About the Society · The Award

The Sir Robert Smith Award

An annual celebration of writing on the history, culture and architecture of Glasgow.

A Prize for Glasgow's Story

The Sir Robert Smith Award is presented each year by the Grand Antiquity Society for a significant published work on Glasgow — its history, its people, its culture or its architecture. It honours the memory of Sir Robert C Smith, Preses of the Society in 1974 and a devoted servant of the city's institutions.

The award reflects one of the Society's chartered purposes: to promote interest in the heritage of Glasgow. It is presented at a Society occasion, usually alongside the annual lecture, and past winners have written on subjects from the Trades Hall of Glasgow — Robert Adam's masterpiece on Glassford Street — to the lives of the city's craftsmen and merchants.

Nominate a Work

Presentation of the Sir Robert Smith Award by the Grand Antiquity Society of Glasgow
The Award Presented

The Record

Past Winners

YearWinner & Work
2020Craig Bryce — for his history of the Trades Hall of Glasgow
2021John Bryce
The most recent winner of the Sir Robert Smith Award
The Most Recent Winner

How to Nominate

Nominations — including self-nominations by authors and publishers — may be sent to the Clerk at any time, naming the work, its publisher and year of publication, and a few lines on its contribution to the understanding of Glasgow.

Works of history, biography, architecture, photography and culture are all eligible, provided Glasgow is at their heart.