Dr Anthony Lewis, Curator of Scottish History at Glasgow Museums talks about the historical and cultural significance of the Tontine Heads in the St Nicholas Garden of Provand’s Lordship. The heads originally graced the entrance arches of the Tontine Hotel in Glasgow’s Trongate- a celebrated haunt of merchants who made their fortunes in the tobacco trade in the 18th century.

Timecodes:

01:00 - 02:00 - An introduction to the St Nicholas Garden in Provand’s Lordship and the Tontine Heads carved stones

02:00 - 05:45 - Why are they called The Tontine Heads, who made them and what is their links to the Tontine Hotel and its history

05:45 - 10:55 - The 18th Century expansion of Glasgow and its links to the transatlantic slave trade, how

do the stones connect with this history

10:55 - 20:00 - What the Tontine Heads represent and how we now interpret them

Links and book references mentioned in this episode:

The Tontine Heads, Glasgow Museums Legacies of Slavery blog: https://glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk/2018/08/15/the-tontine-heads/

Head with possible feathered head dress, Glasgow Museums collection online:

https://bit.ly/3ipxKFZ

Breif History of the Tontine Heads:

http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_images.php?sub=tontine

McNair's Building, King Street City, by David Small, Glasgow Museums collection online:

https://bit.ly/3zWHvBv

A.Lewis, Georgian New Towns of Glasgow and Edinburgh, The New Town of Edinburgh, An Architectural Celebration, ed. Clarisse Godard Desmarest, Berlinn Ltd, 2019, pp.78-99

J.Gibson, Gibsons' History of Glasgow 1777, https://bit.ly/3kq2isz

This episode of the podcast was recorded in a large room at Kelvingrove Museum to comply with Covid-19 regulations, therefore some of the audio may contain an echo.