IMG_E5189

Glasgow former Victorian factory building

the project

We were asked to assess the state of this charming 19th-century former factory and stabilise it.

Originally built around 1870 as William Cook & Sons tool makers (whose faded can still be seen on Elliot Street), the building has been extended for various industrial uses over the years, but without impacting the site’s character and significance. These additions include a wing built in 1891 by architect John Cunningham, a grinding shop and generator house added in 1907, and the courtyard closed off to Elliot Street in 1919.

Stylistically, the B-listed building features polychromatic brick patterns, rusticated ashlar plinths, and arched head casement windows with glazing bars arranged in a regimented grid. The entrance is on a canted corner with additional access to the central courtyard via a pend garage-style door.

When it was built, William Cook and Sons had a sister building across the street belonging to J Turnbull Wood Turners, but this was later demolished and replaced with the existing apartment complex.

How we worked

Stabilisation of the building is being done with our conservation and contract administration expertise in collaboration with Will Rudd conservation engineers and Bell Building Projects.

While assessing the building, we have been engaged in research of the local area. The site straddles Finnieston and Anderston. Finnieston displays many typical Glasgow city centre forms of architecture, from Victorian tenements to modern apartment blocks, and industrial warehouses to slick office buildings, with the high-tech style entertainment quarter down by the river. Nearby are many vibrant mixed-use tenement buildings with restaurants, cafés and retail north of the Clydeside Expressway.

What has been largely lost are the many industrial manufacturing premises that were common in the late 19th century, and so this site is one of the last remaining examples of Victorian and Edwardian industrial architecture in the area.

“This charming 19th-century former factory in Glasgow is in need of attention – we are working as conservation architects to stabilise it and provide it with a long-term future.”

Success of the project

This project is ongoing. We envisage a long future for this wonderful building, and look forward to enhancing the area while providing a valuable visual link with the past.

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Thomas Robinson Architects