University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel |
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Basic information | |
Location | University of Glasgow |
Affiliation | Interfaith |
Country | United Kingdom |
Year consecrated | 1929 |
Status | Active |
Leadership | Rev Stuart MacQuarrie |
Website | www.gla.ac.uk/chaplaincy |
Architectural description | |
Architect(s) | Sir John Burnet |
Architectural style | Scots Gothic |
Groundbreaking | 1914 |
Completed | 1929 |
Specifications | |
Direction of façade | West |
Capacity | 320 |
The Memorial Chapel at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, was consecrated on 4 October 1929, and is dedicated to the memory of the former students and staff of the University who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. It is located in the West Quadrangle of the Main Building of the University, and was designed by Sir John Burnet. The chapel is protected as a category A listed building.
The University's former premises on the High Street were on the site of an old Dominican monastery, known as the Black Friars, and the University used the friars' old church for services. The University subsequently relocated to Gilmorehill in 1870, although the New College was not finished for many years after, and there was at the time no chapel. The West Quadrangle of the new building was not enclosed on its west side originally; instead, staircases at either end of the court led onto The Square, where the Professors and Principal had their houses. The southern of these staircases was the Lion and Unicorn Staircase, which was relocated from its site in the Outer Court of the Old College. By 1900, the accommodation was already proving too small, and in 1914 it was decided to build a new wing enclosing the West Quadrangle, providing additional rooms and a Chapel.
Sir John Burnet was commissioned to draw up plans for the extension, and construction began in August 1914 but was halted by the war. Work resumed in 1923 but was delayed by bad weather and economic conditions, and the buildings were not completed until 1929. The inside was fitted with wooden stalls and carvings by Archibald Dawson, and a series of ten stained glass windows, designed and made by Douglas Strachan and representing the entirety of human life as a spiritual enterprise, was installed in 1931. Amongst subsequent additions was the Benedicite Window, which is above the altar at the East end of the building. It was designed by Lawrence Lee and installed in 1962.