Three men, one name, a date II XII MDCCCI (part one)
With its growing mercantile ambitions, the city of Glasgow c1736 built its first Town Hall adjoining the old Tolbooth on the Trongate. But in just thirty short years these ambitions would outgrow the space when the council sought the assistance of Parliament to expand.
In 1768 by Act of Parliament the Magistrates of Glasgow obtained the following permissions:
‘They are hereby Empowered and Authorised to make and complete a convenient Passage or Street, from the said Street called the Saltmarket Street, to the said new Church called St. Andrew’s Church, not exceeding 70 feet in Breadth,.’
‘To open and complete the Area or Churchyard of the said Church ; and likewise to Make, Erect, Build and Complete a commodious Exchange or Square upon the North side of the said Town Hall and Tolbooth.’
On McArthur’s map of 1778, Baxter’s Wynd was identified for this new street as evidenced by the dotted lines projected on the map. Fleming’s Map of 1807 shows the completed plan pretty close to what we’d recognise today.
Figs.1 & 2: McArthur’s 1778 Map v Fleming’s map of 1807.
As for the second condition, the council had attempted to purchase buildings on the north side of the Town Hall and Tolbooth prior to the Act but it was recognised that these were not sufficient to realise the vision. What is striking is the Act permits a commodious Exchange or Square. It would appear Glasgow built both. The Act also, intended or not, links both endeavours. This might explain why one architect was ultimately engaged to realise both the expansion of the Town Hall and gentrify the area surrounding St Andrews Church.
At the time of this Act being passed, James Craig, the mastermind behind the 1767 layout of the Edinburgh New Town would have been hot property in Scotland.
Edinburgh New Town 1767
Fig.3: Edinburgh New Town by James Craig, architect. Drafted for the city planning committee in 1768. Courtesy of Geogrphicus. Public Domain Fig.4: James Craig (1739 -1795), architect. Painter David Allan c1781. Courtesy of the Royal Scottish Academy. Artwork photographed by Antonia Reeve
A dedication to King George III illustrates the lower part of the map. Lines from James Thomson’s poem entitled ‘Rule Britannia’, (the brother of Craig’s mother), appears in a cartouche centre top. The poem became immortalised when it was used as the inspiration for composer Thomas Arne’s song of the same name.
As with all best intentions it would appear having obtained the permission in 1768 things were not fully in place to proceed until c1781 when the last of the compulsory purchases went through. By which point we know James Craig was still in the frame, as per his plans dated 1781/82. However, Craig’s plans were not to be accepted by the committee. An “architect from London” had arrived in Glasgow; William Hamilton.
When you consider what James Craig had achieved in the planning and layout of Edinburgh New Town you realise it would need to be someone pretty special, with provenance, and not simply from ‘down London town’, to supplant him from the new scheme.
The appointment of William Hamilton for the Tontine & St Andrew’s scheme then on the face of it appears bold. Only one other building in the city, the weigh-house, has been attributed to his hand. Given the importance to mercantile & civic Glasgow of the Town Hall & Coffee Rooms and the prime residential complex of St Andrew’s Square, now both regarded as pinnacles in the city of Georgian architecture it is somewhat surprising that nothing of substance has been preserved about this ‘architect from London.’
The Dictionary of Scottish Architects (DSA) database captures the following:
“William Hamilton may have trained as a wright or joiner and have studied architecture and drawing in the late 1740s. In 1751 he was in Edinburgh and was described as having worked for several architects in London. What is certain is that he practised as an architect in Glasgow in the last quarter of the 18th century. In 1781 when employed to make convert the Assembly Rooms at the Town Hall to the Tontine Hotel he was described as ‘an architect from London’. This suggests that he is the same person as the William Hamilton who trained as a joiner.”
The Glasgow historian and author, George Fairfull-Smith, writing about the fine arts, of Glasgow ‘The Wealth of a City’ (2010) makes the breakthrough. He captures that a ‘William Hamilton’ was responsible for not only these works but at least two other well known local buildings of the period.
Some have suspected a link connecting William Hamilton as captured in the DSA with Robert Adam(1728-1792); like Dr Frances Sands of the Soane Museum, London. The article cited by Fairfull-Smith provides credibility to the theory which the architecture of Charlotte Street and Spreull’s Land would seem to cement following further research of corroborating sources.
Having written about Charlotte Street and Spreull’s Land previously this evidence suggests William Hamilton, who had been a senior draughtsman (fl.1765-1774) for Robert Adam, was also responsible for these prestigious addresses. There is also some suggestion that he may have taught architecture in Glasgow. The article is corroborated in the London press, about another William Hamilton. He was William Hamilton R.A. (1751-1801), his son; the numerous articles his obituary.
The Glasgow Courier touched on the death of his son, a history painter of repute. Crucially, the article introduces Spreull’s Land and David Dale’s house at 76 Charlotte Street as by Mr Hamilton’s hand, they were:
“Specimens of his style, and afford ample proofs of both his industry and ability”
“We may add, that a genius for the arts seems to rest on this family. Mrs Bell, sister of the deceased possesses no small portion of her brother’s talents. As a copyist, in the opinion of the late Sir Joshua Reynolds and Fuseli, the brightest ornaments of the English School, she has no equal; and her original compositions, whether historical or fanciful, portraits or drawings, rival the most finished performances of the Masters of the Academy.”
…As a city, Glasgow was,
”So much indebted for its elegance. If indeed it challenges the admiration of strangers, we may thank him, for it was he, during a residence of ten years, first inspired us with a taste for design, and taught us to relish the various beauties of Architecture.”
