Trades Hall Of Glasgow

This place was a total surprise to me, the relatively innocuous exterior hides a real gem of a Robert Adam-​designed 18^th C. interior. According to their website, it is the oldest building in Glasgow apart from the Cathedral that is still used for its original purpose. Huh.
The wood-​panelled entrance hall with benches down one side leads straight through to a typically Adam-​esque staircase that splits into two half-​way up. Straight on leads to a further very plain stair that goes up a couple of flights to the small breakout rooms on the top floor, whilst the split stairs turn back past some grandiose stained glass windows carrying the crests of the Craft guilds, to the main first floor hall and a side corridor that leads off to the secondary hall.
The ceilings and panelling in the main hall are pretty amazing, with a central dome carrying badges of the 14 Crafts and a marquetry frieze depicting the various Crafts along the top of the walls. Much of this was lost on me at the time, as I was more interested in the various stalls and displays of the ‘mind, body and wallet’ fair that was on at the time. They seem to hire out the halls for lots of events like this, with weddings and conferences also popular.
I’d love to go back for a proper tour when they didn’t have an event on, so that I could appreciate the interior design more; this is definitely one of Glasgow’s hidden gems that is worth exploring.