To celebrate the bicentenary of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson‘s birth a programme of events and activities have been planned to take place throughout 2017. We will continue to update this calendar throughout the year with more and more exciting events as these are confirmed so please keep checking back. You can also sign up to our e-mail newsletter here to stay up to date.
A unique opportunity to see restoration work in progress at Holmwood. During the visit you will get the opportunity to see the application of stencil work patterns that replicate Thomson’s painstakingly uncovered original decoration scheme.
NTS staff will be on hand to provide information regarding the works currently underway, whilst tea and coffee are available for a donation.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to see Thomson’s vision re-appear on the walls at Holmwood.
A unique opportunity to see restoration work in progress at Holmwood. During the visit you will get the opportunity to see the application of stencil work patterns that replicate Thomson’s painstakingly uncovered original decoration scheme.
NTS staff will be on hand to provide information regarding the works currently underway, whilst tea and coffee are available for a donation.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to see Thomson’s vision re-appear on the walls at Holmwood.
A unique opportunity to see restoration work in progress at Holmwood. During the visit you will get the opportunity to see the application of stencil work patterns that replicate Thomson’s painstakingly uncovered original decoration scheme.
NTS staff will be on hand to provide information regarding the works currently underway, whilst tea and coffee are available for a donation.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to see Thomson’s vision re-appear on the walls at Holmwood.
A unique opportunity to see restoration work in progress at Holmwood. During the visit you will get the opportunity to see the application of stencil work patterns that replicate Thomson’s painstakingly uncovered original decoration scheme.
NTS staff will be on hand to provide information regarding the works currently underway, whilst tea and coffee are available for a donation.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to see Thomson’s vision re-appear on the walls at Holmwood.
The Easter bunny has hidden clues at lots of National Trust for Scotland places!
Collect your hunt map, follow the clues, solve the puzzle and claim your chocolatey reward! Each hunt is completely different – the perfect excuse to hop along to more than one!
£2 per hunt (Usual entry prices apply if you’d like to visit the house)
The Easter bunny has hidden clues at lots of National Trust for Scotland places!
Collect your hunt map, follow the clues, solve the puzzle and claim your chocolatey reward! Each hunt is completely different – the perfect excuse to hop along to more than one!
£2 per hunt (Usual entry prices apply if you’d like to visit the house)
The Easter bunny has hidden clues at lots of National Trust for Scotland places!
Collect your hunt map, follow the clues, solve the puzzle and claim your chocolatey reward! Each hunt is completely different – the perfect excuse to hop along to more than one!
£2 per hunt (Usual entry prices apply if you’d like to visit the house)
The Easter bunny has hidden clues at lots of National Trust for Scotland places!
Collect your hunt map, follow the clues, solve the puzzle and claim your chocolatey reward! Each hunt is completely different – the perfect excuse to hop along to more than one!
£2 per hunt (Usual entry prices apply if you’d like to visit the house)
Lost Thomson: Glasgow’s Loss
Thursday 21 September, 6pm
£10 (£5 discounted rate for members of the Glasgow Art Club)
In his bicentenary year, Fiona Sinclair gives an insightful talk on the lost works of the eminent architect Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.
Please arrive at 6pm for a welcome drink, with the talk commencing at 6.30pm sharp.
Alexander Thomson was born in Balfron, Stirlingshire, on 9th April 1817 and died in Glasgow on 22nd March 1875 at his home at no.1 Moray Place in the terrace he had himself designed.
Thomson was extremely successful with a large clientele for medium-sized villas and terraces of cottages in Pollokshields, Shawlands, Crossmyloof, Cathcart, Langbank, Bothwell and Cove and Kilcreggan.
In his day, Thomson was conspicuous for his originality in producing a distinctive modern architecture from the lessons and precedents provided by the Greeks, Egyptians and other ancient civilisations, and made extensive use of new materials like cast-iron and plate-glass.
His personal Graeco-Egyptian style was almost entirely confined to Glasgow, where he designed commercial warehouses, blocks of tenements, terraces of houses, suburban villas and three extraordinary Presbyterian churches, of which the St. Vincent Street Church is the only intact survivor.
Other important works still standing include Moray Place, Great Western Terrace, Egyptian Halls in Union Street, Grecian Buildings in Sauchiehall Street, and his villa, Holmwood, at Cathcart, which is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
Whilst a wealth of Thomson buildings remain there are also a significant number that have been tragically lost over the years. The reasons for these losses are several, from Thomson demolishing his own buildings – as with the Scottish Exhibition Rooms on Bath Street, through to bombing during World War II – as with Queens Park Church. The most common reason for the loss of these buildings however was redevelopment during the 1960s and 70s.
The losses were primarily tenemental properties spread throughout the city, however also included were two hotels, a printing works, a sculpture yard and two churches; Chalmers Memorial Free Church in the Gorbals and Queen’s Park Church.
Following his death in 1875, a marble bust of the architect by John Mossman was presented to the Corporation (now in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery) and the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship established, of which the second winner was Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
A map of the ‘lost’ buildings can be viewed here
Fiona Sinclair, is a Glasgow based architect and author with a passion for historic buildings.
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