Possibly the provenance of working as a draughtsman in the Adam office for about ten years gave the Tontine committee the courage to pass over James Craig. William’s hand is noted against numerous drawings in the Soane collection alongside those of Italian Joseph Bonomi(1739-1808) and fellow Scots Robert Morison (c1748-1825) and Robert Nasmith( -1793). However, he must also have served as a clerk of works and/or built a reputation in his own right. That interim period between working in the Adam office and Glasgow remains elusive although the little we do know suggests it was in the south.
This new evidence explains in part the persistent speculation around Charlotte Street or indeed David Dale’s house at number 76 being the work of Robert Adam (1728-1792).
It also may help explain how knowledge of the Adams practice was disseminated in the city without the benefit of any sustained presence as in the case of London and Edinburgh. A residence of ten years or so suggests there was ample time for a transfer of knowledge prior to the Adams arriving to begin work on the Trades House.
It is curious that another Hamilton, a wright from Edinburgh arrives in the city briefly at the same time that William is resident. His name was Thomas Hamilton and he with his wife Jean Stevenson had a son whilst residing in Glasgow, also Thomas. The son would go on to make a name for himself as one of Edinburgh’s finest Georgian architects. Joe Rock a biographer of Thomas Hamilton(1784-1858), suggests his father worked on St Andrew’s Square.
Robert Scott (c1770-1839), a ‘classicist’, and proprietor of Glasgow’s first known dedicated Architectural Academy which opened c1803 may have benefited from William Hamilton’s sojourn north. William Stark (1770-1813), David Hamilton(1768-1842) and Thomas Hamilton snr(1754 -1824) were also well placed to do so. One can imagine William being sought out and queried by the next cohort. His work at St Andrew’s, the Tontine, Charlotte Street & Spreull’s Land an ample résumé if one were needed.
William Hamilton’s brief visit aside, there were already established links with the Adams family in the city. Their nephew John Robertson was responsible for building extensively in Glasgow; amongst other buildings, he is credited with the Black Bull Inn (b1759) of Robert Burns fame and the matching tenement built on the SW of Virginia Street (where William Cunningham of the Lainshaw Mansion [GoMA] had his office). Glasgow’s John Adam, mason( -1790), his work hews a similar seam to that of his namesake Robert Adam’s eldest brother John(1721-1792) including being consulted with respect to bridge building.
Newspaper articles of the time should be treated with a pinch of salt when it comes to attributions. After all some articles suggest that architect Thomas Hamilton (1784-1858), was the son of fellow Glasgow architect David Hamilton(1768-1843). He was not. However, this article was contemporaneous and one suspects written by someone with direct knowledge of William Hamilton. It captures the brevity of his stay in the city which has obviously contributed to the dearth of knowledge. And of course there is mention of a Royal Academy fellow, his son.
Laying out what is known the following tacit timeline can now be established:
c1730 Potential dob.
c1745 William Hamilton of Edinburgh in London.
c1750 Marries Sarah
c1751 William Hamilton jnr, born, London. (possibly 1747)
1751 William Hamilton, Edinburgh.
1754-1758 Robert Adam on Grand Tour.
1755 Maria his daughter is born. (Painter & sculptor. Future Lady Bell.)
1756 St Andrews Church Completed.
1760-1763 James Adam on Grand Tour.
1761 1761 King George appoints Adam, (& William Chambers, as joint) architects of His Majesty’s works
1765-1774 William Hamilton snr draughtsman in the Adams’ London practice.
1766 Antonio Zucchi, arrives in London.
1767-1768 William Hamilton jnr in Italy training under Zucchi.
1769 William Hamilton jnr enrolled in Royal Academy School, London.
1769-1773 William Hamilton jnr worked as decorative painter in London office.
1774 William Hamilton jnr first exhibited in R.A.
1774 William Hamilton snr leaves the London office.
1780 Charlotte Street projected.
1782 James Craig plans dated 1781-82 for the Tontine rejected.
1782 David Dale’s house, 76 Charlotte Street built.
1784 Tontine Hotel complex completed.
1784 Thomas Hamilton (1784-1858), architect born.
c1785 Spreull’s Land built.
1785 Weigh House at Montrose & Ingram built.
1786 St Andrews Square projected.
1787 Hamilton paid £21 for St Andrews plans. Completed c1789 as per PO Directory.
1787 David Dale buys first plot for Royal Bank of Scotland.
c1787 William Hamilton snr exits Glasgow.
1788 William Hamilton jnr elected an Academician of R.A.
1801 William Hamilton jnr dies.
If c1787 brings an end to William Hamilton’s time in Glasgow, the article’s assertion that he spent about a decade in the city would appear to stack up. Frustratingly he doesn’t appear in any street directory that survive.
Who induced him to come to Glasgow? The truth is we don’t know.
This new information, with respect to Charlotte Street and the inclusion of St Andrew’s Street, points to a concerted and diligent effort to create a much larger, cohesive residential areas around St Andrews Square with the Church itself at the centre. It presents a different narrative to the often quoted ‘merchants on the make’ argument to Glasgow’s approach to urban planning. The uniformity (& elegance) of the scheme didn’t happen simply by chance. Taking almost twenty years from approval to realisation suggests a long view was required that private enterprise wouldn’t necessarily entertain if it was simply only about profit. Employing one hand to project a single vision attests to a higher motive.
William Hamilton was not the first to try and stamp a uniformity to the street scape of Glasgow. John Miller of Westerton in feuing Miller Street in the 1750s was the first to stipulate in the deeds of his plots the height, aspect and form (Palladian), with additional codicils. It’s no wonder then that Miller street became known as the ‘aristocratic street’.
The ambitious building scheme of Dugald Bannatyne and partners of the company imaginatively named ‘the Glasgow Building Company’ along with others like John Robertson would also attempt to replicate on a less grand but no less impressive undertaking around George Square, Wilson, Ingram and John Streets. A prime example remains at 64 Wilson Street.
