New Market in Clydeside Halls at The Briggait is Work In Progress

All too often I note something new that’s been promised, only to find that it takes so long to materialise, I’ve forgotten all about it, the work is done, and I’m none the wiser until I spot an article months later.

Not so in the case of the new market and event space being constructed in the all but forgotten Clydeside Halls section of The Briggait.

It’s been a while since I was last nearby, and when I did manage to pass recently, was pleased to see this project looked as if it was well underway.

I’ve always had a soft spot for The Briggait, and enjoyed the brief spell it enjoyed when it seemed to have become a busy and popular space after its first ‘rebirth’. Despite that popularity, I have no idea why it failed after a while, but that seemed to fizzle out after a while, and the place closed and became derelict again.

Fortunately, it didn’t go to waste, and a number of occupants took the place over – but for various reasons I never saw that happen, and although I pass it, have never had any reason to go in.

Hopefully, the revamp of the forgotten Clydeside Halls area of The Briggait as a market and event area will give me an opportunity to get back inside.

Here’s how it looked when I passed, with the now apparently obligatory moronic and revolting ‘Word Graffiti’ cleaned off to protect your poor eyes from this rubbish (but the friendly bees can just be seen on the left)..

Another Briggait collection – apparently there’s a revamp coming

The Briggait (Glasgow’s old/former fish market, dating from 1873) is one of those places that always seem to make me sad when I see it.

I’ve been around long enough to see it restored from an abandoned derelict, which is obviously a good thing, and it’s now home to various arts related projects, but after seeing it become a sort of small shopping centre (sorry, I can’t think of a better description), I was sad to see this never caught on, and the concept evaporated, leaving it empty once more. However, past projects over the past 10-20 years (and more) seem to have ensured the building’s survival.

For example, the place was renovated in 2010, to be manages by WASPS (an arts charity), and seems to have been able to survive as a centre for events, markets, and exhibitions. Although, I’d have to say I’ve never been back

Although I pass the building at random times, the only time I see the hall area occupied seems to be when it’s full of trendy types swilling wine – but that may just be bad timing on my part, and the times I regularly cycle past. It usually looks empty and deserted, apart from the businesses.

The Briggait came back on to my radar over a year ago when I noticed articles referring to projects to open up a section of the building known as ‘Clydeside Halls’. I’ve never seen inside this eastern part of the building, although aerial views shows it to be at least as big as the existing accessible part of the Briggait.

The only external clue to its existence comes from the three large arches seen on the right-hand side of the pics below.

I might get a look now that plans have been approved to refurbish this area have been approved.

PLANS to breathe new life into rundown sections of an A-listed historic city centre building have been the go-ahead.

The proposals involve refurbishment and extension of the Clydeside Halls at The Briggait on Clyde Street.

A design document with the planning application stated: “The project will create a vibrant and engaging frontage to the River Clyde and provide the basis for a flexible, sustainable creative hub to complement and grow the cultural community that has been resident in the developed parts of the Briggait complex since 2010.

“The Briggait is an important building in Glasgow’s rich built heritage and this project seeks to knit two disparate halves of the complex back together.”

Uses of the accommodation are expected to be a combination of:

• Market, from food and drink, craft to mixed markets

• Events, including design, theatre and performance

• Permanent food and drink offers fronting Clyde Street

The corner space at Clyde Street/Merchant Lane will be a standalone shell unit with possible uses including office or microbrewery.

The statement continued: “When viewed from Bridgegate, the Briggait is home to a vibrant creative community, with around 150 people based in the building, producing art, architecture, digital design and leading cultural organisations.

CHANGES At Historic Landmark Will Create ‘Vibrant Riverside Frontage’

The article goes on to echo my own thought that Briggait is an unfinished project, and the place is still in danger of becoming an unloved derelict, and lost – anyone passing the place today could be forgiven for not realising it’s not a dead space.

The award of £1.6 million should revitalise the place, hopefully bringing it to the attention of more visitors, especially with the addition of the formerly lost Clydeside Halls and forecourt area.

Picture problems

I don’t have many pics of the place, with most probably languishing on film, waiting to be digitised one day. The few recent ones I have are notable for showing the building as plain stone – I keep thinking of the place as a white painted building, which is how those earlier pics I collected look.

One reason I don’t have many pics is probably due to the not so wide angle lenses I used to use when shooting on film. Not only are they MUCH narrower in their view than the lenses on my digital cameras are today, I wasn’t able to stitch together multiple images to create REALLY WIDE views in the way I can today.

This matters down at the Briggait, since it’s difficult to stand far enough back to take a single wide shot, or find a view that doesn’t have something spoiling the view, especially street signs, street furniture, lights, or traffic lights. See this old post (when I didn’t have much control over stitched views).

The Briggait

I can do better today.

BUT, it was lucky those trees didn’t have any leaves that day, or there would have been little to see!

Clydeside Halls

This really started with a visit to get a pic of the ‘forgotten’ Clydeside Halls part of the building, and that sort of went well, but left me with a quandary, unable to decide what made the best view.

I ended up with THREE choices, and unable to pick one, so here they are – you decide.

They use the same images to create the wider stitched view, but were handled differently.

The first version is unprocessed, and is the plain stitch. This kicked off my OCD, as the original view as shot showed the Halls (the painted facade with the three arches) perfectly square. However, the software modified this to an oblique view in order to match the images taken to the left.

I compensated for this by re-squaring the painted facade, but then started to fret because the Briggait building to the left retained its perspective as its height reduced as it receded into the distance. Correct, but somehow irritating (to me).

Finally, although it’s not factually correct, I altered the geometry to have the building retain a more or less constant height within the view. This may not be correct or accurate, but somehow seems to be more acceptable to my OCD, and lets me sleep.

And, THAT’S how I can lose an entire evening, just stitching a few pics together to make a wider view.

Not forgetting stuff like exposure correction, and focus restoration.

Sad, innit?