Media coverage 2002

Against all odds, Alexander Thomson's creation survives as a monument to defiance

'Greek' Thomson home reveals gem of classical myth

'Greek' tragedy ends in a towering triumph

Anger at delay in rescuing heritage kirk

Prince Charles may help save historic city church

Royal Fine Art Commission attacks cafe/bar proposal for St Vincent Street

Seeing Glasgow in a new light...

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Against all odds, Alexander Thomson's creation survives as a monument to defiance

Keith Miller, Property, Sunday Telegraph, 25 August 2002

Tall, brooding, purposeless, a magnificent ruin for years - but that's enough about me. Today's building is what is left of the Caledonia Road United Presbyterian church in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson in the 1850s. "Greek" referred to his architectural preferences rather than his private life - he was an elder of the church, and a square-jawed paragon of Scots rectitude who thought arches were decadent.

Thomson belonged to a generation of designers across Europe who rejected the stark lucidity of Enlightenment classicism in favour of an informal, romantic and wildly eclectic style in which the prototypes of ancient Greece were spiced up with references to Hellenistic, Egyptian, Persian, Romanesque and even Hindu architecture ("Hindon't, I say," quipped Edwin Lutyens half a century later).

Thomson was in the right place at the right time: the pinnacle of Glasgow's commercial prosperity, a council determined to plan and regulate the booming city, a schismatic church looking to assert its identity with novel architectural forms. He built pretty villas for rich suburbanites, long terraces in the West End, grandiose commercial developments in the city centre and three fabulous, bizarre churches, only one of which still stands intact, glowering over the Clyde in St Vincent Street.

Caledonia Road church stands on one of the main routes into the city. On a triangular site, Thomson planted a high podium of liverish sandstone, and crowned it with an Ionic temple portico, creating a sort of acropolis. To one side he put a tall, obelisk-shaped tower with dark, blank openings near the top. These, and the windows along the sides, are trapezoid rather than rectangular, making the church seem braced to the ground in anticipation of some terrible blow. This duly came in 1965 when vandals burned the building out, destroying the roof (the lead from it had already been pinched) and leaving behind a gaunt ruin.

What is left does little justice to Thomson's original creation (although what remains has now been Grade A-listed). For one thing, he meant his churches to have roofs, even if he was uneasy about the issue of glass in their windows, a luxury not available to the folk of fifth-century Athens. Caledonia Road boasted a beamed, wooden roof of an unusual economy and elegance (several Thomsonian motifs have been scaled down to garden-shed size in John Simpson's absurd new Buckingham Palace Gallery).

As ruins go, though, it is a corker. Not only does it now resemble an authentic survival from the remote classical past; it also pushes all the emotional buttons that so preoccupied Thomson and his contemporaries: melancholy, isolated, sublime. Marooned by traffic, it glowers down at you like a battle-scarred nightclub bouncer.

It is probably stretching a point to impute a sublime sensibility to the local citizens who set fire to the church. But as the area around Caledonia Road undergoes its third regeneration after the City Improvement Bill of 1866 and the high-rise estates of the 1950s and 1960s, Thomson's church has become a powerful symbol of endurance, a gritty Glaswegian riposte to the unfinished National Monument on Calton Hill in Edinburgh.

The local authority is fishing around for new uses for the structure, which has been stabilised and partly restored. A city which has been as intelligent as Glasgow in using heritage and culture as spearheads for urban regeneration can probably be trusted to treat the problem sensitively. But, before listing, they were going to knock it down and replace it with a plaque.

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'Greek' Thomson home reveals gem of classical myth

Phil Miller, arts correspondent, The Herald, 21 June 2002

A classical frieze created by one of Scotland's greatest architects which lay partially hidden in a house in Glasgow for decades has been restored to its former glory.

The depiction of the warriors of Homer's Iliad is in Holmwood House, in the south side of the city, which was built in 1858 by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson for James Couper, the mill owner.

The building was later used as a school before falling into disrepair. It came under the wing of the National Trust in the early 1990s and opened to the public after renovation work in 1998.

The frieze's 19 panels were discovered beneath layers of paint and wallpaper during work being carried out in advance of Glasgow's year as the City of Architecture and Design in 1999.

Fiona Butterfield, the paper conservator, who painstakingly restored the panels, said: "They are quite exceptional in that you can see the colour and designs. They are in a phenomenally good condition, considering what they have been through.

"It really now looks quite dramatic, and we can see them almost in the way Greek Thomson intended them to be."

The house was once occupied by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions who, it is said, covered up the frieze as they were shocked by images of naked pagan warriors when the dining room was converted into a chapel.

