George Square

George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is named after King George III. Laid out in 1781, George Square is surrounded by architecturally important buildings including on the east side the palatial Municipal Chambers, also known as the City Chambers, whose foundation stone was laid in 1883. Built by Glasgow Corporation it is the continuing headquarters of Glasgow City Council. Joseph Swan`s panoramic engraving of 1829 shows the early development of the square and its surrounding buildings.

The square boasts an important collection of statues and monuments, including those dedicated to Robert Burns, James Watt, Sir Robert Peel and Sir Walter Scott. It is generally regarded as the de facto centre of the city, although Blythswood Square (1 km to the west) is the true geographical centre of the city, whilst all distances are measured from nearby Glasgow Cross.

George Square was laid out in 1781, part of the innovative Georgian central grid plan of the city`s New Town that initially spanned from Stockwell Street east to Buchanan Street—which reflected the growing rational influence of the Scottish Enlightenment, along with the similar development of Edinburgh's New Town. This grid iron masterplan across the lands of Meadowflats, and eventually as far west as Blythswood Hill, was largely the work of the notable contemporary architects David Hamilton. James Barry, James Craig, James Gillespie Graham among others.

For the first few years however it was little more than a muddy hollow, filled with dirty water and used for slaughtering horses. Between 1787 and the 1820s, the square was eventually opened up and lined with Georgian townhouses at its east and west ends, as well as hotels. 1842 saw the opening, at the north west corner of the square, of Queen Street Station as the Glasgow terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. By 1850 the surrounding area had become a centre for mercantile activity, with the Merchants House moving to the square in 1877, and the square itself, which had been developed into a private garden for the surrounding townhouses, became an established public space, after frequent disturbances and pulling down of railings by a disgruntled mob.

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