The development of tenements around Wilson Street talk to a mercantile vision of elegance where the privileged class could work, shop & relax. However, the success of these mercantile endeavours at the start of the Industrial Revolution would quickly put paid to any utopian vision of urban planning meaning that this experiment barely lasted fifteen years. Bannatyne would vacate his own house at the head of the newly projected Glassford Street literally for greener pastures at Carlton Place then later 26 Blythswood Square. His Ingram Street property would be cannibalised by the Star Inn.
Figs.5 & 6: ‘Consumption of Smoke: Present versus Future’, Northern Looking Glass 17 September 1825. Source: Glasgow University Library, Special Collections Sp Coll Bh14-x.8
It is interesting that around Wilson Street and George Square the two buildings that were recognised at the time as being of the best quality and most elegant were located on the north side. (at Charlotte Square Edinburgh, Adam built on the north side). People today forget, that before electricity, sunlight provided both Illumination and solar gain so crucial in a Scot’s winter. This would have been captured best in south facing apartments.
The scale and variety of the St Andrew’s complex around the church; the square, St Andrew’s & Charlotte streets… Given the experimentation in tenement design with Spreull’s Land, the success of the Tontine at the Cross… it is now time to re-appraise the impact one William Hamilton, ‘architect from London’, had on Georgian Glasgow.
Fig.7: SM Adam volume 11/234 – Record drawing for the ceiling for the round drawing room, 1766. possibly William Hamilton or Giuseppe Sacco
Figs.8-11: Possibly by hand of William Hamilton or Joseph Bonomi Courtesy of http://www.soane.org All images copyright.
It may have been William’s birth, c1751 that prompted his fathers trip home in 1751, before returning back down south. Later, whilst still a child, he traveled to Italy to study under his father’s friend Antonio Zucchi (1726-1795). Recorded in the Piazza Mignanelli in 1767 was:
“Monzu Hamilton – studente inglese – 15”
The Venetian artist’s skill was admired by Robert Adam who his brother James had met in 1761 whilst he was on his Grand Tour(1760-1763); Zucchi would accompany James to Rome. Indeed his skill as an artist was admired so much that c1765 Zucchi was enticed to the UK with the Adams’ promise of work & commissions. Given that both Zucchi and Hamilton snr worked in the Adams office it suggests more than a professional acquaintance, possibly a mutual bond of respect between the two and/or possibly it was William who assisted Zucchi on arrival in England. Whatever the bond, it was enough for one man to entrust his son to the other.
William jnr. on his return from Italy in 1768, was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools on 14.II.1769 and also that same year began working as a decorative painter for the Adams office. A post he would retain until 1773. He exhibited portraits and other paintings at the Royal Academy from 1774, becoming an associate in 1784 and a full Royal Academian in 1789. He was considered one of the country’s leading history painters of his time.
( The term ‘history painting’ was introduced by the French Royal Academy in the seventeenth century. It was seen as the most important genre of painting above portraiture, landscape and still life painting. Initially used to describe paintings with subjects drawn from ancient Greek and Roman classical history, classical mythology, and the Bible; towards the end of the eighteenth century it included modern historical subjects. The style was classical and idealised – known as the ‘grand style’ – and the result was known overall as High Art.)
He also worked on book illustration for Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery, and between 1780 and 1792 he specialised in theatrical portraits and scene painting (Drury Lane, Covent Garden). Hamilton only infrequently painted portraits, he did, however, paint a number of leading actors including Kemble and Sarah Siddons in costume.
On 25.10.1779, at St George’s Hanover Square, he married Mary (c1762–1837), the daughter of Captain Peter Aylward. The couple befriended Thomas Lawrence on his arrival in London from Bath; in 1788 Lawrence captured the couple in pastel, and the following year a chalk drawing of Mary now in the British Museum.
He lived in Dean Street, Soho, from 1776 and died there of a fever in December 1801. He is buried in St Anne’s Church, Soho, a Wren church, sadly mostly destroyed by a bomb in 1940.
His daughter, Maria Hamilton (1755-1825) [Lady Bell]
Fig.17:Maria Hamilton (1755-1825) [Lady Bell]. Artist unknown
Maria Bell (née Hamilton; 26 December 1755 – 9 March 1825) She was born in Chelsea, London, the daughter of William and Sarah.
Initially she was the pupil of her brother William Hamilton R.A. Later she received instruction from Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose pictures she is said to have copied with much skill. She copied likewise the works of Rubens at Carlton House, including the ‘Holy Family,’ which was highly commended. Accomplished, she did not limit herself to oils, and could also sculpt.
Around 1808 she married Thomas Bell (1751-1824), leather merchant and later sheriff of London, who was knighted in 1816, and whose portrait was engraved by William Dickinson after a painting by her. Between the years 1809 and 1824 she exhibited at the Royal Academy and elsewhere several figure-subjects and portraits, among the latter in 1816 those of Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet, lord mayor of London, and of her husband by then Sir Thomas Bell. She also exhibited two busts at the Royal Academy in 1819.1
Her own portrait was engraved by Edward Scriven from a miniature by W. S. Lethbridge.
Lady Bell died in Dean Street, Soho, in 1825.
Drawing lessons from Joshua Reynolds don’t get much more impressive. Were her father & Reynolds acquainted? The artistic circles he was moving in London via the Adams & Zucchi do not put it beyond reason. Or did Reynolds feel a debt of gratitude to the Hamilton clan since it was his portrait of Capt. The Hon. John Hamilton in 1746 which brought the artist his initial fame.