However, the nuns inadvertently saved the intricate images as the wallpaper they covered them with could be peeled off dry, and the conditions underneath helped preserve the paper frieze.

After Holmwood House closed as a school, Glasgow City Council decided to sell it, but eventually the National Heritage Memorial Fund donated a grant which allowed it to be purchased by the National Trust.

Sally White, the property manager at the house, said: "The frieze is now properly revealed and we have been pleasantly surprised that they are not more damaged.

"A lot of people come to Holmwood and now we can show them the room they know so well at quite an exciting stage. The public can now see the designs as they would have been when the home was built."

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'Greek' tragedy ends in a towering triumph

Jenny Shields, Property Mail, Daily Mail, 21 June 2002

When Peter Hewkin drew up outside the Scottish castle he was hoping to buy, his wife Norma was so appalled by its ruinous state that she refused to get out of the car.

The couple can now laugh about that bleak February day in 1994 when they picked their way around Craigrownie, but at the time it was a pretty dispiriting experience.

They had been looking for a country estate when they came across the Scottish Civic Trust's Buildings at Risk bulletin.

After flying up from London they headed for Craigrownie, which stands at the tip of the Roseneath Peninsula overlooking the Firth of Clyde.

It could have been a wasted journey, but as he walked round the castle Mr Hewkin began to revise his opinion of its architect Alexander 'Greek' Thomson.

He still has reservations about some of Thomson's works - especially the churches - but says Craigrownie, designed when Thomson was aged 34, unknown and untravelled, is a work of genius.

Built between 1852 and 1854 in Scots baronial rather than the Greek and Romanesque styles that Thomson is known for, the six-storey castle features a central tower with battlements, steep gables and oriel bay windows.

The castle had endured a chequered past after ceasing to be a private home in 1956. It was turned into a children's respite home then a nursing home and over the years various unsympathetic extensions had been added.

By the time the Hewkins came to view it, the castle was in a sorry state, comprehensively stripped of valuables, from the slates and lead to the plumbing and fireplaces. The windows were missing and there was a dead sheep in the hall.

Mr Hewkin is a curious amalgam of hard-headed property tycoon - that's how he made his money, having started in Kensington, London, in the 1960s - and an incurable romantic. He has enjoyed some spectacular homes of his own, buying and renovating houses in London's exclusive Holland Park and Bolton Gardens before retiring ten years ago at the age of 45. Purchasing-B-listed Craigrownie took determination and a thorough knowledge of the planning laws.

The deal was not concluded after 18 frustrating months when Mr Hewkin eventually persuaded the then East Dunbartonshire Council to serve a repairs notice.

Unusually, Mr Hewkin eschewed available grants, saying he found it 'too frustrating' dealing with the various planning officials, and decided to go it alone.

It took a further 18 months for the castle to dry out sufficiently to allow work to start.

The couple took painstaking care with every last detail of the restoration.

Their surveyor had costed the work at £1million - a figure Mr Hewkin was able to slash by half due to his knowledge of the building business and his dogged determination 'never to buy inferior or pay retail prices'. Mr Hewkin shudders at the notion of doing anything-on the cheap. The secret he says, is knowing where to look. He always uses individual tradesmen rather than companies and never employs architects because they will impose their own interpretation on a building.

On the Craigrownie restoration he paid a local builder's merchant to source the materials and bought a lot of the wood direct from a mill.

He also lived on site, in the renovated coach house, to keep a close eye on the project.

Mr Hewkin can reel off some alarming statistics about the restoration, such as 123 rolls of code five lead - the correct Victorian specification-on the 13 different roofs and 156 windows that were replaced.

His experience of restoring quality properties from unpromising beginnings has led him to call for an overhaul of the legislation governing important buildings.

In Scotland, he says it is time our building heritage came under the remit of government.

Jane Nelson, who compiles the Buildings at Risk bulletin for the Scottish Civic Trust, cites the Hewkins' work on Craigrownie as inspirational.

Mr Hewkin has put a price of £725,000 on his home and more details are available from selling agents DMH Baird Lumsden of Edinburgh.

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Anger at delay in rescuing heritage kirk

Edward Black, The Scotsman, 10 June 2002

A council has come under fire from conservationists who claim it has not done enough to restore a city centre church regarded as one of the most important 19th century monuments in Scotland.

Five years ago the World Monuments Fund in Britain (WMF), a conservation charity, helped complete a £5 million restoration project on the spire of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's St Vincent Street Church in Glasgow, which was built in 1859.

