Now a bustling hub of restaurants, clubs and cafes, the Merchant City has a rich history and a background of commerce, trade and rich residences and coinciding with this, a fascinating food and drink history.
The area around the Merchant City was where Glasgow, as a city, first began as a fishing settlement around the 6th century. Trading has always been key to the area’s wealth and daily activity; in the early middle ages the area had a salt market (the area has retained the market’s name, the Saltmaket, just south of the Merchant City), a fruit and vegetable market in Gallowgate, a meat market between Candleriggs and Glassford Street, and a fish market as well as a grain market near High Street…