Casework: September 2000

Egyptian Halls

'Breach of developers' rights' threatens Thomson's office

Caledonia Road Church

St Vincent Street Church

Eton Terrace, Oakfield Avenue

Grecian Buildings

West Nile Street

The Thomson headstone

Looks like carelessness...

Civic Trust Award for Holmwood

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From ATS Newsletter No.27

Egyptian Halls

Earlier this year, it was hoped that the legal problems surrounding the ownership and therefore the future of Thomson's finest commercial building had at last been resolved.

Following the serving of a compulsory purchase order by Glasgow City Council in 1996, further damaging delay was threatened by changes of ownership and the threat of litigation, but in the event this was avoided by Mr Derek Soutar of Union Street Developments acquiring majority ownership. An admirable structural and conservation report was commissioned and, with the support of Historic Scotland,  the long overdue restoration and refurbishment of this largely derelict city-centre listed building seemed imminent. While the future use of the upper floors of the building has not yet been decided, the Society was very happy with the conservative approach to the necessary structural repairs advocated by Peter Stephen & Partners, engineers, and the Morrison Partnership, architects.

Now the future of Egyptian Halls is again in jeopardy: Scottish Enterprise Glasgow has informed the owner that it cannot now provide £245,000 grant assistance to the project as "it is not a priority in terms of the Operating Plan 2000-01" and "does not fit with any of the priorities for Scottish Enterprise National". Yet, only three years ago in its former guise of the Glasgow Development Agency, this publicly-funded body felt able to assist a more destructive scheme for Egyptian Halls which did not respect the integrity of Thomson's iron framed interior.

Particularly as one of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow's ostensible aims is "the development, redevelopment and improvement of the environment", it would be interesting to learn why the improvement of Union Street  through the regeneration of a largely unused commercial masterpiece by an internationally celebrated Scottish architect, now recognised as being one of Glasgow's great heritage assets, is not regarded as being of economic benefit to this city.

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'Breach of developers' rights' threatens Thomson's office

Earlier this year, the society was due to give evidence at the public local inquiry into application for listed building consent by County Properties Ltd to demolish the stone-fronted house in West Regent Street cleverly enlarged by Thomson in 1872 and in which he installed his office. This case has a long and unhappy history, as outlined in earlier Newsletters, but the inquiry was provoked by the astonishing, if typical, decision by Glasgow City Council to grant planning permission and listed building consent for the demolition of this abused but salvageable building in the very year of the Thomson exhibition and of Glasgow's reign as UK City of Architecture and Design. This was rightly opposed by Historic Scotland: hence the inquiry.

The planned public inquiry was twice postponed, owing to a challenge by the developer to the legality of Historic Scotland's opposition. Now it has been superseded by an astonishing legal decision which not only threatens this particular listed building but all historic buildings in Scotland.

On Tuesday, 25th July, as reported in The Herald for 20th July and The Scotsman for 28th July, Lord Macfadyen in the Court of Session ruled that the proposed inquiry breached the developer's rights under the European Convention because the Reporter at a public inquiry is not impartial or independent as he or she is employed by the Scottish Ministers. Scotland signed up to the European Convention at the time of devolution.

To quote an editorial in The Scotsman,

"What the good judge has done is to rule that decisions by the Scottish executive summarily to call in planning applications from local authority adjudication, then appoint its own reporters to advise ministers on whether or not the development should be permitted, is a major breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 6 of the convention provides that in the determination of civil rights each citizen is entitled to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal."

The implications of this decision are alarming. It would seem to deny the right of a nation to safeguard its cultural heritage by establishing a body of expert advisers and a system of protection enshrined in law. It certainly undermines our own rights by removing the forum in which we were prepared to defend the retention and restoration of a significant historic building connected with Alexander Thomson, for unless the Scottish executive appeals against this decision, there seems to be nothing to stop County Properties demolishing the building in West Regent Street and erecting their mediocre and ill-mannered alternative.

No doubt the good judge would like to see all planning and listed building appeals conducted in a court of law - which would be more cumbersome and more expensive. That, of course, would mean yet more fees for lawyers. It would also mean greater costs and more difficulties for independent objectors like ourselves. The response of the Scottish executive and Historic Scotland to this debacle has yet to be announced at the time of writing. It may be to privatise the system of Reporters. Whatever it is, action must be taken quickly, not just to protect this particular listed building but all listed buildings in Scotland. For, thanks to Lord Macfadyen or, rather, thanks to the naivety of the politicians who signed up to the European Convention (Westminster hasn't), if a developer wishes to remove, say, a Grade A listed building by Robert Adam in, say, Edinburgh, all he has to do is apply for listed building consent and then object that his so-called human rights are breached when Historic Scotland asks the Scottish Ministers call in the case.

