Greenview School, 47 Greenhead Street, Glasgow, Calton, Glasgow

Entry Name: Greenview School, 47 Greenhead Street, Glasgow

Listing Name: 47 Greenhead Street, 22 and 24 Macphail Street, Buchanan House (Formerly Greenhead School), Including Gatepiers and Railings

Listing Date: 15 December 1970

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 377898

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB33845

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200377898

Location: Glasgow

County: Glasgow

Town: Glasgow

Electoral Ward: Calton

Traditional County: Lanarkshire

Tagged with: School building

Description

Charles Wilson, 1846; converted to school 1859; single storey dining room wing of 1873 subsequently raised to flat-roofed 2nd storey; later additions (see Notes) include workshops, drill hall and janitor's house of 1904-05 by MacWhannell and Rogerson, and interior remodelling of 1913-14 by Ninian MacWhannell; residential conversion 2006. 3-storey, 6-bay Italian palazzo-style house with square-columned centre porch, balconied 1st floor and sculptured entablature. Single storey wing with large tripartite window giving way to carved broken pediment and sculptured figure of seated scholar. Channelled ashlar and stucco to principal elevation, ashlar to sides and rear with ashlar dressings. Base course, ground floor cill course, 1st floor consoled balconies incorporated into ground floor cornice, 2nd floor cill course and eaves cornice. Segmental-arched and oculus windows; architraves, keystone, stone mullions.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: principal elevation to W (Greenhead Street) with steps up to porch and centre door, windows in flanking bays. 1st floor arcade of tall round-ached windows fronted by decorative balconies, centre balcony steps out over porch and incorporates 2 windows, remaining balconies individual. Set back 2nd floor (in manner of attic floor) with regular fenestration breaking into decorative frieze below dogtooth cornice, and stepped centre with flanking dies. Later wing at outer left (incorporated into ground floor channelled ashlar detail) with tripartite window, heavy flanking pilasters under carved dies with swagged urns, deeply carved windowhead with elaborate stylised shell motif, flanking paired consoles supporting semicircular pediment, single keystoned glazed oculus to simple face of later 2nd storey set-back behind. Large centre stair window at rear.

Margined, horizontal, 4-pane glazing pattern to principal elevation windows except tripartite with plate glass, largely 12-pane glazing pattern elsewhere in early ranges, all in timber sash and case windows. Slated, piend-and-platform roof with paired, corniced ashlar wallhead stacks.

GATEPIERS AND RAILINGS: polygonal corniced ashlar gatepiers and low coped boundary walls with inset richly decorated ironwork railings.

Statement of Interest

Prominently sited and well-detailed 3-storey, 6-bay Italian palazzo-style house built for cotton mill owner Duncan McPhail as Greenhead House. The principal elevation is distinguished by its crisp carved details including its balconies with linked circle motif, echoed along the frieze below the cornice. To the left, a monumental and richly carved broken pediment with a sculptured figure of a seated scholar all adding to the architectural interest.

Charles Wilson, born 1810, was an eminent local architect of considerable standing. Articled to David Hamilton from 1827 to 1837, his later work includes the Queens Rooms at La Belle Place, 1856, his competition win in the same year for the Free Church College in Lynedoch Street, and Park Circus in Kelvingrove (see separate listings).

In 1859 the building was converted to a school with a bequest from Glasgow merchant and philanthropist James Buchanan, and became the Buchanan Institution for destitute children. The Institute subsequently became Greenview Special School and in 1904, St Aidan's Roman Catholic School. In 2006 the building was converted as residential development incorporating refurbishment of Greenhead House and the nearby Logan Domestic Science School (see separate listing for 67-73 Greenhead Street).

List description revised as part of the Glasgow East End listing review, 2010.

External Links

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