ALEXANDER 'GREEK' THOMSON
Thomson was a pioneer of sustainable building. He earned his nickname by using Greek Ionic styles in his designs. The Glasgow Institute of Architects set up a scholarship in his name to help students study architecture abroad. The second recipient of this award was Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
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BUCKS HEAD BUILDING
Designed by Thomson in 1862, the building features a deer statue that adorns the top, created by one of Glasgow's best-known sculptors, John Mossman.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Argyle Street train station
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In the city centre, on a corner of Argyle Street and Dunlop Street.
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It was named after the Buck’s Head Hotel, which had previously occupied the same spot before the current building was erected. The curved corner building is unique among Thomson’s work; it is the only time he ever used a combination of elevated iron columns with a trabeated façade.
The external supports appear to be largely structural rather than ornamental. Located on the main thoroughfare of Argyle Street and a stone’s throw from the St. Enoch shopping centre, the Buck’s Head Building has been home to many a shop and store. While it originally housed The Glasgow & London Clothing Company, it is now a coffee shop and offices. Over the years and with its numerous corporate tenants, the building had grown weary looking and was eventually given a much-needed renovation in 2003.
GALLERY
CALEDONIA ROAD
FREE CHURCH
Standing tall like a proud survivor of the ages, Thomson’s church rests on an odd traffic island that marks the former junction between Caledonia Road and Cathcart Road.
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Nearest train/subway
Bridge Street subway
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Thought to be Thomson’s first attempt at designing a church, the building was mostly destroyed by a fire in 1965. Although it is now a Grade A-listed building, the church has lay derelict and abandoned for half a century, watching as the city around it has changed, but with a certain stubborn Scottish pride serving as a reminder of a grander past.
Across from the church on a small traffic island sits the box-like No.8 Corporation Weigh Office, which acted as a stopping point for vehicles to be weighed back in the days when they were not so frequent on the roads.
GALLERY
THE EGYPTIAN HALLS
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
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Nearest train/subway
Central Station
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On Union Street, opposite the east entrance of Central Station.
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However, the Egyptian Halls is also a bit of a conundrum. Despite its prime location on Union Street, directly opposite Central Station, it has lain vacant, derelict, and at threat of demotion since the 1980s, despite having achieved Category A listed building status in 1966.
It was one of Thomson’s last major projects within the city, it was designed and built for iron manufacturer James Robertson and completed in 1872. The name possibly derives from the Egyptian Hall in London, one of the first to serve a similar function as a multi-purpose commercial premise. At the dawn of the 21st Century, in a mission to save it, Glasgow City Council bought the building in order to give the newly formed Union Street Developments (USD), led by Scottish businessman Derek Souter, time to secure funding.
Five years later, USD purchased the entire building, and has since started work to completely refurbish the building to its past glory. Like Thomson’s Grosvenor building nearby, there are plans to extend the building by two floors, which will form part of a new 114-bedroom hotel.
GALLERY
GALLERY
ETON TERRACE
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
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In the West End, at the corner of Oakfield Avenue and Great George Street, amidst the University of Glasgow's main campus.
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These motifs include the joined pattern that winds around the entire structure, the stonework emblems on the upper floor, and the square jutting out doorways.
In the mid-1800s, the boom in Glasgow’s population caused by the Industrial Revolution pushed development west, as the upper classes sought to leave the areas inundated with migrant workers. At the same time, the University of Glasgow moved to the plush West End, next to the recently constructed Kelvingrove Park. Thomson was commissioned to design several series of homes for the affluent families fleeing west, including Eton Terrace, Great Western Terrace, and Westbourne Terrace. Eton Terrace is bookended by the house on each end rising one floor higher than the rest, adorned with a Greek roof and accompanying columns, inspired by the porches at the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus.
Unfortunately the terrace has been poorly maintained over the last century, with many of the cast iron railings having been removed. According to the Alexander Thomson Society, some of the houses have been renovated, but much of the stonework has deteriorated in those that have not. As it is so close to the university, many of the flats inside have been converted to house multiple occupants of temporary status, allowing the neglect to go unchecked. It is most obvious in the end of the building at the corner of Oakfield Avenue and Great George Street, which has lain mostly vacant during the last decade.