Born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on 19 May 1744, she was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Elizabeth Albertina of Saxe-Hildburghausen. When King George III of Britain succeeded to the throne in 1760, he was 22 and unmarried and the 17 year old Princess Charlotte was an obvious choice for a wife… and, an obvious choice for the name of a street in Hanovarian Glasgow. But first the land needed to be acquired.
The area identified was known as ‘Merkdaily Yard’ which sat on a flood plain of the river Clyde just south of the Gallowgate. Robert Reid, ‘Senex‘ tells us it apparently got the moniker due to the old annual rental being ‘365 marks Scots’, however, Renwick sets us straight, the name had appeared in a will as early as 1726, that of John Luke ‘Bristol John’ a goldsmith. [It should be no surprise that Glasgow a mercantile city is linked with Bristol, a major (slave) trading port of the 18th Century. The transatlantic traffic in enslaved Africans had an enormous effect on Bristol. Between 1698 and 1807, a known 2,108 ships left Bristol for Africa to exchange goods for enslaved Africans and take them to the Caribbean.] The merk daily area was identified for development around 1773 (denoted on Charles Ross’s map of the same year) with initially a square called ‘St. James’ envisaged.
Figs.1 & 2: 1776 Map of Glasgow with St James’s Sq. (After Barrie) Source: Reproduced with the permission of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Print Room.
Fig.3 prior to the development (of St Andrew’s Street, the Square and Charlotte Street), ’Merkdaily Yard’ sat due east of St Andrew’s just north of the city wash-house. Merkdaily Street was one of several approaches to the wash-house from the Gallowgate and Cross; the approach would be leveraged to ultimately become Charlotte Street. (Some artistic license has been taken by Paul in the above view. The square building to the left, ‘the wash-house’ b1732, sat directly behind the Church from this line of sight. It has been moved to bring it into view.)
It is probably no accident that this angle has been chosen, excluding the English (Episcopalian) Church b1752 to the south west just out of view.
Fig.5: McArthur’s map of 1778 v Fleming’s map of 1807 – Projection of Charlotte Street. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Between 1777 & 1780 the land was advertised for sale at least twice, before being purchased by Archibald Paterson who laid off the grounds for building purposes. The sale of the Merkdaily Yard to Paterson was good business, with the Gallowgate Green to the south and Allan Dregorn’s St Andrew’s directly to the west it captured a prime building site next to the area that had been earmarked for development, backed, by an Act of Parliament. In addition, it was within easy reach of the Town Hall and the coffee room of the future Tontine at the Cross. An almost perfect location for building. Almost, as the green and banks of the Clyde had not yet been raised nor the weir installed. As such it was prone to flooding on occasion.
One of the earliest glimpses of fashionable Charlotte Street is in the Glasgow Looking Glass, of 23 July 1825, during Glasgow fair, where the rooftops of the houses at the south end of the street can be glimpsed over the trees growing in the verdant rear garden of David Dale:
Fig.6: ‘The Glasgow Fair’, from The Glasgow Looking Glass, 1825 Source: Glasgow University Library, Special Collections – Sp Coll Bh14-x.8
Our knowledge of the prestigious addresses with their mainly large 5 & 7 bay townhouses on Buchanan, Miller, Virginia, Queen & Buchanan Streets suggest numerous architects & masons were contracted by the numerous residents. Though, it should be noted that Miller Street was the first in the city to specify height, style (Palladian) and form in the Deeds of Title there was still room for individuality on each plot.
Charlotte Street appears to be unique for its strong cohesive design, suggestive of the same hand. A regimented presentation of detached villas with auxiliary outbuildings to their north. The only outlier appearing to be David Dales much larger house (& garden) on the west side, directly off the green.
Charlotte Street, drawn by David Small in the late 19th century, was the only time in the city that a residential view of the merchant & tobacco lord houses was captured whilst still solely domestic. It shows the uniform nature of the façades that are confirmed by later photography.
Fig.7: Charlotte Street looking north, drawn by David Small c1850. Fig.8: Foot of Charlotte Street, west by Joseph Swan 1829 Source: http://www.theGlasgowstory.com
The original plan was for 14 plots, David Dale purchasing plot #8. However, he subsequently purchased a further two plots in 1784 to secure a larger garden for himself. Thus the number of plots was reduced to 12. This might explain why David Dale occupies the prime position in the street and not his business partner, and developer, Paterson who took the plot directly north at no.47.
The plots were 78ft wide & 70ft deep, with a main façade of 45ft north to south; a 24ft & 9ft boundary gap north & south. The larger north gap accommodated a wing 15ft in breadth. Garden walls were stipulated to be between 7-9ft in height.
The size of gardens varied, ranging in length from on average 130ft on the west side to 155-180ft on the east.
Dale’s house & garden the exception, both being much larger than his neighbours due to his purchase of two additional plots enabling him to extend his garden 440ft west and also north to Charlotte Lane from the rear of his property. On the south the street was protected by an entry gate for exclusivity and residents’ security.
Fig.9: Charlotte Street, 1807, close up. (Fleming) Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
From Fleming’s map of 1807 one thing immediately jumps out apart form the uniform footprints; the large (in)formal gardens. Of this period, I see no other street arrangement like this in the city. There are individual plots/houses with landscaped gardens but no other street as regular nor impressively captured. Remarkably every owner seems to have imprinted a design creating an informal tapestry; a collective effort in social compliance/climbing.
David Dale’s House, no.76 Charlotte Street:
Plot #8 price £223 16d on 23 vi 1780. (fl1783-1954)
Figs.10-16 : No.76 Charlotte Street with Fluting detail of c1916 Source: Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning. Photographer Unknown
Fluting whilst an ancient form of decoration, pierced fluting as seen here is unusual for Glasgow. Fluting appears to be a motif in the street that is carried from the façade into the interiors as seen on Dale’s fireplace and on the door case of no.52 (still extant). But the intricacy of Dale’s design appears to be unique with the piercing. The design is echoed on the iron work to the rear of the building on the balcony.