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Caledonia Road Church

Scaffolding has gone up on the tower to enable stabilisation and repair work to be carried out. However, the much vaunted and long awaited competition to develop the adjoining site and find a purpose for the remains of Thomson's great church has still not been formally announced by the Crown Street Regeneration Trust.

St Vincent Street Church

Work began in July on the upper part of the tower as the first phase of the long-awaited restoration of the church. The architects in charge are Page & Park. This phase is being supported by the World Monuments Fund.

Unfortunately, there is no firm news about the future of Heron House, which, whether the building is retained or replaced, has a significant impact on long-term plans for the church.

Eton Terrace, Oakfield Avenue

A detailed condition survey of the terrace was carried out by Opfer Logan Architects in February. We hope that this may lead to the long overdue repair of this important domestic terrace by Thomson, but this is impeded by the usual problems of divided and multiple ownership.

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Grecian Buildings

The refurbishment and alteration of Thomson's warehouse being carried out by Page & Park, architects, for the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) is proceeding.

Seeing the work being carried out to the three-bay villa around the corner in Scott Street makes one regret that the scheme did not include the creation of the large porch on the street slope allowing first floor access between the two buildings clearly visible in the perspective drawing of Thomson's complete design published in the Building News for 11th September 1868 after the original drawing recently presented to the Glasgow School of Art by Dr Ronald McFadzean and reproduced in the new book, 'Greek' Thomson by Gavin Stamp.

West Nile Street

The original design by Thomson for the three shop fronts at 99-105 West Nile Street has now been recovered or recreated as part of the restoration of the stone facade carried out by Design Management Architects. Much new stone has been introduced and the contrast between this and the surviving weathered stonework highlights the philosophical problem implicit in the restoration of this type of historic building.

The Thomson headstone

The project to place a suitable monument on the grave of Thomson and his family in the Southern Necropolis has now received a boost with the generous offer of £7,000 under the Lord Provost's Millennium Award Scheme. The Glasgow Institute of Architects, with the backing of this Society, is now seeking donations to secure the rest of the £24,000 needed to realise the design by Edward Taylor and Graeme Andrew which won the 1999 Alexander Thomson Memorial Studentship competition. The competition was organised by the GIA, of which Thomson was once president, and which founded the award in his name after his death (The second recipient of that prize was Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh). The site of Thomson's grave, in the Gorbals, overlooks one of the architect's finest works, the Caledonia Road Church.

The winning design was illustrated in Newsletter No.25, but it is now hoped to execute it in black granite, possibly brought in from Ireland or Portugal, rather than polished concrete.

Help - and suggestions - from members is invited to end a long-running scandal. No record exists of any tombstone or memorial, but it is highly unlikely the grave of Glasgow's greatest architect was not originally marked. The grave has been unmarked since the clearance of headstones in the dismal 1950s.

Fiona Sinclair of the Glasgow Institute of Architects said of the announcement: "We are obviously thrilled that the city, through the Lord Provost's Millennium Fund, has been so generous towards the appeal. This funding will help us attract further support towards the ultimate goal of around £24,000 for the work."

Co-architect Graeme Andrew said: "This is an excellent boost to the funding and we now hope that the reality of a fitting monument for the Thomson family is now a step closer".

Looks like carelessness...

Members interested in the full detailed horror of the story of the wilful destruction of drawings and documents which might have illuminated Thomson's life and work by institutions which ought to have known better during Glasgow's darkest days in the three decades after the Second World War are referred to the article by Gavin Stamp, 'It looks like carelessness, or, in search of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson' in Scottish Archives, The Journal of the Scottish Record Association, volume 5, 1999, pp.12-28.

It is a depressing read. The information was acquired in the course of the research undertaken for last year's exhibition at The Lighthouse, Alexander Thomson: The Unknown Genius. Can we be confident that those looking after what remains of Thomson's archive will behave better in the future?

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Civic Trust Award for Holmwood

Alexander Thomson's Holmwood House was among seven Glasgow projects honoured earlier this year in the largest and most respected environmental design awards in Europe. The 2000 Civic Trust Awards also recognised such projects as the renovation of the A-listed Charles Rennie Mackintosh Martyr's School in Townhead to the extensive redevelopment of the city's Tron Theatre. Lord Provost Alex Mosson and Civic Trust Awards manager Ms Julia Thrift paid tribute to the winners at an awards ceremony in Glasgow.

The citation for Holmwood House read:

"Holmwood was designed in 1859 by the famous Glasgow architect, Alexander Thomson. When built, it was in a wonderful rural location with views of the ruined Cathcart Castle. By the mid-1990s, however, the area had become part of Glasgow's suburbs and the house itself had suffered from alterations and neglect. As a result of commendable determination on the part of the Alexander Thomson Society and the National Trust for Scotland, Holmwood has now been restored to a state as close as possible to its original condition. Meticulous research into the original designs and materials has resulted in a memorable building that needs to be seen to be appreciated."