According to heritage experts, urgent work is now required on the main body of the church but an essential lottery application cannot be made until a new user has been found for the basement level of the church.

Colin Amery, director of WMF in Britain, said that as the owner of the church, Glasgow City Council has not done enough to find a new tenant five years on from the completion of phase one of the project.

"I sometimes wonder whether Glasgow realises what an architectural masterpiece the city has at the centre," he said. "The St Vincent Street Church is of international importance as the greatest work by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson that survives.

"The city owns the church which has a congregation that cannot possibly afford to carry out a full restoration. Five years ago we put the church on a watch list of the world's most endangered buildings. We followed this up with a substantial financial commitment to the major repairs of the landmark tower.

"How can it have taken five years to get nowhere with plans for the rest of this magnificent building? By now the people of Glasgow should have been able to enjoy one of the great interiors of Europe.

"Glasgow may think it's getting better but it still has a sick and ailing victim of prevarication and lack of imagination at its very heart. The World Monuments Fund is not going to pull out but things are getting urgent and Glasgow must act now."

But Pat Chalmers, convener of the Alexander Greek Thomson Trust, said finding suitable tenants for the building was a difficult progress and denied the council had been dragging its feet.

"I'm afraid these things do take time and obviously if a suitable organisation did come forward then we would be delighted. There is no question of the search for new tenants not being conducted with enough vigour.

"Due to the nature of the building we had to divide up the restoration work into two phases. It is imperative that we find the right sort of occupant for the church because we cannot just throw public money at it without there being some public return.

"Using the church basement as a Gaelic language centre was one possibility but not much progress has been made."

In an effort to boost the search for a potentially suitable occupant Pat Chalmers added that they were planning to enlist the help of the Prince of Wales to launch a brochure to highlight the church.

She said: "We are hoping that Prince Charles's involvement will help. Another problem is the adjoining site at Heron House is also in need of suitable occupants and is an additional factor that is slowing down the restoration of the main body of the church.

"Potential commercial occupants included Standard Life and the MacDonald hotel chain, but as Heron House is just three foot from the main church we need to be very cautious about whom we choose."

The historian Gavin Stamp said: "Sadly the prospects for historic buildings in Scotland are gloomy. Politicians and councillors need to be galvanised to do more to preserve our heritage. This Alexander Thomson church is beautiful and it is imperative that it is restored properly."

Alexander Thomson, who died in 1875, is credited with creating many of Glasgow's distinctive neo-classical 19th century buildings.

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Prince Charles may help save historic city church

(Glasgow) Evening Times, 10 June 2002

Plea to Prince over city church

Prince Charles could help end a five-year search for a tenant for a historic Glasgow church.

He is being asked to launch a brochure highlighting St Vincent Street Church, built more than 140 years ago.

The church was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson - one of Glasgow's greatest architects - and built in 1859, 16 years before his death.

But Lottery money is needed to fund a huge restoration programme, which is in jeopardy because a tenant cannot be found for the church basement.

Glasgow City Council, which owns the church, was criticised today for failing to do enough to secure a tenant, despite launching a search five years ago.

The World Monuments Fund in Britain is a charity which helped restore the church spire at a cost of £5million.

Boss Colin Amery said: "St Vincent Street Church is of international importance as the greatest work of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson that survives.

"The city owns the church, which has a congregation that can't possibly afford to carry out a full restoration."

He highlighted the need for major repairs to the main building after the spire renovations five years ago and said: "How can it have taken five years to get nowhere with plans for the rest of this magnificent building?

"By now Glasgow's citizens should be enjoying one of the great interiors of Europe."

Council chiefs were not available for comment.

But Pat Chalmers, convener of the Alexander Greek Thomson Trust, said: "I'm afraid these things do take time."

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Judges toast pub's revamp

(Edinburgh) Evening News, 23 May 2002

A city pub has won a major national award for its refurbishment.

Thomson's Bar in Morrison Street was awarded the Campaign for Real Ale's prize for best pub design refurbishment after judges commended the premises on its use of salvaged quality timber.

Owner Ian Whyte said: "I'm very pleased. It's good to get recognition for something that has taken an age to do."

Mr Whyte salvaged much of the timber from yards in Edinburgh and Glasgow for panelling, doors and flooring. He also transformed timber from pews and a pulpit in the now-demolished Lenzie Church in Glasgow.

Timber for part of the English oak bar was sourced from a distillery that had closed, and old gymnasium flooring was also used.

Intricate carvings in the pub's interior were based on designs by Alexander "Greek" Thomson, a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

It is the fourth time Mr Whyte has won the refurbishment award for an Edinburgh pub. He has previously been judged a winner for the Bow Bar, Cumberland Bar and Frasers Bar.

