City Halls and Old Fruitmarket

Quick facts

Date

Market begun 1817; City Halls built 1839–45; major work 1851–54, 1885 and 1907

Architect / designer

George Murray, John Baird I and II, John Carrick, J. A. T. Houston and others

Type

Multi-phase civic hall, market and performance complex

Designation

Listed building, Category A (LB32647)

Access

Public during performances and advertised events; venue hire by arrangement

OS grid reference

NS 59624 65113

Architecture and surviving fabric

This is not one building conceived at a single moment, but a large urban complex accumulated across almost a century. The former bazaar began in 1817 as an open-air walled market. City Halls followed in 1839–41 to George Murray’s design; the Albion Street elevation and northern ranges were carried forward after his death by John Baird I, while John Baird II reroofed the halls and altered parts of the interior in 1851–54. John Carrick and collaborators added an arched market hall in 1852–53 and reshaped the public face of the complex in 1885. J. A. T. Houston finally roofed and rebuilt parts of the southern fruit and cheese market in 1907.

The Candleriggs front of City Halls gives the complex a formal civic presence. Five bays of polished sandstone rise above pink-granite lower courses. Giant Corinthian pilasters, banded piers and round-headed upper windows support a strongly modelled entablature, dentil band and balustraded parapet. The heavy panelled entrances announce a public hall rather than a market, while the much longer Albion Street elevation reveals the scale and piecemeal development behind it.

Elsewhere the architecture remains more obviously commercial. Carrick’s 1885 bazaar range curves around the Candleriggs and Bell Street corner, its shopfronts, round-arched windows and fruit-basket finial combining retail display with civic ornament. The 1907 Bell Street front uses polished red sandstone, giant Ionic columns and broad arched openings once suited to moving goods and vehicles through the market.

Inside, the Old Fruitmarket is the most immediately legible working remnant of that trade. Plain cast-iron columns carry roof trusses across a three-aisled hall; glazed roof sections, iron balconies, shopfront traces and historic signs create a room very different from the formal Grand Hall. The retained fabric is not decorative scenery applied to a modern venue: it is the structure and evidence of the market itself.

Its story

The first open market on the site began in 1817, when Glasgow’s growing population required increasingly organised places for wholesale trade. City Halls opened to audiences in 1841 and provided a large purpose-built room for concerts, meetings and civic gatherings. The later nineteenth-century phases joined this public culture to the surrounding bazaar, shops and markets, creating a dense block in which entertainment, exchange and everyday provisioning occupied neighbouring spaces.

The fruit market remained a place of commerce before finding a new identity as an atmospheric event venue. City Halls likewise passed through periods of repair and adaptation rather than remaining unchanged. A later £15 million redevelopment modernised performance, rehearsal, education and visitor facilities while retaining important historic fabric. Glasgow Life now operates the complex: the Grand Hall is home to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, provides a Glasgow base for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and supports a year-round programme of classical and contemporary music. The Old Fruitmarket accommodates concerts, folk and world music, comedy, club nights, weddings, conferences and other events.

The present use therefore continues both halves of the site’s history. People still gather in the formal hall for shared public occasions, while the market interior remains a flexible, crowded and sociable room—only the commodities and performances have changed.

Why it matters

The Category A designation covers a substantial multi-phase block rather than only the best-known interiors. Its interest lies in the survival of different building types and constructional systems within one complex: polished-stone civic façades, shop ranges, market entrances, an acoustically valued concert hall and large cast-iron market spaces. The successive campaigns record Glasgow’s growth, the organisation of its food trade and the city’s long investment in public assembly and music.

Adaptation has also allowed the historic distinctions to remain readable. City Halls retains the formality of a concert institution; the Old Fruitmarket keeps the robust structure, signs and visual clutter of commerce. Modern services and access have been introduced without making the two principal venues feel interchangeable.

What to notice

• The giant Corinthian pilasters and pink-granite base of the City Halls frontage on Candleriggs.
• The difference between the formal five-bay civic front and the much longer, plainer elevations enclosing the block.
• The curved 1885 bazaar range at Candleriggs and Bell Street, including its pediment and fruit-basket finial.
• The 1907 Bell Street composition, where giant Ionic columns frame openings designed for a working market.
• Inside the Old Fruitmarket, the three-aisled cast-iron structure, vaulted roof, balconies, signs and shopfront traces.
• The contrast between the Grand Hall’s ordered concert-room character and the Fruitmarket’s adaptable commercial interior.

Planning a visit

These are working event venues, not buildings with daily sightseeing hours. Glasgow Life states that City Halls is open to the public during events; the Old Fruitmarket likewise publishes its programme rather than general daytime opening. Check the current event listing and ticket conditions before travelling. There is no general public café bar independent of events.

The main public entrance is on Candleriggs. Glasgow Life’s current access information records lift access to all areas, designated wheelchair spaces, accessible toilets and welcome for guide and assistance dogs. A venue wheelchair can be borrowed on request. Its 2026 programme guide also records a fully accessible Candleriggs entrance and an assisted-hearing system. Arrangements can vary with seating layouts and individual events, so visitors who need a wheelchair space, companion seat, hearing equipment or other assistance should confirm the event-specific details when booking.

Timeline

1. 1817 The bazaar begins as an open-air walled market for produce and other goods.
2. 1839–41 George Murray designs City Halls; audiences begin attending performances in 1841.
3. 1843–45 The Albion Street elevation and northern work continue under John Baird I after Murray’s death.
4. 1851–54 John Baird II reroofs the halls and carries out interior work; an arched market hall is added nearby in 1852–53 by John Carrick with Bell and Miller.
5. 1885 John Carrick remodels the Candleriggs frontage and adds the curved bazaar and shop range at Bell Street.
6. 1907 J. A. T. Houston roofs the former open market and creates the southern Italianate and cast-iron-framed range.
7. 21st century A major redevelopment renews performance and support spaces; City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket continue as public music and events venues.

What we know — and what remains uncertain

The statutory designation describes many ranges, elevations and phases across a large block, so a date attached to “City Halls and Old Fruitmarket” may refer to only one part of the complex. This account keeps those phases separate and does not treat the 1817 market, the 1840s concert hall, Carrick’s 1885 work and Houston’s 1907 market as a single design. Current opening and access information is event-led and can change with individual productions; the venue’s own listing remains the authority for a planned visit.

Sources & further reading

• Historic Environment Scotland: Candleriggs City Hall and Bazaar, LB32647 — Category A designation, statutory extent, mapped location, development phases, architects, materials and surviving exterior and interior fabric.
• Glasgow Life: City Halls — Current public use, resident orchestras, event-only opening, visitor facilities and physical access.
• Glasgow Life: Old Fruitmarket — Current programme, retained market features, event-led opening and access facilities.
• Glasgow Life: City Halls and Old Fruitmarket venue hire — Relationship between the venues, £15 million redevelopment, present room functions, Candleriggs entrance and access arrangements.
• Glasgow City Council: City Halls refurbishment and revitalisation strategy — Public-body evidence for the redevelopment’s aims, the hall’s acoustic role and the planned permanent base for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.