
Britannia Panopticon
SITUATED in Glasgow, a new campaign has been launched which aims to prevent the destruction of the world’s oldest music hall.
Known as the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and situated in the Trongate area of the city, historian Judith Bowers has now claimed that essential repairs must take place in order to preserve the listed building.
With the trust that once ensured the maintenance of the building continued not being renewed and therefore not providing them the required access to funding from bodies such as Historical Scotland and others, Bowers is now stating that a fully fledged power supply system is required in order for the building to maintain functionality.
A venue that played host to a slew of international stars in its pomp, Glasgow based musicians such as Bombskare, The Fast Camels have heeded the call for action and organised a fundraiser at The Classic Grand on the 19th November.
Clarifying exactly what must take place in order for the music hall to remain a living, breathing part of Scotland’s cultural history, Bowers has stated that “What we are trying to do, is raise money to make it a functional auditorium and then we can prove we can afford a mortgage to buy the building into public ownership which means it will be safe forever more.
“If you saw the ceiling, it is desperate. The plaster is in danger of coming down if we don’t do something about it soon. It has been up there since 1857 and there are big chunks missing at the back of the auditorium which compromises the rest of it. Stuff has been screwed in temporarily to make sure it doesn’t collapse. “We saved the stage last year, and now we have to save the rest of the auditorium and buy it.”
It is estimated that a buy-out of the historic site would cost around £400,000.