Fig.17 :(Arkwright) Spinning Machine Arkwright’s Invention: The mechanised water frame, with the columns of creels… a machine, that later would be central to Dale’s success. The frieze detail, which is amplified at no.76. predates Arkwright’s invention but curiously shares similarities in form.
Figs.18-20: Main Door / Fireplace / Upper staircase to 2nd floor. Source: Regality vIV. Drawings most likely attributed to A N Paterson, architect. Prior to demolition he allegedly appropriated, for his home, ‘Longcroft’ Helensburgh, one of the decorative urns from the property .
Fig.21: Floor Plan of no.76 Source: Regality Club, vIV p.119
“The south wing contained the laundry and servants’ bedrooms, the north wing the kitchen, the sculleries, bakehouse and wine-cellar. The principal rooms show (Robert Adam’s) characteristics of elegant design and ornamentation, and the wood-carvings of the fireplace framings are highly artistic. The library, with its domed ceiling and glass doors leading to a balcony, must have been a charming room.”
Mr. A. N. Paterson, architect, has been good enough to favour me with the following detailed description : “From the irrefragable evidence of the buildings themselves as they exist to this day (those on the west side of the street are little changed externally at least), Mr. Paterson must have done more than merely provide stringent regulations as to the size of the houses in Charlotte Street and their external ornament, for, in the matter of design there can be no doubt that all the buildings from end to end of the street (the flatted tenements between the Gallowgate and Great Hamilton Street not less than the mansions in the more southern portion of it) are the work of one man.”
“With almost equal assurance it may asseverated that this was Robert Adam, the most celebrated architect of his day.… It is therefore extremely likely that Mr. Paterson, from all contemporary accounts a man who cared little for the financial return of his project, compared with its being carried out in the most worthy and complete manner, should have secured the best talent obtainable at the time, particularly when, as already stated, the work was of the magnitude involved in laying out and designing a whole street.”
“The internal evidence is equally strong. In every detail, both of the exterior, and still more notably of the internal finishings, David Dale’s house is eminently characteristic of the refined and thoughtful architecture of the master in question”…”A special characteristic of Adam’s work was the care he bestowed upon, and the grace with which he invested, the internal finishings of his work — the chimney pieces, wainscoting, plaster ceilings, and even the door handles and shutter knobs, and of this an excellent example is furnished in the two chimney pieces and the staircase ceiling of David Dale’s house. Of the house itself, the plan and the general view give a good idea of its general disposition, except that the one of story wing to the south, which previously balanced that to the north, has been partially removed to make way for the addition carried out some years since by the Glasgow Eye Infirmary. While to the street front only two stories are shown, to the back there are four, a basement containing a large kitchen and other offices at the lower level of a half sunk area between the house and garden, and a complete attic with bedrooms and a delightful octagonal private room (Dale’s study) being added to the two principal floors. On these last, and facing the street, are four large rooms, each about 24 feet by 16, which would probably serve as dining-room, library or parlour, and two drawing-rooms, with smaller rooms occupied as bedrooms (in addition to those in the attic) behind. In the centre to the back is a charmingly designed and beautifully executed wheeling stone stair, over which, on the upper floor, is the ceiling already referred to. On either side of the main building are the one-story wings previously mentioned with separate entrances (through little forecourts) from the street, and communicating at once with the main house on the same level, and by separate stair with the basement. Of these, one of the main rooms — it is impossible now to determine the exact distinction in the days of its original occupant, but one, for such an extraordinarily busy man as was its owner — may well have served as a sort of business adjunct to the dwelling house, the other as a continuation of the servants’ offices and apartments to the ground floor and the street. Of the two chimney pieces illustrated, one is from the principal room (drawing room ?) in the south east angle of the first floor, the other from the octagonal room in the top floor.”
David Dale (1739-1806)
Fig.22:David Dale, 1791 by James Tassie. Source: National Portrait Gallery, Scotland.
Born in Stewarton, Ayrshire. He was apprenticed as a weaver in Paisley and then worked as a weaver’s agent, travelling the country delivering yarn and collecting finished cloth. At the age of 24, Dale set up his own business in Glasgow importing linen yarn from France and Belgium, later expanding into production he would capitalise on Richard Arkwright’s (1732–92) invention of the 1780s; his patented water-frame. Although New Lanark b1785 was not the first, it became one of the largest and most important cotton mills of its period employing over 1,300. He was also an agent for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Dale’s investment was substantial in New Lanark, when Dale’s son-in-law Owen and his partners bought New Lanark in 1799 they paid £60,000, said to be cheap at the price.
It is instructive to note that by 1780 Dale was rich enough to build his mansion on Charlotte Street prior to the New Lanark acquisition.
A religious man, Dale was a founder member of the Old Scotch Independents in 1768. His Christian beliefs were translated into practice at New Lanark where he built a model village for his workers. The workforce included displaced Highlanders and hundreds of (cheap) pauper children from the workhouses of Edinburgh and Glasgow. He married Anne Carolina Campbell, the daughter of John Campbell, an Edinburgh Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
In 1799 Dale’s daughter Caroline married Robert Owen. Dale sold New Lanark to his son-in-law that same year and moved to Cambuslang. He bought Rosebank House in Cambuslang from ex Lord Provost of Glasgow John Dunlop (the ‘killing provost’ a true but rather unfair moniker. The ‘mercy killing provost’ doesn’t quite have the same ring). He was the last person to engage Robert Adam prior to his death, his last known drawings being for Rosebank.
