Annotation:Glasgow Tontine
X:1 % T:Glasgow Tontine M:C L:1/8 R:Reel B:Joshua Campbell – A Collection of New Reels & Highland Strathspeys (Glasgow, 1789. p. 20) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Bb d|(B>G)(F>E) T(D>B,)(d>B)|(e>c)(f>d) c/c/c (c>d)|(e/d/c/B/) (d/c/B/A/) (B/A/G/F/) E>g| f>dc>d B/B/B B::d|(B>f)(d>f) (F>B) (e/d/c/B/)|{d}(e>g)f>d c/c/c (c>d)| (B>f)(d>f) b>f (e/d/c/B/)|F>eTd>c B/B/B (B>d)|(B>f)d>B F>B d>F| E>GTF>D C/C/C (C>!fermata!D)|B,>DF>B d>fb>g|f>dc>d B/B/B B||
GLASGOW TONTINE. Scottish, Reel (whole time). B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Glasgow's Tontine Buildings were once the center of Glasgow life. They Originally contained the Town Hall or Council Chamber. Later they included the Assembly Room, the Tontine News Room (the forerunner of the Royal Exchange), the Tontine Coffee Room and the Tontine Inn or Hotel, one of the chief posting houses in the city. The building itself evolved according to the times and purposes required. In 1835-37 the City built the Council Chamber, and in 1760 added the Assembly Hall. What became the Tontine Building was acquired by the Tontine Society in 1781 and the building was added to, and completely changed in the internal arrangement. In 1867 it was bought by a consortium and gutted, turning it into a shop. The Assembly Room was small(47'x24'x20') though attractive, and alternatives were considered. However, it continued to be the room in which assemblies were held until the Assembly Rooms in Ingram Street were built in 1796.
The keystones of the arches of the arcade were carved with heads and grotesques known as the "Tontine Heads." In 1795, the Assembly Rooms, in Ingram Street, were built as a Tontine, with subscriptions of £20 per share. During the 18th and 19th centuries the coffee shop under the piazza was a meeting place for leading figures from the community. The hotel was reputedly the first in the city and was popularly known by Glaswegians as the "Hottle".