Dr Steven Parissien, the Campaign for Real Ale pub design awards judge, said: "Thomson's has been reworked in an inventive and assured way, using quality materials which will undoubtedly last far longer than the cheap, catalogue-sourced fittings that bedeck the majority of our refurbished pubs."

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Royal Fine Art Commission attacks cafe/bar proposal for St Vincent Street

Case 020516, May 2002

"The Council already knew the Commission's position with regard to the renovation of Heron House. The proposed extension, as a component of the overall development, could only serve to exacerbate the damage already done with the City's consent to the setting of an architectural masterpiece which Scotland might regard as having been entrusted to the care of the City..."

For the website report, go here. For the complete text of the Commission's comments, email plan@royfinartcomforsco.gov.uk

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Hotel plan for country houses

Mark Macaskill, The Sunday Times, 7 April 2002

Some of Scotland's finest country houses could be transformed into luxury hotels as National Trust bosses struggle to drag loss-making historic buildings back into the black.

Too few visitors and too many castles have left the National Trust Scotland with a £1.5m debt.

Despite generous gifts from donors, a continuing high level of legacies and a rise in membership, about 50 properties owned by the trust are estimated to be running up substantial losses.

In some cases, visitor numbers have dwindled by more than 30% in the past four years. Poor international marketing of Scotland's heritage and the effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the recent foot and mouth crisis are to blame, according to experts.

The trust is also concerned that interest in older monuments, in particular from the 17th and 18th centuries, is waning. It recently announced a review in its acquisition policy by adding more examples of modern designs to its list of properties.

The trust, however, is not alone. Other bodies, such as Historic Scotland, have also experienced financial losses. No decisions will be made until after National Trust Scotland board members have been consulted at a meeting planned for the summer. Solutions could include joint promotion, a combined marketing campaign, cross-ticketing and leasing.

Trust properties recording the biggest losses include Haddo House, a sprawling 24-bedroom mansion in Aberdeenshire and home to the Gordons of Methlick and to Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen since it was built in 1732.

In the 19th century, it was home to Britain's prime minister, Lord Aberdeen, and it has played host to many royal visitors and politicians.

It was designed by the Scottish architect William Adam. Its sumptuous late-Victorian interiors, by Wright and Mansfield of London, are still largely intact. Its chapel is still used for Sunday service.

Visitor numbers at Haddo have fallen from 16,000 to 13,000 in the past four years.

Leith Hall set in a 279-acre estate in Aberdeenshire, was home to the Leith Hay family for almost three centuries. The family was renowned both for their local activities and for their military achievements.

However, it, too, has also been the victim of waning public interest. Over the past four years, visitor numbers have dropped by 25%.

Holmwood House in Glasgow was designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson in 1857 for James Couper, who owned paper mills on the banks of the River Cart in Glasgow. Visitor numbers there have fallen from 11,692 in 1999 to 7,264 in the past year.

Experts say the property, which was used by the Scottish executive to host a meeting of UK tourism ministers last April, could be turned into holiday cottages.

"A property that is losing money is in danger of long term degradation, which does not serve the trust's purpose of preservation for future generations to enjoy," Dr Robin Pellew, chief executive of the trust, told The Sunday Times.

"A leasing arrangement that guarantees an income, without in any way impinging on the conservation significance of a property, safeguards the present and leaves the door open to a review of use at any time in the future, when circumstances might be different."

Other cost-cutting measures include scrapping insurance premiums which cost the trust almost half a million pounds per year - since the attack on the twin towers in New York, premiums have risen by more than 200%. The money saved would be invested to meet the cost of future repairs.

Some experts, however, are concerned that hotel conversions could destroy the character and integrity of listed buildings.

A guidance report published by Historic Scotland in 1998 on listed buildings and conservation areas highlighted the need to consider fire regulations and the "probable effect of these requirements" when considering hotel conversions.

It added the "best use for an historic building is usually the use for which it was designed".

"Although the trust needs to look after its finances it is taking a very commercial view", said Terry Levinthal, technical director of the Scottish Civic Trust. "But the trust is not a commercial organisation, it's a charity.

"I think income can be accrued in many other ways, such as renting out land for agricultural purposes. Holmwood House, for example, could be let as holiday cottages, which wouldn't be subject to the same regulations as a hotel."

"I'm amazed they haven't done this before," said Neil Baxter, a leading architectural consultant. "There's always a tendency for people to believe history should be preserved in aspic but putting these buildings to real use will allow history to play an active part in Scotland's economic future."

