West End Walk: Centre to West
By Coire Simpson and Taylor Dewar
Coire Simpson and Taylor Dewar’s walk is a search for ghosts that haunt the city. Starting with a retelling of the Blythswood Square Murder and sliding into a clubby music mix this walk brings the past into the present. Playing with discontinuity and non-linear narratives in which past and present co-exist, the artists invite you to reflect on how the closure of clubs, bars and pubs has changed the city.
"I’ve been in search of ghosts, lost and found in fragments of time, communicating with looming spectres who reveal non-linear narratives in our memories and histories. This is a soundtrack for a story entangled in fact and fiction. Based on a true story and entertainment purposes only."
Coire Simpson
"City landscapes have changed in the past year, they’ve gone from from animated metropolises to muted urban jungles. Nurturing friendships in which to explore a city in a global pandemic is difficult so I’ve explored my new home with music instead. I walked the streets uninterrupted with only music as my companion. I’ve made this mix that describes how I feel when walking through my new home, Listen to it loud!"
Taylor Dewar
Blythswood Square
7 Blythswood Square was home to Madeleine Smith who lived there from 1835 to 1928. In 1855, Madeleine aged 20, fell in love with Pierre Emile L'Angelier, nine years her senior. L’Angelier was a nurseryman from the channel islands but due to his low social status, Madeleine's parents forbade their relationship. The pair continued to meet and Madeleine sent him over 200 love letters to L'Angelier, promising to marry him. In February 1857, Madeleine's parents found her a more acceptable suitor William Harper Minnoch. Madeleine agreed to marry him and asked L'Angelier to return her letters. L'Angelier refused and threatened to publish her letters if she didn't marry him.
On the morning of 23 March 1857, Pierre Emile L'Angelier died of arsenic poisoning. Madeleine's letters were discovered at his home by the police and when it was found that she had also purchased arsenic, she was charged with his murder. A notorious murder trail ensued. You can find out more about The Blythswood Square murder at undicoveredscotland.co.uk
520 Sauchiehall Street
Starting out as a piano showroom, this building, adorned with Greek columns, torchbearers and Harmony the Greek Goddess of Peace and love, has a somewhat infamous past. The original building, designed by David Paton Low, was commissioned by piano seller Thomas Ewing in 1869. In 1914 it was transformed into the King’s Cinema by John Fairweather with space inside for an orchestra to play along to films. 1984 saw a decade of soft porn and X rated film screenings and shortly after it was turned into a nightclub, the last of which 520 closed in 2011. With nightclubs currently closed across the UK, this stop reflects on how we might support our local nightlife in the future.
Claremont place
At the end of Claremont Place you may spot Trinity House, built in the 1850’s, it was once a training college for Scotland's Ministers. It was designed by architect Charles Wilson and has been described as ''an ecclesiastical lighthouse'' and ''one of Britain's most outstanding pieces of Victorian house planning”.
3 Park Street South
One of the most affluent residential areas in Glasgow, the Park District originally built as townhouses overlooking Kelvingrove park in 1855, was declared a conservation area in 1970. Many of these buildings were later converted into office or commercial use, our favourite being home to The Common Guild until 2019.
Another site of significance within Park District is 18 Park Terrace, after a fire in 2006 only the facade stood as a stone shell of the former building for nearly 10 years. The property has since been fully restored.
38 Park Terrace Lane
The mews houses on Park Terrace Lane served the same purpose as many mews houses in the 19th century, as space for stables and carriages. These two storey cottage style buildings were often used by the main house that they backed onto and as additional living quarters for the staff working in the property. After the downturn in demand for equestrian-based travel, the invention of the automobile, and the economic strain of the First and Second World Wars, the mews houses were unnecessary and an unaffordable luxury. Since then, many mews houses have been separated or sold off, converted into smaller properties or into industrial or office spaces.
56 Gibson Street
Formally an office supply store, the shop on 56 Gibson street has lain empty for a while, situated within one of the most student-populated areas in Glasgow’s West End. We wonder what lies in store for this corner spot.
Downloadable map for our West End - City Centre walks.
Visual work by Coire Simpson and Taylor Dewar