GREAT WESTERN TERRACE
Great Western Terrace is not only considered to be one of the best examples of Thomson's work but also one of the grandest terrace blocks from the era.
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Nearest train/subway
Hillhead subway
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Located just off Great Western Road, a few hundred yards west of the Botanic Gardens.
ABOUT
In the mid-1800s, the boom in Glasgow’s population caused by the Industrial Revolution pushed development west, as the upper classes sought to leave the areas inundated with migrant workers. Developers paid handsomely for the best architects to design grand buildings to attract the outflow of the rich into the new area of wealth. Thomson was in high demand, and in 1867 he was drafted to design the grandest terrace in Glasgow for builder William Henderson and landowner James Whitelaw Anderson. Henderson died in 1870, leaving Anderson to foot the bill. Thomson saw eight of the houses completed before he himself passed away in 1875, with the remaining three completed two years later.
Apart from the Ionic columns, the building’s exterior lacks many of Thomson’s motifs. This is possibly because it was one of his last works, but it is also possible that he was restrained from adding further decoration by the builder. Nevertheless, they are an exquisite example of Victorian architecture, and Great Western Terrace was home to many of Glasgow’s rich and famous. Sir William Burrell occupied No.8, retired tobacco merchant James W. MacGregor lived at No.4, and publisher Robert Blackie had Thomson himself decorate No.7.
GALLERY
GRECIAN CHAMBERS
Completed in 1865, the Grecian Chambers were designed as a commercial property for Glasgow businessman William Henderson.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Charing Cross station
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Halfway along Sauchiehall Street, around the corner from the Glasgow School of Art.
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The Grecian Chambers gets its name from Thomson's signature features including the ornamental Greek columns lining the top floor. The symmetrical structure has remained largely intact, save for the roof, which was rebuilt in 1902 following a ravaging fire. In 2001 the building was refurbished to house the Centre for Contemporary Arts (the CCA) by Page & Park Architects. They stripped away the additions that had been made over the century, rediscovering the original villa intact and converting what they described as a cul-de-sac of a building into a series of dramatic art spaces and a cafe.
The CCA was formed in the wake of writer Tom McGrath’s Third Eye Centre in 1992, which up until this point had been a beacon of art within the city, hosting the likes of Edwin Morgan and Allen Ginsberg. Managing to fill the cultural void, the organisation was given a lottery grant to redevelop the Grecian Chambers as its headquarters, supporting artists with tenancy while offering the citizens of the city an opportunity to explore the world of art, and hosting six major exhibitions annually. The Centre provides a platform for all branches of art including film, theatre, visual art music and the spoken word.
GALLERY
GROSVENOR BUILDING
Another of Thomson’s buildings to directly face onto Central Station (the other being the Egyptian Halls), the Grosvenor resembles a taller version of the Grecian Chambers found on Sauchiehall Street.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Central Station
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Directly opposite the main entrance to Glasgow Central Station on Gordon Street.
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The Grosvenor Building and the Grecian Chambers share a similar symmetrical design, with a central doorway and top floor decorated with Thomson’s signature Greek columns. Of the two buildings facing Central Station, the Grosvenor was the first to be constructed in 1861, 11 years ahead of the Egyptian Halls, which was completed in 1872.
The Grosvenor Building was renovated in 1864 after a fire, a year before the Grecian Chambers was completed. Such was the demand for office space that an additional layer was added to the top of the building in 1907; the original height can be judged by the smaller building to its left. The new architect, James Hoey Craigie, made some effort was made to match the original design with elongated Greek columns holding up the baroque restaurant extension, although the twin domes at either side seem odd and out of place. The interior has been extensively remodelled to attract businesses to the luxury offices now found within the old walls.
GALLERY
HOLMWOOD HOUSE
Holmwood House is considered to be the finest of Thomson’s residential villas. It is also the most inviting, as it is open to the public.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Cathcart train station
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In the southside district of Cathcart, nestled in a large bend in the White Cart Water, next to Linn Park and Cathcart Cemetery.
