| Archive for urbanglasgow.co.uk For lovers of Urban Exploration of Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Stuball |
Caledonia Road Up Church
Many of you know this 'greek' thomson church and have driven by it many times.... but how many of you have seen inside? Yes, you can look in the gate but that just isnt that same. Well, heres a little look 
A couple more picture in the flickr set HERE but other than above, there isnt much to see. Access to the tower is impossible with the use of a 30foot ladder. |
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| Alex Glass |
Well done Stu 
But by the look of your fifth photo it must have been used as a hippy commune at some point 
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| james73 |
Is there still a staircase in the tower? 
James H |
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| Stuball |
Not sure James.... theres a bit of plywood over the hatch and the hatch is pretty high off the ground. From the little gap I could see a wooden landing at least half way up |
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| cybers |
Superb stuff Stu.
Got to admit I have been a little curious to the inside of this for many years. Seems pretty clean and devoid of pidgeon poop which was a little startling. 
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| Stuball |
Now that you mention it, there is a lack of poo..... There is a constant draft running through it and no real places for a nest except maybe in the tower. As for being clean, thats down to the very heavy gate and padlock preventing ned access not to mention the height of the walls |
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| escotregen |
Good atmospheric stuff there Stuball. I was inside the ruin 'way back in the 80s. Setting aside the tragedy of the original fire, and that we can probably all agree that something better ought to have been done with the building a long time before now - I have to say that it does seem to have been well secured and at least what was left in the 1980s still seems to be intact. As we have seen with other treasures such as the Coia seminary at Cardross (have I got that location right?), ongoing insecurity and wanton vandalism can render even a ruin increasingly into an almost meaningless echo of the original. | ||||||
| james73 |
It’s a Greek renaissance (Evening Times)
A DERELICT church designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson is to be brought back to life. Caledonia Road church was built in 1856 but in the 1950s and 60s the congregation dwindled as neighbouring tenements in Glasgow's Gorbals were demolished. In 1962 it was closed but vandals moved in causing extensive damage and three years later the building was set on fire. Various work has been done to stabilise the Category 'A' listed building including filling in the ground floor windows to prevent anyone gaining access. Despite lying empty for more than 40 years, the Alexander Thomson Society has now drawn up detailed plans which are expected to get the backing of planners tomorrow. They include creating three galleries, a public study area where Thomson material can be accessed, a cafe bar, meeting rooms and 10 apartments which would be used as tourist accommodation. The main body of the church will be turned into an open air public space where concerts could be held. At present, the cost of the work is estimated at around £4.5million and if grants are available, work could start at the end of next year. Society secretary Sally White said: "At the moment, the church is an 'A' listed ruin and all that remains is the tower, the entrance and the enclosing walls." The plan involves conserving what remains of the original building to allow it to house the new uses and building a new extension at the side. James H |
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| Stuball |
That THING at the back is an abomination... the rest is ok though | ||||||
| james73 |
It's beyond hideous, isnt it?
James H |
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| Stuball |
It's beyond hideous.... they really cant be series putting something like that on a historical building like that. Why cant they do something like they did with the St Mungo Museum at the Cathedral? It fits, more or less, with the surrounding buildings. | ||||||
| Saltmarketeer |
I don't know how they can claim that the addition blends or adds in any way to the original building. The original is a masterpiece, the addition is a minimalist modern drab cop-out.
Some architect needs his arse kicked. |
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| Doog Doog |
HERE-HERE!!  
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| Marti |
Having lived in the vicinity of this old structure, i say, leave the thing alone unless what they suggest building along side it/next to it, compliments it.
Useless f%%ing architects, a monstrous plan if ever there was one...  
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| cybers |
I feel the cynic starting to rise in me... Why on earth would a society who claim to be Greek Thompson at heart want to stick a big boil on a thing of beauty. This is one of those fecking leave it alone times or turn the whole thing into flats which will no doubt be the final outcome anyway. Meddling Basturds... 
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| Saltmarketeer |
I agree. I bet if we got our heads together (perhaps over a pint or five) we could come up with a sketch of a design that was for more sympathetic to the original than this. Blocking most of the tower from view at street level is almost criminal in my opinion. Blocking it with that abortion of a monolith means the architect should go back to school. Something which started at the same height as a feature on the front then gradually stepped up in elevation as it curved away from the street but with gaps and atriums to appear less blocky might work well. Perhaps even another tower uniting the old and the new. Also, would it have killed them to do it in a material which looks remotely like the original building? That shiny aluminium sh!te is overused in my humble opinion but there seems to be a race to finish everything in silver. We don't need more Star Trek buildings, least of all attached to our city's finest architectural masterpieces. 
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| kev |
Taking about star trek.. just watched a DVD of the new movie which shows San Francisco in the future and it looks fab...As the old saying goes Time waits for no man.. eventualy the thompson tower will come down along with all the remainining old buildings in the city...Wonder what Glasgow will look like in the 25th century ..will it look radicaly different...wonder if all this stuff we post will be there for future generations to look at in amazement |
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| Saltmarketeer |
I'm not against the silver siding and glass curtain wall look per se, Kev. My problem is with it's overuse. When it's being added to something like the GT building I'd say it's both unsympathetic and just plain bloody unimaginative. Even using a colour-matched render mix would be forgiveable but not a big shiny boxy turd sitting next to an architectural beauty. |
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| cybers |
Whilst i have no doubt the church will eventually go i would be willing to wager that it will still be standing after this ally box has seen out its life. Must everything be designed of late to mimic kitchen furniture... The science museum was a radical design the dillo like wise and the new transport museum we will wait to see the out come. But jeez do wee need another Fort and countless other buildings coated in this that have no artistic merit other than the architect had a ruler. |
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| james73 |
Go-ahead for £4m church revamp plan (Evening Times)
A PLAN to breath new life into a dilapidated Gorbals church designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson has been given the green light. Glasgow planners and politicians have backed the multi-million pound scheme, which was exclusively revealed by the Evening Times earlier this week, to transform the historic building into a venue for Thomson fans and art lovers. Caledonia Road Church has lain empty for four decades since it first opened in 1856. For 100 years it was the hub of the community until congregations began dwindling in the late 1950s. The Grade A listed building eventually closed its doors in the early 1960s and has lain empty ever since. Vandals have struck repeatedly over the years and ground floor windows were blocked off to prevent access. Now the iconic building is to be given a new lease of life. The Alexander Thomson Society has been given planning permission for a £4.5m masterplan. Officials hope to obtain grants so they can fuse 19th century architecture with a 21st century living design. They plan an upgrade which will include three galleries, a public study containing Thomson material, meeting rooms, a cafe bar and 10 luxury apartments for the exclusive use of tourists. The ambitious project was revealed in the Evening Times. We told how the apartments would be used to boost income and hopefully avoid any need for the society to apply for grant aid every year. All that remains of the church is it's tower, entrance and enclosing walls. James H |
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| Fjord |
continuing on the same theme? |
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| Stuball |
They could have used a better picture at least! | ||||||