Glasgow, The Stock Exchange 1897

Photo ref: 39771

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Victorian Glasgow may have been a parvenu compared with Edinburgh, with its ancient history as Scotland's capital and its 18th-century reputation as the Athens of the North, but Glasgow's unparalleled prosperity in the second half of the 19th century created a wealthy class. Like the tobacco lords and cotton kings of earlier generations, they were lavish benefactors to the city, and the incredible range of fine buildings is the legacy of their munificence. The demand for their services led to the rise of many architects; some of them, like Alexander 'Greek' Thomson and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, achieved world status. Every style of architecture from the classical to the Gothic, from baroque to Scots Baronial, from Romanesque to Italianate, can be found in Glasgow. The city even went through a Venetian phase, represented to this day in John Honeyman's Ca' d'Oro (1872) and the Templeton Business Centre (formerly a carpet factory), which was modelled on the Doge's Palace (1888).