Past Present Vol 2

[Ally Doll]

480 Gallowgate


1938 (Virtual Mitchell)


2007

[Alex Glass]

I passed that on the bus the other day and thought about the need to get to this part of the city for a few photos there are some great building. Fantastic photo Ally.

[Josef]

480 Gallowgate


1938 (Virtual Mitchell)

This was a butchers in between the two incarnations shown, and I always thought the cow up the top was related to this use, but I see it was on the original bank building.

Anyone any idea why? Seems a bit unusual.

[Sharon]

cattle market related?

[Ally Doll]

cattle market related?

I suppose it must be -the cattle market was just across the road and had this many people at it!

[crusty_bint]

The ox or bull skull is also a classical motif called a Bucranium. It is associated with the doric order and originates from an even more ancient practice where sacrificial ox skulls draped in garlands were hung from temple roof and was later translated into stone friezes on building and alters. I suppose they were going for the whole 'temple to commerce' look

[viceroy]

The ox or bull skull is also a classical motif called a Bucranium. It is associated with the doric order and originates from an even more ancient practice where sacrificial ox skulls draped in garlands were hung from temple roof and was later translated into stone friezes on building and alters. I suppose they were going for the whole 'temple to commerce' look

According to my copy of The Buildings of Scotland - Glasgow :

"On the opposite side of Gallowgate, the former British Linen Bank by John Fairweather & Son, 1936, with an Art Deco clock tower of polished granite and an apt bucranium."

Apt obviously in view of its location opposite the Meat and Cattle Market.

[gap74]

I've always been curious about this building. As mentioned, some sources list it as a John Fairweather, whom I know from my cinema pish as he was a cinema specialist - and he also threw up a few public buildings round here in Cambuslang.

Dictionary of Scottish Architects site lists him as responsible for it, but refers to it as the British Linen Bank:

http://www.codexgeo.co.uk/dsa/building_ ... id=M006471

But Historic Scotland's listing entry for it doesn't mention Fairweather at all:

http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=33974

It ascribes the building to James McCallum, who is also credited as the responsible person in my copy of Glasgow Art Deco, by Rudolph Kenna.

And it looks like the HS listing entry has been recently updated too, as it mentions a 2007 residential conversion - am I right in thinking your pic is actually a few months old, Ally, as it has now been cleaned up and the windows repaired? Didn't look like a residential conversion to me, though, looks like it's just empty again.

So I'm wondering, is this a case of confusion with the little bank building that used to be across the road, which was demolished about 18 months ago? There's pics of that here, but I'm buggered if I can find them.

[escotregen]

I was involved in the margins of a raging debate over whether the bank building was worth saving in the 1980s. It was at the height of the GEAR initiative and the old Scottish Special Housing Association, in which I worked, was redeveloping the area after the old cooncil had 'cleared' the original community. (the Scottish Special Housing Association was 'special' in-that it was never a housing association - but it did have intriguing origins going back to the 1930s depression when it was set up as a 'Special Areas' initiative).

The architects in the-then pioneering West Region Office of the SSHA, argued long and hard against the scary QS crowd that the building must be saved. I've got to be honest and say that at the time I sat amongst it all, rather bemused about the heat generated by 'an old redundant building'. In the end I think it was the fact that a commercial tenant (the butcher) came forward and wanted the lease was the decider - it was a rare event indeed in those days for anyone from the private sector to want to come into what would have been described as a redevelopment area.

He lasted a few years with the SSHA's residential developments producing steady local trade (mainly bulk orders and 'specialities' like the revolting whole, uncooked ox tongues I had to get for a relative ), but as retail patterns changed, the butcher's local trade just died away. The building again fell in vacant near-dereliction.

[youngmckellar]

The old flint mill by the Kelvin

[John]

Very poignant. I like the dog too.

[HollowHorn]

Some of these will have been done before & prolly with better results:
Ashton Lane 1933:


Feb 2008:


Otago Lane North 1933:

The stables shown above once housed Corporation tramway horses.

Feb 2008:


Byres Road (entrance to Ashton Lane) Sept 1933


Byres Road (entrance to Ashton Lane) Feb 2008


Bank Street 1955


Bank Street Feb 2008


Gibson Street 1906


Gibson Street Feb 2008


314 Byres Rd, 1931


Feb 2008:

[onyirtodd]

FFS. When are back at w*rk?

[HollowHorn]

...

[Buzby]

glasgowken, the building was a jewish school/club. It was one of the last remaining in the area, but closed when the large jewish community in the gorbals began moving away

I believe this was the Maccabi (sp?) club - it moved from here to Giffnock and took residence in the Tudor Cinema for a number of years after it had closed as a picture palace. The Tudor was evendually bulldozed and a Safeway supermarket built on the site (now Morrisons).