fred Sommerville, the two Glasgow business men who own the new premises, don’t play tennis.

“Why that theme?” Says Gordon, “We were looking for decor different from anything else in Glasgow. The subject of tennis came up and we thought, why not.”

The result was that they went to Wimbledon and had a long chat with Mr A. B. Cooper, curator of their magnificent tennis museum. He was enormously helpful and gave them many ideas as well as a selection of tennis photographs and other related memorabilia.

FIVE STAR…

The photographs of all the tennis greats, Bjon Borg, Jimmy Connors, LLie Nastase, John Newcombe, Chris Evert Lloyd, Sue Barker, Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade etc, have been framed and are now hanging on the walls of the plush lounge and cocktail bar at 431 Sauchiehall Street.

There is so much tennis interest and history in this luxurious five-star howff that you could spend a happy hour just browsing round soaking up tennis lore.

One striking feature is a hand-painted mural on the wall by Glasgow designer David Ogilvie. It took about 15 months to complete.

The tennis theme is carried out throughout the premises, from floor to ceiling. The carpet in the lounge was specially woven for the room by furnishers, Hampton and McMurray and cost £7000. Woven through it are cross rackets with the letters “CC” weaved into the “gut” of the rackets. It’s all very striking.

On the ceiling there is a small illuminated tennis court which looks like the real thing.

Advert for the Centre Court bar Sauchiehall Street 1979
Advert for The Centre Court. 1979.

The best Doubles and Singles in town at The Centre Court. 1979.

RELAX…

In keeping with the decor the drinks list is in the shape of a tennis racket, has concoctions on it like a Sneaky Lob, a Low Lob, and a Drop Shot. A few of those and you are a match for anyone.

Say’s Gordon, “We set out to give the people of Glasgow a lounge of which it can be proud, and I think we have done just that. We want people to come in to relax in comfortable surroundings and enjoy a leisurely drink.”

The Centre Court is certainly a match for anything else in the city. In moulding it the owners have created the type of place where they would like to go, their yardstick being that if they would like to go there, so would others.

Mr Cooper, the curator of the Wimbledon Museum, was more than delighted to help the owners get everything absolutely authentic because he feels, rightly, that such decor can evoke and sustain interest in tennis among people in Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

Needless to say Mr Cooper has been given a standing invitation to sample the delights of Glasgow’s Centre Court any time he cares to call.

DELIGHTS

A cold buffet and “Wimbledon – type” food will be available for customers at the Centre Court, just what “Wimbledon-type food” is the owners aren’t saying. They like to keep some surprises up their sleeves. But the possibility is that such delights as strawberries and cream might be on sale.

Only on season, of course, otherwise the cost would be prohibitive.

Customers will be served by staff dressed in red tops and white calf-length skirts. The girls that is… the men will wear white trousers.

That net result of all this thought and work is decidedly good!

Other names this venue has had over the years, L’Odean, The Box, The Glasgow Pub Company.

Do you have memories of this popular venue? If so please leave a comment.