Maryhill Burgh Halls stained glass to return

Plans are underway to bring back 20 pieces of stained glass to Maryhill Burgh Halls.

The Burgh Halls, along with the swimming pool, are due to reopen in 2010 following successful campaign of many years length.

The stained glass pieces were made around 1878 to depict Maryhill workers and craftsmen at work.

However the need for extra funding may delay the return.

When the Burgh Halls was shut down, Glasgow City Council took control of the stained glass pieces.

In 2007 the quango Culture and Sport Glasgow was set up to run Glasgow’s museums, and so they inherited control of the Maryhill Burgh Halls stained glass pieces.

The Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust is planning to have them brought back and put on display in the Burgh Halls. But they would need proper display cabinets to do so – and the Trust does not have the money for that.

The Trust is in the process of applying for that funding, but there are no guarantees they will succeed, or that they will do so anytime soon.

Also, it may be that Culture and Sport Glasgow will want to prevent the pieces going out of their control for as long as they possibly can, and the directors and board members of that organisation have a lot of power, influence and money.

So it could be a long time before these are back in the Burgh Halls for us to see.

Where are the twenty pieces of stained glass today?

• One, the chemical workers scene, is on permanent display to the public in the top floor of the People’s Palace;
• One other, the canal boatmen scene, is currently (November 2008) on temporary display to the public in Scotland Street School Museum, as part of it’s M74 exhibit. Transparencies of two of the other pieces are also on display as part of that. Transparencies are being used rather than the real thing, because the pieces are now old and in poor condition.
• The other 18 pieces are in storage in the basement of the Burrell Collection. These are not on display to the public, although it may be possible to arrange special viewings of some of those by a request in writing to the Burrell Collection. The Burrell also has photographs of all the pieces.

The Burgh Halls Trust has more information: http://www.glasgowwestend.co.uk/show.php?contentid=942 . Note that membership of the Burgh Halls Trust is open to the public for £1 a year dues.

Seventeen of the stained glass pieces are pictured on the internet, at http://www.theglasgowstory.com/searchq.php?qsearch=Maryhill+Burgh+Halls&iore=1