every picture tells a story

the forth & clyde canal at maryhill

13th August - 11th October 2026

At the heart of this exhibition is Canal Locks Maryhill (1879), a painting by Linlithgow-born artist Andrew Maclaren Law, showing the lock-keeper's cottage, a boatman at work, canal traffic passing through Lock 22 near the Kelvin Aqueduct, and the wider infrastructure of the growing burgh.

What looks, at first, like a quiet Victorian canal scene turns out to hold far more. We've traced the lock-keeper who lived and worked at this stretch of the canal, and his family's working lives across the boatyard, the sawmill, and the paper mill nearby, while the painting itself disappeared from the record for 138 years before resurfacing at auction in 2018.

Even The Whitehouse, sitting quietly in the background of the painting and believed to be the oldest building still standing in Maryhill, has its own story, one we're now part of, having recently taken the building on lease from Scottish Canals.

Presented in collaboration with Scottish Canals, the exhibition expands outward from the painting into the wider story of the Forth & Clyde Canal: its 18th-century engineering, the industries and boatbuilders it supported, and the work still shaping its future today, including current engineering projects and the development of the Glasgow Smart Canal.

We are taking part in Glasgow Doors Open Days
17th-20th September

The exhibition will be open during the festival, Thursday-Friday, 10am-5pm; Saturday, 1pm-4pm; Sunday, 11am-3pm.

We also have some have some activities planned with on Saturday 19th September. Scottish Canals is holding a History and Science Day in collaboration with Maryhill Burgh Halls. The theme is Canal Engineering, and will bring in the anecdotes, mythology, science and facts about Maryhill’s canal story.

Doors Open Day Activities
There are two main activities you can take part in:

‍ ‍Maryhill Canal History Tour

‍ ‍Chris O’Connell, who is Heritage Manager at Scottish Canals and an experienced archaeologist, is leading a walk through Maryhill where he will reveal the history of the canals in the area including insights gained during the recent excavations at the Kelvin Aqueduct.‍

The tour leaves at 10.30am from The Whitehouse, 1641 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow G20 0JH. It will take just over an hour.

‍ Book your ticket here

‍ ‍

Science Experiments and Maryhill Listening Project

From 1.30pm to 5pm, Chris and colleagues are holding a listening afternoon in the Garden Room at Maryhill Burgh Halls. We’re gathering stories from the community and everyone who has a connection to the canals. You can also just call by to chat to the team and learn more about history in the area.

Scottish Canals engineers will also be on hand to discuss the current engineering programme on the canal in Maryhill, at the Kelvin Aqueduct and Lock 21 (an upcoming bypass installation). There will be some fun experiments and quizzes for children too!