Jul 29 2022

The People’s Palace & Social Justice

In Defence of People’s Palace and Winter Gardens despite the Council £19.7 million funding gap[1].

On a recent visit to the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens Museum I was in the downstairs area only with a disabled person and we were hoping to enjoy the atmosphere of the Winter Gardens but were disappointed as it was closed.

However, I was quite surprised at the displays, the Glasgow-lite version of ourselves which we offer international and local visitors.  Whoever wrote the commentaries has focused on economic prestige but white-washed the social history reality of how it came about. For some reason Glasgow’s 4 Empire Exhibitions 1888, 1901, 1911 and 1938 are thought to merit a wall display. They ‘celebrate the City’s status as Second City of the Empire’. They simply glorified Empire as a golden era ignoring that its success was built on Africa slavery and the corporate looting of India masking oppressive regimes, violence, the bloodshed of estimated 35 million Indians perpetrating utter impoverishment.  A schoolchild would find the content questionable.  

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May 18 2022

A side of the Peoples Palace Song – Billy Connolly Song

May 15 2022

The Rutherglen St Eloi to appear for Landemer Day 2022

Glasgow Life has agreed to lend the copy of the Rutherglen St Eloi statue, made for the People’s Palace displays in 1975.

The piece has an important story to tell, not just for Rutherglen, but for the wholesale cultural destruction which took place of all catholic images at the time of the Scottish Reformation of 1560. The first two of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before Me’ and ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..’ led to the wholesale smashing of statues and obliteration of devotional paintings in Scotland by the religious reformers. St Eloi, hidden beneath the floor of Rutherglen Parish Church, is a rare survivor. His story is told on the following pages.

 

When discovered in 1794, the statue was brightly painted as shown in the drawing above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs by Springburn photographer Willie Graham (1845-1914) taken in 1902  show  the paint and gilding on the statue  intact, after which it was scrubbed to the bare sandstone.  It is remarkable that a pre-Reformation religious statue survived with its colour intact for 350 years  in Scotland and the piece is unique in this respect. 

Photographs courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

 

The copy fibreglass statue was exhibited without colour from 1975. In 1989, a tracing was made in preparation for the Early Glasgow Gallery re-display.

 

The copy statue was then painted in the colours in which it was discovered and shown in context as a flat-backed altar statue, using materials from other recently-demolished churches in Glasgow:

The original statue is now in the Hamilton Museum collection, following local government reorganisation in 1996. It is not currently on display.

More can be read about Rutherglen Old Parish Church here: https://rutherglenoldparish.org/historical-background-to-the-site-of-rutherglen-old-parish-church/

For the rarity of the St Eloi statue, see Lost Interiors: the Furnishings of Scottish Churches in the Later Middle Ages by David McRoberts (1912-1978) published by the Scottish Catholic Historical Association, 2013, p128

May 15 2022

Landemer Day 11th June 2022

Landemer Day 11th June  Main St Rutherglen Gala  Day Starts about 11 am

There will be fundraising stalls, street entertainment and live music as well as kiddies rides, bouncy castles and hopefully the climbing wall to add to the attractions of the day.

 We will be having a stall at the event with  raffle prizes and  giveaways for children  Our stall will be banana themed with banana goodies and replica of Billy Connolly’s  Banana Boots  for photoshoot.  Plus banana themed raffle prizes.
 

Raffle prizes

 

Q: Where was the only source of bananas in Glasgow during WW2?
A: The Winter Gardens on Glasgow Green.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Rutherglen St Eloi to appear for Landemer Day 2022 

Glasgow Life has agreed to lend the copy of the Rutherglen St Eloi statue, made for the People’s Palace displays in 1975.  The piece has an important story to tell, not just for Rutherglen, but for the wholesale cultural destruction which took place of all catholic images at the time of the Scottish Reformation of 1560. The first two of the Ten Commandments, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before Me’ and ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image..’ led to the wholesale smashing of statues and obliteration of devotional paintings in Scotland by the religious reformers. St Eloi, hidden beneath the floor of Rutherglen Parish Church, is a rare survivor. More information on his story is told in our news page.

St Eloi

 

Apr 12 2022

Election Hustings – What Future for the People’s Palace and the Winter Gardens

Thursday 14th April at 7:00pm. Calton Heritage & Learning Centre, 423 London Road G40 1AG

Your chance to hear what the candidates have to say and to  ask questions about the future of our local and internationally famous Palace and Winter Gardens.

 

 

Apr 05 2022

Easter Sunday – Eggstravanza

Children’s Easter Event – Free Event

Join us on Easter Sunday 17th April 12:30pm  until 3:00pm at the Clyde View Bay Area next to the Blue Bridge on Glasgow Green

Face Painting/ Rickshaw Rides/Goodie bags

All welcome

 

 

Mar 21 2022

Colonel Mustard & the Dijon 5 St Lukes Saturday 23th April

Thanks to Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 for playing at our People’s Palace Birthday celebration in January. They fair livened up the event.  They have recorded a great song “The Palace” as a tribute to the People’s Palace and you can hear  it if you go along to their gig as part of the Spring Bonanza being held at St Lukes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the link to the song “The People’s Palace

PEOPLES PALACE 21-02-22.wav (dropbox.com)

 

Mar 21 2022

Millions for the Burrell what about the Winter Gardens! Protest 29th March outside the Burrell Museum

Protest on Tuesday 29th March at 11:00am outside the Burrell Collection. Pollock Park.  We will be joining with Glasgow Against Closure and other community groups to protest at the eyewatering  £69million that the City Council and Glasgow Life has spent refurbishing the Burrell Museum while other venues like the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens (and other City venues) does not have  an investment plan for its future. 

We will be making our views known on the morning of the re-opening of the Burrell please come and join us.

Devastation of the Winter Gardens

Mar 17 2022

The People’s Palace at GalGael – Govan’s Critical Connections.

Feb 28 2022

People’s Palace Re-opens (partially) Winter Gardens remain closed

On the 23rd February the People’s Palace partially re-opened. We were there to see it open and to welcome visitors.  It was heartening to see a primary school party, the City Tour bus and families on mid-term holiday as some of the many visitors to the Palace that morning.  

The People’s Palace is not fully re-opened and we have been told that repair work to the top floor has still to be completed.

Sadly the Winter Gardens remains closed with a plan for its refurbishment still to be identified by the City Council & Glasgow Life. This is totally unacceptable and our campaign continues until the People’s Palace is fully re-opened and the Winter Gardens restored. 

We ask everyone to:

  • Write to your  local councillors and MSP asking them what they are doing to support the People’s Palace fully re-open  and restoring the Winter Gardens.
  • Join our organisation and support our campaign
  • Sign our on-line petition

Petition · Save the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens for the City of Glasgow · Change.org

  • follow us on facebook

 

 

 

 

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