Church Overview

There have been at least five Quaker Meeting Houses in Glasgow since 1660, in various parts of the city. The group moved into this two-storey-and-basement classical townhouse, formerly the home of the Royal Artillery Club, in 1992.

The neat little cream-washed building, with its balustraded parapet, is the sole survivor of what was once a beautiful row of mid-19th century terraced housing on a once curved street (hence its “Crescent” name), that was substantially reshaped and demolished during the urban clearances of the 1960s and 1970s. The neighbouring buildings were replaced. to the west ,with high rise office blocks (now demolished) and opposite with a somewhat oppressive the multi-storey car park.

The Victorian interior of this former residential home was substantially altered during the years it was occupied by the Royal Artillery Club, but some original cornicing and architraves survive. The historic pine benches lining the walls of the Meeting Room came from the previous Glasgow Meeting House, in Newton Terrace, having been relocated there in 1944 from the Pleasance Meeting House in Edinburgh, which had closed in 1939. The congregation also owned a desk believed to have once been the property of philanthropist and social reformer Elizabeth Fry and provided a small library for the use of the Friends.

The congregation held their final meetings and services in their Elmbank Crescent Meeting House in January 2026 and moved to new shared premises elsewhere in the city. Find out more here.

Services

Final service here on Sun 18th Jan 2026

Opening Arrangements

Open by arrangement.

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.