His son-in-law would move into no.76 after his marriage.
Robert Owen (1771-1858)
Fig.23: Ann Caroline Dale, artist unknown (1778-1831) Source: New Lanark Trust Fig.24: Robert Owen, Henry William Pickersgill (1782–1875) Source: New Lanark World Heritage Site.
Although Owen’s period of ownership lasted only 10 years longer than that of his father-in-law, David Dale, Owen instituted a wide range of workplace, social, and educational reforms that led to the idea of New Lanark as an ‘ideal’ community and of Owen himself as a Socialist. Owen described his work at New Lanark as
“the most important experiment for the happiness of the human race that has yet been instituted in any part of the world”.
In 1807 he is still listed in the directory as residing at 43 Charlotte Street (later to become no.76 after 1826.)
Robert Blair’s House, 52 Charlotte Street, the survivor.
(Note the scalloped doorway which it is thought links Glasgow architecture of this period with the eastern seaboard of the USA. More research required.)
No.52 gives a potential clue for one of the sources of inspiration; St Andrew’s, Gunton, Norfolk in the landscaped park of Gunton Hall. It is Robert Adam’s only complete (temple) church in England, executed 1767-68. Given its significance for Adam, given the reference to St Andrew was the architect inspired to pay homage here in Charlotte Street, part of a church complex dedicated to Scotland’s patron saint? The Adam design as executed at Gunton was altered. It is in the original plan that a possible influence for the fluted frieze above the doorway at no.52 can be seen. The architect now able to resolve an earlier vision. See below (SM Adam volume 43/11) https://collections.soane.org/prints/item-print?id=THES100751
Fig.28: St. Andrew’s, Gunton (relatively plain frieze with rosettes minus fluting). Source: unknown Figs.29 & 30: Original elevation complete with fluting and enclosed rosettes. (SM Adam volume 43/11) possibly by hand of William Hamilton. Courtesy of http://www.soane.org
The Street (East Side)
Fig. 31: St Andrew’s Free Church Source: Canmore 1098719
In this shot we essentially see what remains on the eastern side after the projection of London Street. William Urquhart’s house removed, the only original house missing (but still extant) is no.40 of Dr Rev John Lockhart at the foot of the street. It would later become St Aloysius College.
From LHS (1807 Nos.): no.27 J McKenzie of Garnkirk no.30 William Taylor (drapery warehouse owner) no.33 James Jackson (St Andrew’s (later Trinity) Free Church) no.37 David Black Tobacco Merchant (later St Alphonsus School)
The Street (West Side):
Fig.32: From NE looking SW. Capturing the 5 remaining original houses. Source: Virtual Mitchell
From LHS (1807 Nos.): no.43 David Dale of Rosebank (Eye Dispensary, Salvation Army, 1955 Our Lady and St Francis Secondary School) no.47 Archibald Paterson, mill owner (c1892 Free Gospel Church, 1923 Our Lady and St Francis Secondary School) no.49 William McNeil (1846 Franciscan Convent & later Our Lady and St Francis Secondary School) no.52 John Craig of Auchinairn (1846 Franciscan Convent) no.55 Robert Blair (Now known as no.52 ‘the survivor’)
’30’ Charlotte Street
Fig.33: 30 Charlotte Street with fireplace inset (later home of ‘Camp Coffee’ c1898.) Source: Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums.
This technically falls outside the southern end of the original street as evidenced by the gate. The numbering has changed due to the multiple changes on the eastern side. It’s curious that the flutting detail on the fireplace appears to mirror what we see on David Dale’s house and indeed still extant at no.52. Was this salvaged from an earlier house or reproduced?
John Stuart Blackie FRSE (28 July 1809 – 2 March 1895) was a Scottish scholar and man of letters. He was a keen Scottish nationalist, who raised most of the money to endow a chair of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh, and was an outspoken advocate of the reform of the education system.
He was born in the above house, at 30 Charlotte Street, the son of Kelso-born banker Alexander Blackie (d.1846) and Helen Stodart. He was educated at the New Academy and afterwards at the Marischal College, in Aberdeen, where his father was manager of the Commercial Bank.
After attending classes at Edinburgh University (1825–1826), Blackie spent three years at Aberdeen as a student of theology. In 1829 he went to Germany, and after studying at Göttingen and Berlin (where he came under the influence of Heeren, Müller, Schleiermacher, Neander and Böckh) he accompanied Bunsen to Italy and Rome. The years spent abroad extinguished his former wish to enter the Church, and at his father’s desire he gave himself up to the study of law.
Blackie married Elizabeth (known as Eliza) Wyld in 1842. They had no children. She is buried with him. He was the uncle of Sir Alexander Kennedy.
The Volunteer Bar
Figs.35 & 36: The Volunteer Bar at the corner of Charlotte Street and East Charlotte Lane, Calton. Source: Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
This bar sat on the north east of the junction with Charlotte Lane, technically on old Merkdaily Street, not Charlotte Street. The Lane was necessary as it marked the southern limit of the old ‘Merkdaily’ street boundaries already extant in 1778. This would merge with the newly projected street to form Charlotte Street. The 3 stories and two windows on gable end match the format seen in St Andrew’s Street, the quoin stones the only departure from that seen in St Andrew’s Street.
This is possibly 21 Charlotte Street: No.21 was the townhouse of merchant Walter Ewing Maclae of Cathkin and also for a few years a girls’ boarding school of a certain Mrs Candlish. Her original school location is still extant on Virginia Street which she ran for almost thirty years. She was Robert Burns’s Mauchline Belle, ‘the one with wit’. Her son, Robert Smith Candlish, a moderator of the Free Church, was an educationalist like his mother and is commemorated in the stained glass window of Charles Wilson’s old Trinity College, Lynedoch Street. His championing of the Schools Act of 1872 and handing over some 500 schools to their local parishes does not get enough credit for helping drive Scottish education forward in the late 19th Century.
Figs.39 & 40: St Andrews Street looking east c1790. Source: ‘Glasgow Delineated’ John Scott
Both engravings appear to reference the same source. The Left hand image capturing the auxiliary outbuildings seen in Charlotte Street. The three stories matching the elevation seen in the Square. Most likely attributable to William Hamilton.
It is somewhat fitting that the main central archway from the façade of Adams’ New Assembly Rooms on Ingram Street (b1796) should have survived and found its way to the foot of Charlotte Street, if only for a short period (fl1922-1991). As the architect of Charlotte Street was none other than William Hamilton, ‘architect from London’, who had been a senior draughtsman in their London office for a decade (fl.1765-1774). It explains the persistent rumours of the Adams having played a role in the street, and in some ways they did. Their legacy living on through the neo-classical architecture of one William Hamilton(c1730-c1795).1
Decline:the Irish question
Why was Charlotte Street so badly conserved to the extent that only one house now remains? Here we had the finest residential street scape of early Georgian Glasgow. Combined with the St Andrew’s Square precinct an architectural jewel. As the city developed west and with it the old calvanist money, London Street struck the first blow taking with it the two north most plots. Later the influx of Irish and other poor immigrants settling in the vicinity around the east end mills, potteries and factories struck the next blow. They would have encircled Charlotte Street, cutting it off, and gradually as the last of the old money moved out, moved in. We don’t need to look far for the evidence. The old Free Church fell into disrepair due to lack of a congregation, whilst several Catholic institutions, which some of the history books rather indignantly refer, sprang up. These newcomers had no attachment (a cultural memory) with the street. Couple this with a dismissive and sometimes hostile attitude to the Irish and as time passed the city may have become somewhat indifferent to the locale by the mere presence of the Irish Catholic population. A recipe for decline. However, in the 1950s when David Dale’s house came under threat thankfully there was an outcry, some people had finally realised the importance of what remained. But not enough voices were heard to save it for posterity.
Hopefully the sad and isolated no.52, does not succumb to the same indifference. With a major development proposed to its south it will be interesting to see what safeguards are put in place by authorities to protect its fabric (Virginia Galleries springs to mind). The new development yet another box fresh, oven ready homogeneous design. Devoid of any redeeming features, it will age quicker than a deep fried mars bar. One can only hope it has the same life expectancy. Utilitas, at the expense of firmitas & venustas is not architecture; well not one that Adam nor William Hamilton would recognise.
Postscript: slavery
This piece has been about the architecture and not a social commentary. More able are qualified to discuss. However, I cannot help but acknowledge that whilst researching the article and reviewing tax records with respect to house servants in the 1780s more than once would you see an entry against Charlotte street, for example ‘negro’ or ‘a negro George’. A reminder that Glasgow was most certainly not immune from trafficking in enslaved persons. And that for someone like David Dale who advocated against slavery he was living beside neighbours who obviously had no qualms with the exploitation and barbarity at its root.
Attribution revealing the name ‘William Hamilton’ with thanks to George Fairfull-Smith, ‘Wealth of a City’, 2010. ↩︎
Fig.1: The Tontine Hotel, Trongate c1868 by Thomas Annan (1829–1887) Photogravure, plate 19 from the book “The Old Closes & Streets of Glasgow” (1900). Remodelled Town Hall from 1782 William Hamilton, architect. Source: Getty.com
Until the eighteenth century there was no public meeting place in the city meaning the Town Council had held its deliberations in the Tolbooth. There had been several iterations that we are aware of:
Fig.2: Painting of Trongate with Tolbooth of 1626, foreground, RHS. Unattributed this painting closely matches elevation and perspective of a later engraving by William Buchanan of 1770 said to be taken from “a drawing by Robert Paul” of Foulis Academy. The original engraving by Paul does indeed suggest they are linked.
1st Tolbooth c1400
2nd Tolbooth c1560
3rd Tolbooth 1626 seen above Fig.2 , of which only the steeple remains. It served as prison, Town Clerks Office and meeting-place of the Town Council for over a century.
By the early 1700s the Town Council was in need of more spacious accommodation. Accordingly the foundation stone of the first Glasgow Town Hall was laid by Provost Coulter in 1736 on the site adjoining the Tolbooth. The image below would appear to be pre 1736. If accurate it shows the dutch gabled building that was removed to make way for the first Town Hall. Note the loggia already in situ, around the cross dating from c1652, emulating Inigo Jones Covent Garden of 1630. (A photograph c1890s showing construction of Glasgow Cross Station confirm the dutch gabled building on the High Street which seem to infer a certain level of accuracy for the engraving.)
Fig.3: Glasgow Tolbooth pre 1736 Source: Engraving Illustration for The Scots Worthies (Blackie, 1879)
The description concerning the build of the Town Hall from Renwick is problematic for me. He talks of six arches, with four added later in 1781. That would suggest irregular plot widths OR 3 or equal size of approx 33ft
Scots rod, 6 ells, or 5.648m 2x = 11.3m or 37ft.
From an architecture perspective given the design of the window pediments alternating segmented & triangular, then, in order to maintain balance you must have an odd number of bays/arches. I do not think Allan Dreghorn(1706-1764) would have designed something unbalanced from the outset with six bays. He would have started with five, However, as soon as they decide to expand they are constrained to ten bays which results in the finished unbalanced design as seen in Fig.1. I do not think William Hamilton would have introduced this irregularity if given the choice or ability to correct.
