this month’s Archive Photo of the Month takes a spooky turn with the tale of the Grey Lady of Hutchesons’ Hall.
It is one of Glasgow’s most famous local ghost stories. This eerie spectral entity is believed to be the spirit of a former caretaker’s wife, and she is said to have been frequently spotted since the early 1970s, looking out of the upper windows of the hall, dressed in grey ‘period’ clothing. Staff members over the decades have reported doors mysteriously opening and closing on their own, and heavy, unexplained footsteps have been heard echoing through the corridors and staircases.
Hutchesons’ Hall ceased to be a boys’ school and hospital in 1851 when the school moved to the new building in Crown Street, but Hutchesons’ Hall continued to be owned by Hutchesons’ and was used as an office building by the Governor’s and lawyers for the school. It also housed Stirling Library and was used as a central clearing room for Glasgow’s banks until it was bought by the National Trust for Scotland in the mid- 1980s.
No one knows who she is and why she haunts the halls and corridors there; perhaps the answer may be found in the school archive, amongst the minutes and logbooks, but next time you are passing Hutchesons’ Hall in Ingram Street, look up; perhaps you will catch a glimpse of her staring from the window.
School Archive:
Committed to the collection, preservation and maintenance of the records of the school, its activities and pupils, our archives hold a range of material from class registers and magazines to photographs, trophies and uniforms. Pupils are encouraged at both Primary and Secondary to engage with archive material, with the aim to provide a dynamic educational resource for pupils and our wider community.
Would you like to know more about Hutchesons’ Grammar School’s history? Contact our School Archivist at archives@hutchesons.org with any enquiries.
