MERCHANT CITY
THE last surviving Virginia Tobacco Merchant's house in Glasgow was
officially reopened yesterday after a #500,000 restoration project which
began last October.
The three-storey A-listed building, known as the Tobacco Lord's House,
at 42 Miller Street in the heart of the Merchant City, had lain derelict
for a decade until the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) began
its renovation.
Glasgow District Council leader Pat Lally performed the opening
ceremony yesterday. The building will be used as a West of Scotland
conservation centre and will house the GBPT's headquarters and offer
accommodation to other heritage associations such as the Scottish Civic
Trust.
It will also be available for use by the public as a one-stop resource
providing information about historic buildings, their architects,
restoration grants, and traditional craftsmanship.
Built in 1775, the Georgian villa in Palladian style was owned by the
Glasgow merchant family of Robert Findlay and later occupied by various
businesses including a gas company, jewellers, glass importers, cotton
spinners, and printers.
Mr Findlay's great-great grandson, also called Robert, was among those
who attended yesterday's opening and said he was delighted to see the
house restored to its former glory.
After the building was sold to the GBPT by the Virginia Court
Development Company for #1 in 1992, a funding package which included
#230,000 from Historic Scotland was put together, with additional
support and funding from the European Regional Development Fund, Glasgow
Development Agency, Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Regional Council,
and several other organisations.
Speaking at the opening yesterday, GBPT chairman Rob Joiner said
Glasgow City Council in particular had been supportive of conservation
projects and reiterated his hope that such support would continue after
local government reform next April.
The building is the first the GBPT has restored since, as the
Bridgegate Trust, it refurbished the Briggait Centre in Glasgow in the
1980s.
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