astronomy

University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel

University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel rather than just read about it. In short: The University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel is a chapel at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was consecrated on 4 October 1929, and is dedicated to the memory of the former students and staff of the university who died in the First World War.

Key takeaways

University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel is a chapel at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was consecrated on 4 October 1929, and is dedicated to the memory of the former students and staff of the university who died in the First World War. It is located in the West Quadrangle of the Main Building of the university, and was designed by John James Burnet. The chapel is protected as a category A listed building.

History The university's former premises on the High Street were on the site of an old Dominican monastery, known as the Black Friars, and the university used the friars' old church for services. The university subsequently relocated to Gilmorehill in 1870, although the New College was not finished for many years after, and there was at the time no chapel. The West Quadrangle of the new building was not enclosed on its west side originally; instead, staircases at either end of the court led onto The Square, where the professors and principal had their houses. The southern of these staircases was the Lion and Unicorn Staircase, which was relocated from its site in the Outer Court of the Old College. By 1900, the accommodation was already proving too small, and in 1914 it was decided to build a new wing enclosing the West Quadrangle, providing additional rooms and a chapel.

Construction John James Burnet was commissioned to draw up plans for the extension, and construction began in August 1914 but was halted by World War I. Work resumed in 1923 but was delayed by bad weather and economic conditions, and the buildings were not completed until 1929. The inside was fitted with wooden stalls and carvings by Archibald Dawson, and a series of ten stained glass windows, designed and made by Douglas Strachan and representing the entirety of human life as a spiritual enterprise, was installed in 1931. Amongst subsequent additions was the Benedicite Window, which is above the communion table at the East end of the building. It was designed by Lawrence Lee and installed in 1962.

Dedication

After World War I, it was decided that the new chapel should be dedicated to the memory of those seven hundred and fifty-five men connected with the university who had died in the conflict. The principal, Donald MacAlister, said:

After due deliberation it was agreed, with the consent of all, that their memory, and our gratitude for their devotion, should be associated with the place of our corporate worship, to the end that their example might be enduringly impressed upon Glasgow students in time to come. The chapel was dedicated to their memory in a service on 4 October 1929, led by the Right Reverend John White. Tablets on the wall behind the Communion Table list the names of those who died, while other tablets besides the stalls record the 405 members of the university community who gave their lives in World War II.

Services Daily services are held in the chapel during term-time, as well as seasonal events. Before Christmas, there is a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on the last Sunday of term, and a Watchnight service on Christmas Eve. Graduates, students, members of staff and the children of members of staff are entitled to be married in the chapel, which is also used for baptisms and funerals. Civil marriages and civil partnerships may be blessed in the chapel, although under UK law[Scots Law?] may not be performed there. The current chaplain of the university is the Reverend Scott Blythe, and the university appoints honorary chaplains of other denominations and faiths.

Organ The chapel's organ was constructed by Henry Willis & Sons in 1927 and refurbished by Harrison & Harrison in 2005. It was a gift to the university from Joseph Maclay, Lord Maclay, in memory of two of his sons, who had died in the war. The organist is Kevin Bowyer, an acclaimed performer and prolific recorder, who is artistic director of the Glasgow International Organ Festival, which is held in the chapel and has been running annually since June 2006.

Chapel Choir The Chapel Choir sings at services and concerts every Tuesday evening at 6pm during term-time, and at other events in the chapel, such as the Remembrance Sunday service, Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, and weddings. The choir is composed of between twenty-eight and thirty-two singers, including students, staff and graduates, and takes SATB form. The choir has recorded widely and completed a number of tours, including the United States (2002), when it sang at the Sunday morning service in Saint Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue; Germany (1999, 2000, 2004, 2010); the Baltic states (2007); Tuscany (2009); Amsterdam (2012); Sweden (2016); and China (2018). The director of chapel music is Katy Lavinia Cooper, who was appointed in April 2015 after James Grossmith left to become chorusmaster of the Royal Swedish Opera.

References

External links Media related to University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel at Wikimedia Commons A collection of images of the Chapel at The Glasgow Story

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel

In research: University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1929 establishments in Scotland, Buildings and structures completed in 1929, Category A listed buildings in Glasgow, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
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Frequently asked questions

What is University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel in simple terms?

Why does University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel.