As part of our 2017 lecture series, Mark Baines will discuss Alexander Thomson’s urban architecture and his lasting legacy in the city of Glasgow.

Booking opens to the public 6pm 28 August 2017

The Alexander Thomson Society have organised a series of special Thomson residential openings during the first two weekends in September 2017, as part of the ongoing events celebrating Alexander Thomson’s Bicentenary. This has been made possible due the generosity of the owners of the houses involved as listed below.

1 Moray Place 1859-61 (Saturday 2nd, Sunday 10th) Alexander Thomson’s former home, the first house in an exceptional terrace with a revealed painted decorative scheme.

7 Walmer Crescent 1857-62 (Saturday 2nd) Thomson’s fine crescent composed of straight elements with minimal decorative elements, built for John Hood.

Holmwood 1857-58 (Sunday 3rd) Thomson’s fine villa for James Couper of Cathcart now owned by the National Trust for Scotland, with newly reinstated painted decorative scheme in the Dining Room and Hall.

The Double Villa 25A Mansionhouse Road 1856-57 (Saturday 9th, Sunday 10th) Southern half of the ingeniously designed pair of semi detached houses that form the Double Villa or Maria Villa, built for Henry Watson.

4 Great Western Terrace 1867-77 (Saturday 9th) Thomson’s grandest terrace for William Henderson and James Whitelaw Anderson, composed of eleven terraced townhouses, completed after Thomson’s death by JJ Burnet.

Please note only booked visitors will be allowed into the houses and we would request that people arrive promptly to allow the visits to begin at the times indicated (12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm for each property). Each visit will last slightly less than 1 hour.

If you book and are unable to attend it would be very helpful to let Eventbrite know this, to allow your place to be booked by someone else, as the numbers are restricted. Should you wish any further information please contact the Society at info@alexanderthomsonsociety.

Booking for all properties opens at 11am Sunday 27 August 2017, tickets will then become available to the general public from 6pm Monday 28 August 2017.

Booking opens to the public 6pm 28 August 2017

The Alexander Thomson Society have organised a series of special Thomson residential openings during the first two weekends in September 2017, as part of the ongoing events celebrating Alexander Thomson’s Bicentenary. This has been made possible due the generosity of the owners of the houses involved as listed below.

1 Moray Place 1859-61 (Saturday 2nd, Sunday 10th) Alexander Thomson’s former home, the first house in an exceptional terrace with a revealed painted decorative scheme.

7 Walmer Crescent 1857-62 (Saturday 2nd) Thomson’s fine crescent composed of straight elements with minimal decorative elements, built for John Hood.

Holmwood 1857-58 (Sunday 3rd) Thomson’s fine villa for James Couper of Cathcart now owned by the National Trust for Scotland, with newly reinstated painted decorative scheme in the Dining Room and Hall.

The Double Villa 25A Mansionhouse Road 1856-57 (Saturday 9th, Sunday 10th) Southern half of the ingeniously designed pair of semi detached houses that form the Double Villa or Maria Villa, built for Henry Watson.

4 Great Western Terrace 1867-77 (Saturday 9th) Thomson’s grandest terrace for William Henderson and James Whitelaw Anderson, composed of eleven terraced townhouses, completed after Thomson’s death by JJ Burnet.

Please note only booked visitors will be allowed into the houses and we would request that people arrive promptly to allow the visits to begin at the times indicated (12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm for each property). Each visit will last slightly less than 1 hour.

If you book and are unable to attend it would be very helpful to let Eventbrite know this, to allow your place to be booked by someone else, as the numbers are restricted. Should you wish any further information please contact the Society at info@alexanderthomsonsociety.

Booking for all properties opens at 11am Sunday 27 August 2017, tickets will then become available to the general public from 6pm Monday 28 August 2017.

Discover a Thomson villa and 2 villas by other architects, some of Alexander Thomson’s beautiful external detailing of 5 of his residential buildings in Glasgow and where the 7 Glasgow muses are to be found.

Alexander Dennistoun commissioned a grand design from James Salmon for a new middle class suburb. However, as the 19th century ended, pressure to house Glasgow’s influx of workers forced higher population density, creating the community’s extraordinary variety. Led by Roger Guthrie of the Alexander Thomson Society.

Meeting point: Duke Street Post Office (1 Annfield Place)

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.

If you wish to find out more about becoming a member of The Glasgow Art Club please visit our website

Paul Stallan will provide a review of the architectural syntax of Thomson’s work, delving into the laws which governed his architecture, whilst discussing where this has influenced his own architectural designs.

The Alexander Thomson Society are pleased to present a rare books event in association with The Mitchell Library.

Glasgow architect and director of the Society, Scott Abercrombie, will deliver a talk giving a historical context to the importance of these books in relation to Thomson’s work and other contemporary Glaswegian architects. He will discuss built examples where the influence of these texts can be found in the architecture of Glasgow or where the ideas that they present have influenced the Thomson’s design philosophy.

Following this introduction a number of rare editions of these books will be made available for your perusal by The Mitchell Library. Due to the sensitivity of some of these texts the we have had to limit the number of tickets for this event, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Iain McGillivray will discuss the ongoing and planned restoration work at Holmwood, one of Thomson’s finest interiors. Followed by Helen Kendrick who will deliver a talk drawing from her fantastic book, Glasgow Interiors, prepared in collaboration with Neale Smith.