Hi Folks,
At long last I have had an opportunity to read your kind words about the closure of the Glasgow Police Museum on 11 November 2008 and our departure from our 'spiritual home' (the Old Central Police Office building) on 8 December 2008.
When the Scottish Courts Service realised the cost of upgrading and maintaining the old building to 'Crown Standards' they refused to take on the building and so Glasgow City Council retained ownership. As The Glasgow Police Museum would have been the only occupier when the court closed and we were on a concessionary rent anyway, they decided that we should leave and they have sealed up the building. It is a 'B' listed building and they say it 'will be maintained within GCC financial constraints'.
At the time we closed, we (The Glasgow Police Heritage Society) intimated our interest in the building and put our idea for a Glasgow Police Heritage Centre (on the lines of Inverary Jail) to a number of GCC Councillors and officials. The details were well received and all agreed that such an attraction would be an asset to the City and, being sited in the east side of the City, would augment the Peoples' Palace. Obviously a sustainable business plan and options appraisal (feasabilty study) would have to be carried out......money would also be the biggest issue.
It is the intention of the GPHS to follow up on this idea once we have established ourselves at our new venue at
(First Floor) 30 Bell Street, Merchant City, Glasgow G1 1LG (phone: 552 1818).I can report that our work to re-build the Glasgow Police Museum at our new premises is well advanced and the assembly of the custom-made display cases which we had in the old museum, is almost complete. After that we will be replacing the former displays and adding new ones, creating a museum I'm sure you will enjoy visiting.
One exhibit that was unable to be replaced on display is the old 1912 Police signal box which we found a few years ago in Fleming Street. The floor of our new premises was judged not able to withstand the one tonne weight of the police box and so sadly we have stored it away for the future.
We hope that we will re-open to the public in June 2009, although an exact date has not been decided upon. The website (
http://www.policemuseum.org.uk) and newspapers will report on our re-opening.
We will also be taking part in Open Doors Weekend in September.
Thank you all for your keen interest and complimentary postings and I hope to see you at the new museum when it re-opens.