Description

James Thomson, 1898-1900. Asymmetrical Renaissance extravaganza; 6-storey, basement and attic; 5 bays to West George Street (left pair slightly later in date) 3 to Dundas Street. Shops and office building, red sandstone ashlar. Modern shops at ground. Giant composite pilasters from 1st to 3rd floor, channelled at 1st, banded at 2nd and 3rd, dividing bays. Moulded cill courses.

WEST GEORGE STREET ELEVATION: polished granite balustrade to basement recess; paired columns with Corinthian capitals to porch at centre; triglyphs and paterae metopes to frieze; cartouche in raised end panels of parapet above; arched doorway with decorative wrought-iron overthrow and 2-leaf gates. Tripartite windows with convex outer lights above centre and right bays at 1st and 2nd floor; projecting rectangular bays

in pairs and with terms and Ionic fluted pilasters to left bays; carved garlands and wreathed portraits between cills and lintels of both floors, and dentil cornice above projecting windows. Bipartite aedicules at 3rd floor with Etruscan column mullions. Round-arched

tripartites at 4th floor. Architraved bipartites to centre and right bays at 5th floor, and 5 single windows divided by fluted pilasters above left bays. Consoled cornice. 2 column flanked pedimented dormer windows at centre, linked to polygonal corner pavilion with leaded ogee roof and gilded ball and cockerel weathervane. Scrolled 3-light scroll-coped gable above outer left bays with fluted composite columns.

DUNDAS STREET ELEVATION: detailed similarly to centre and right bays of West George Street front.

Plate-glass sash and case windows.

Statement of Interest

Further information courtesy of the Local Merchants' Association of Scotland Ltd. Built for William Connall Jnr, Iron Merchant. The left 1st and 2nd floor windows were derived from 16th century Heinrichsbau, Heidelberg Castle, via the secondary source of the Ritter Inn, Heidelberg, specified by Connall. The carved portraits depict leading iron merchants, including James Watt, J B Neilson, Dixon and Baird, and also the architect.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17795053

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.

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