22 Park Circus, Glasgow facts for kids

22 Park Circus is a large, old house in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built a long time ago, in the 1800s. This building has had many different lives! It started as a family home. Later, it became a club and even an Italian consulate. For many years, from 1994 to 2013, it was where people in Glasgow went to get married.

Building a Grand Home

This special house is part of a fancy area called Park Circus. This area is in the West End of Glasgow. It was designed by an architect named Charles Wilson in the mid-1800s.

The Park Circus area sits on top of a hill called Woodlands Hill. It is close to Kelvingrove Park, which it looks over. Park Circus itself is at the very top of the hill. It has four curved rows of houses around a private garden.

Number 22 is at the end of one of these rows. It is on the corner with Park Street South. Most of Park Circus was built between 1857 and 1858. However, work on Number 22 started a bit later, in 1872, and finished in 1874.

A House with Many Stories

Park Circus, where the house is located.

The house was first built for Walter Macfarlane. He was a rich businessman from Glasgow. He started a company called the Saracen Foundry. After he passed away in 1885, his nephew, Walter Macfarlane II, took over the house.

Walter Macfarlane II hired famous architects to update the building. These architects, James Salmon and J Gaff Gillespie, were part of the Glasgow School style. Their work, done between 1897 and 1899, added some cool features. These included a glass sunroom and a special room for playing billiards. This billiards room had a glass-domed entrance.

Macfarlane also hired talented sculptors. These artists made beautiful wood carvings for the house. They even created a new front door.

From Club to Consulate

In 1934, the building became an Italian social club. It was known as Casa D'Italia. After the Second World War, it was used as a regional Italian consulate. A consulate is like a small embassy. It helps people from Italy who are living or visiting Glasgow.

In 1990, new owners bought the building. They worked with Historic Scotland to make sure the house was restored carefully. This restoration work meant that all the rooms kept their original old features, like the fireplaces.

A Place for Weddings

In 1994, the building was rented by Glasgow City Council. They used it as the city's register office. This is where people go for civil marriages, which are weddings without a religious ceremony.

22 Park Circus opened as a place for weddings. It had five different rooms, or "marriage suites," where ceremonies could take place:

• The Lomond Suite was in the old library. It looked out over Park Circus and could seat 55 guests.
• The Kelvin Suite was in the old dining room. It also seated 55 guests.
• The Avon Room was in the glass sunroom. It was smaller and could seat 20 guests.
• The Katrine Suite was on the first floor, in the old drawing room. It could seat 55 guests.
• The Clyde Suite was in the old master bedroom. It had space for 30 guests.

There was also a former Turkish bath area behind the sunroom. This space was used for private ceremonies with no guests.

In July 2013, the Council's rental agreement ended. Because of this, the register office at 22 Park Circus closed.

Today, 22 Park Circus is a very important building. It is protected as a category A listed building since 1970. This means it is a building of special historical interest.