Description

C J McNair & Elder, 1935-7. 5-storey courtyard plan striking Moderne former working men's hostel. To S and E, cream and black banded tiles at ground floor with alternating bands of brick and white painted cement above. N and W harled. Cill courses to all floors.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: off-centre curved entrance with recessed doorway with large curved flat-roofed canopy above. To left single bay taller section.

E ELEVATION: to left, 10-bay section with rounded corner to far left, tiling at ground floor ceases at bay entrance doorway at bay 2. To right, harled. Single bay recessed section, 2-bay advanced section, further 2-bay recessed section.

N ELEVATION: plain, harled, blank elevation with advanced sections to left.

W ELEVATION: plain, harled/painted blank elevation part-obscured by adjacent shops.

Predominantly original metal-framed 8-pane casement windows.

INTERIOR: predominantly original. Former restaurant and lounge at ground floor in flat roofed section within courtyard. On 1st to 4th floors rooms arranged off four narrow corridors following perimeter of building, some overlooking courtyard. Exceptionally small single rooms with room for small single bed, wash hand basin and radiator. Some original radiators. Double rooms (for men only) at corners of building.

Statement of Interest

This building is of importance both stylistically and as part of Glasgow's social history. An excellent and particularly striking example of Thirties Moderne architecture, the Bellgrove Hotel encompasses many of the essential components of this style: clean white lines, curves, a horizontal bias, and decorative bands of coloured tiles. It forms a significant part of the streetscape in an area which has changed greatly within the last 50 years.

During the 19th century the area around the Gallowgate became heavily industrialised and the Bellgrove Hotel, as a working mens hostel, was presumably built to provide modest accommodation for the many workers still required in the area in the first half of the 20th century. Historical photographs of the building in use as a hostel in the present dining hall show men relaxing in the lounge at tables and chairs or in easy chairs, and a 'corner of the restaurant' where aproned waitresses stand beside ordered napery-laden tables.

Built for Thomas Roger, the initial set of Dean of Guild Plans drawn in March 1935 show the entrance on the SE corner of the building. The drawings dated December 1935 show the entrance as constructed. The plans show that 2 lavatories, 1 footbath and 1 bathroom were allocated per floor. Steelwork was by Redpath, Brown and Co.

Currently (2004) the building operates as a privately-run hostel for homeless men.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Bellgrove Hotel, 607 Gallowgate, Glasgow at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17813555

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
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  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)