Ivan Broussine, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Forum, said: "The trust has a very interesting portfolio and will need to look at a number of options. They wouldn't be disposing of properties but finding a balance to make the asset work for them while raising interest in built heritage. It's certainly an idea worth pursuing."

Other historical buildings in the red and under review include House of Dun, designed and built by William Adam in 1730 and opened to the public by the Queen Mother in 1989, Broughton House, an 18th-century town house in Kirkcudbright and Hill of Tarvit mansionhouse in Fife.

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Seeing Glasgow in a new light...

(Glasgow) Evening Times, 12 March 2002

Four dramatic city centre structures come under the spotlight tonight as part of a multi-million pound campaign to light up the city.

The Gallery of Modern Art, Anniesland Tower, the Royal Concert Hall and Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's church in the Gorbals are among the first to benefit.

Council leader Charles Gordon will launch the new lighting campaign tonight at a ceremony in GOMA.

He said: "The past 15 years has seen some of Glasgow's best loved buildings undergo a fantastic transformation thanks to the use of special lighting effects.

"Such work has not only improved the image of the city by highlighting some of our best architectural assets, but it has made for a safer environment.

"I believe the development of the strategy will be a further positive phase in the ongoing regeneration of Glasgow as we seek to ensure it remains a great city to live and work in and for visitors to come and enjoy."

The switch on comes as it was revealed some of the top companies in the world are bidding to replace the city's unpopular orange sodium lights with bright white lamps.

Over the next three years £2.6million will be spent lighting up some of the city's main landmarks and key roads. Top international companies are being asked to tender for a 30-year contract which will result in 55,000 street lights being replaced.

Some of the existing lamp standards are more than 70 years- old and are in a dangerous condition.

Land services convener Alistair Watson said: "It is a big enough contract to attract the very best in the industry and we hope to be able to deliver a good deal for the council taxpayers in Glasgow.

"One of the key things we would hope to be able to deliver is the removal of the overhead wires which span many areas of the city. They will go underground. It is something I am sure the public would welcome."

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Gambling saves Greek Thomson

Tom Gordon, Local government correspondent, The Herald, 13 February 2002

One-armed bandits and bingo callers will ride to the rescue of one of Glasgow's most famous, and neglected, buildings.

An amusement arcade chain was granted permission yesterday to take over part of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Egyptian Halls in Union Street.

Mitchells Amusements of Falkirk plans to spend £100,000 restoring the shopfront to Thomson's original design, and stripping out a false ceiling to reveal original features, including decorative cornicing and columns.

The space is currently occupied by a bargain goods store, with Thomson's pillars lost in an undergrowth of shelves and sales displays.

It is hoped the restoration will spur further work on the decrepit A-listed block.

A report prepared by Glasgow City Council's planning department for yesterday's hearing said: "At present, none of the other shopfronts appear as originally intended and the upper floors are vacant, in need of repair and have no approved future use.

"Restoration of the shop, faithfully executed, would set the standard for the remaining shops and possibly act as an impetus for the further restoration of the upper floors."

Historic Scotland, the official guardians of the nation's heritage, welcome the proposal.

Bradley Mitchell, 35, whose family operates seven arcades around Scotland, said he had wanted to set up in the Egyptian Halls for several years.

He said: "Most modern shops want false ceilings and big air conditioning systems, but that would be sacrilege here. If you have the original detail, you should use it. You can't reproduce it these days. The 18ft ceilings will also make it look like a casino, which suits us."

When it opens in about a year's time, the arcade will have 40 slot machines and a 52-seat bingo hall in the basement, and 80 machines on the ground floor.

Mr Mitchell now plans to spend the coming months extending his research to discover Thomson's original paint scheme.

The Egyptian Halls is the second extraordinary building in Glasgow which Mr Mitchell and his father Randall, 56, have a hand in. Last year the firm bought the former Britannia Music Hall in the Trongate, and is now restoring it. The ornate, blue building was the scene of Stan Laurel's stage debut.

Ken Burns, a founder member of the Alexander Thomson Society, said that original drawings existed in the Mitchell library to help the restoration.

Built in 1871, the 27,000sq ft hall is regarded as the finest commercial building by Thomson, who spearheaded the Victorian revival of Greek and Egyptian design.

Besides providing the finest shopping in the city, it was used also for concerts, art exhibitions and elegant teas. However, its facade today is soot-black, and the three upper storeys have been vacant for more than a decade.

The building's owners, Union Street Properties of Dundee, have applied for more than £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the block and lease it either as office space or a hotel.