George Square partially reopens to the public after major revamp

George Square’s famous 11 bronze statues and the Sir Walter Scott Monument have also undergone restoration as part of the process.

The council recently announced that the statue of Sir John Moore – a British army general who suppressed a slave revolt in the Caribbean in the 1790s – – will be left without a sword when it is returned to public viewing.

The sword went missing in 1980 and has been absent ever since, but recent conservation work to refurbish the statue included a recreation of the weapon.

However, after taking account of a report from University of Glasgow about the general’s military career, the council decided not reunite the statue with a sword.

When George Square itself reopens later in the year it will be part of a recently launched historic trail in the city that highlights Glasgow’s role in the British Empire and the city’s connections with the Atlantic slave trade.