Tolbooth Steeple, Glasgow
This evening, I am posting information on Glasgow's Tolbooth Steeple which is located at a road junction known as Glasgow Cross and marks a very old part of Glasgow. In the period leading up to the Reformation (1560), Glasgow Cross was known as Mercat ( Market ) Cross after the market that was held there in the wide open space where the four streets met. These were the Tronegait to the west, named after the trone or balance that was installed there for weighing goods, Gallowgait to the east, Street from Mercat Cross to the Metropolitan Church to the north, and Walkergait to the south, the latter named after the waulkers who bleached cloth. Later, the street to the north would be renamed the High Street after the High Kirk (Cathedral) and Walkergait would become the Salt Market, after the salmon curing. This location was originally at the heart of Glasgow's commercial centre but over the ensuing centuries the city's centre of gravity has progressively mov...