This attractive and familiar landmark is found on the south side of the Trongate, to the west of Glasgow Cross.
A church was originally built on this site in 1484 and then, in 1540, was reconstructed as the Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Anne. After the Reformation the church was badly dilapidated but, in 1592, was restored after John Bell became its first Protestant minister.
In 1637 the steeple was added. Miraculously, it survived a fire in 1793. Apparently, drunks members of the 'Hellfire Club' - entered the church to get warm during a freezing night in February. They built up an open fire, boasted that they could tolerate the heat of hell and to prove the point built up the fire until the church was set alight. I've no idea whether they survived but the church certainly didn't!
The church was then rebuilt over the following two years as a separate building, now incorporated within the Tron Theatre. read more