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Holmwood House was built for its original owner, paper manufacturer James Couper, in 1857-1858, near the Millholm paper mill which Couper owned. It is the most exquisite example of Thomson’s work, as most of the interior décor has remained unchanged, with a chimney sculpture by George Mossman, while the dining room sports a frieze of panels enlarged from John Flaxman's illustrations of Homer's Iliad.
It was altered by its owner John Gray in the 1920s, but these were later reversed in 1998 by architecture firm Page & Park shortly after it was acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1994 with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. They also restored much of the interior decor that was destroyed by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions when they owned the house during the latter half of the 20th century.
A slightly larger version of the original design was built in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1885, after the designs were published in Villa and Cottage Architecture: select examples of country and suburban residence recently erected by Blackie & Son Publishing. Known as Holmwood, it was built for William Austin Horn, a wealthy mining magnate and politician. While the exterior resembles the Scottish structure, internally they differ greatly after modifications were made to suit Horn’s wishes.
GALLERY
THE KNOWE
The Knowe is an Italianate Romanesque-style villa designed for John Blair, a hat and cap maker. It was designed in 1850, with the building itself completed two years later.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Pollokshields East train station
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At the corner of Albert Drive and Shields Road in the Pollokshields district.
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While many of the features of the original building survive, much restoration or extension work has taken place on the villa itself. The surrounding wall and coachman’s house and gate, Knowe Lodge, have also survived reasonably well. However, the large gardens were developed into large blocks of flats in 1974.
The name of the house, Knowe, comes from the Scottish form of “knoll,” meaning a small rounded hill. The villa itself is built on one (trust me, it’s a fairly steep walk up there). The house underwent a name change in 1892 when butcher William Hood bought the property. The owner after him decided to revert the name back to the original in 1909.
GALLERY
MARIA VILLA
One of Thomson’s more unusual and innovative designs, Maria Villa is in fact a double villa, and is often known as simply 'The Double Villa.'
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Langside train station
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Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
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When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
millbrae crescent
This curved crescent of two-storey terraced houses was believed to have been designed by Thomson, but was then constructed posthumously by his architectural partner, Robert Turnbull.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Langside train station
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In the Langside area of Glasgow, at a sharp bend in the River Cart.
ABOUT
They are located upon a bend of the River Cart, with the rear gardens overlooking the water. Despite the risk of flooding from the river, the terrace has survived remarkably well.
It features many exquisite examples of Thomson’s motifs, such as the Ionic columns, and the first and last house jutting out like a bookend. The decorated chimneys that adorn the rooftops are the originals, with further beautiful stone ornaments set within the upper terrace. The elegant railings that run the length of the crescent were restored between 1995 and 1996.
GALLERY
MORAY PLACE
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
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wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
SALISBURY QUADRANT
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
THE SIXTY STEPS
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
TITWOOD PLACE
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
WALMER CRESCENT
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
WEST NILE STREET
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling
GALLERY
WESTBOURNE TERRACE
The Egyptian Halls is a beautifully designed building with all of Thomson’s trademark motifs, such as the Greek columns decorated with familiar etchings.
BASIC INFORMATION
Nearest train/subway
Kelvinbridge subway
What3words
Website
wHERE IS IT?
Halfway along Mansionhouse Road, opposite the entrance to St. Helens Gardens in the Shawlands area.
ABOUT
When both buildings were built in 1857, they were known as Maria Villa, possibly named after the wife of Henry Watson, a clothier whose family initially occupied one-half of the property.
Rather than follow the usual design of having the front of the houses face the same way, one of the two has been turned 180° to give the impression of one house from either front or back, when in fact the entrance porches to each property are on opposite sides.
The unusual outside design was matched within, where Thomson experimented with what he dubbed an 'inside-out curtain wall,' a long window behind the stone colonnade and the dining room. The downstairs dining room was adorned with a sun ceiling, while the adjacent upstairs room held a moon ceiling