About the extension to ten bays:
“By March, 1781, the committee were busy over the plans of their buildings and alterations. The first architect employed was Mr. James Craig, but he was soon discarded for “a Mr. Hamilton, an Architect from London.” After some delay the plans were adjusted, but it was not till the beginning of 1782 that the work on the main building was set agoing. John Adam, a well-known builder, whose name survives in Adam’s Court, Argyle Street, was the mason, and a stiff-necked mason he was, for there were repeated appeals to the arbiter in his contract to say what should be done. William Craig was the wright.”
It would appear that the Tontine Committee might have felt some responsibility toward architect James Craig as they hire him c1786 (in consolation?) to complete their operations:
“In August, 1786, they advertised for tenders for its (sugar rooms) erection, but the contract was not made till July, 1789, when John Brown and Matthew Clelland contracted to finish the whole building for ,£1,814. The architect was James Craig.”
Fig.4: The Sugar Sample Rooms by Muirhead Bone, built c1789. I suspect these were just off Princes Street, site of the old Sugar House on King Street. Another later drawing by Muirhead Bone after their demolition seems to support a location south of the Trongate.
Matthew Cleland (mason) and John Brown (master of works). Little is known of Matthew Cleland, uncle of Glasgow’s greatest clerk of works James Cleland(1770-1840) accept that he married the daughter of one of Glasgow’s greatest known masons of the period, Mungo Naismith(1730-1770). John Brown would later be instrumental in delivering Robert Adam’s vision for the Trades Hall b1794 as it was he in capacity as builder delivered Adam’s design. He must have been very successful in his practice as we find him residing in Virginia Street between 1794-1800 in the prior townhouse of Alexander Spiers which he had purchased from Glasgow’s Lord Provost John Dunlop of Rosebank for £2,000 in 1794. On his death his trustees would sell to James Dennistoun of Colgrain who like his brothers it is thought employed Sir John Soane to design his city townhouse at number 23 Virginia Street, still extant (no.53), much mutilated, but still as Gomme & Walker state ‘owing something to the influence of Soane’.
As for the number of bays built being initially, six or five, the Scottish Architecture Dictionary notes similarities to Webb’s Gallery at Somerset House of 1662 (with its regal links to James VI of Scotland). That was only five bays for the reasons already outlined.
Somerset House b1662 by architect John Webb(1611-1672) throws up more questions than answers. Below, Fig.5 is a plate from Colen Cambell’s (1676-1729) Vitruvius Britannicus vI, plate 16, 1715. Note that its five bays, outer bays with triangular consoled architrave & balustraded windows on all five of the first floor windows.
Above Fig.6, is a pen and ink wash by William Chambers c1775 of Webb’s old Somerset House prior to his remodel. It would appear that Allan Dreghorn’s Tontine if it took its inspiration from Somerset House then it wasn’t from Vitruvius Britannicus but from life. The confusion is cleared up by RIBA which holds in their archive the drawing below which was supplied to Colen Campbell in 1710. It would appear he has been given an interim design and not the final version that was signed off for Somerset.
The painting by Sandby shows old Somerset House ‘in the flesh’ c1772 just prior to being demolished after years of deterioration. By this point the House had become home of the Royal Academy (of Arts) and as such a view that would have previously been out of reach for the vast majority became more accessible to a chosen few. The building fronted the Thames but given it was set back behind high walls it would have not been a view seen by many except from a distance. In 1736 that would have included Dreghorn. More likely its merely coincidental that parallels can be drawn. Lets not forget Glasgow already had loggia in situ from c1652 and wouldn’t have needed to emulate per se. Glasgow was merely retaining in its design what it had already become accustomed. Although style cues would have been sought to project status for the new build.
Another building in London of this time was similar in style. It was street-side and accessible (to view) by all. In terms of influencing perceptions it held a greater capacity simply in terms of its visibility.
The taverns and coffee houses, like Lloyd’s Coffee House were a favourite haunt of merchants and sailors for up to date shipping news amongst other things. It was essential for trade & important to brokers for pricing insurance of both ship & cargo. Lloyd’s was situated near East India House fl1729-86 designed by architect Theodore Jacobsen. This building would have been known to Glasgow’s merchants of the plain stains. Indeed the East India Company would later have an ‘East India Association Office’ located in Virginia Buildings on Virginia Street. It would have been relatively new having been built in 1729 when in 1736 Dreghorn was possibly looking south for inspiration as he had done previously with St Martin’s in the Field. The statue of King William of Orange that stood outside the Tontine was gifted to the city by a Scottish East India Merchant by the name of James Macrae(1677-1744). His estate in Ayrshire called ‘Orange Field’.
East India House, Leadenhall Street was the London headquarters of the East India Company, from which much of British India was occupied until the British government took control of the company’s possessions in 1858. It is no surprise that this design would resonate as projecting power with the mercantile and trading class. (Macrae had been govenor of Madras for five years.) The architectural cues of the Tontine, sourced primarily via London would have been well known to Glasgow’s mercantile & landed class. Used to project sagacity, power & confidence. One suspects they also desired some of London’s mercantile success.
And with this success came the need, in 1781, to expand the old Town Hall with the William Hamilton commission. The expansion of the Tontine from five bays to ten, limited by plot width, has resulted in the imbalance of the segmented arches we see in the finished exterior. Internally we have very few descriptions, although, its grandeur was captured By Alexander Hay in his Modern Builders Guide.1
Fig.12: Sectional Plan from west of the 1781 design by William Hamilton Source: The Modern Builders Guide by Alexander Hay, pub. Glasgow c1841.Fig.13: Map view showing 1778 v 1807 Footprint with exploded city view. Source: Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
Constrained on three sides, the success of the remodel is all the more remarkable given how well the new building was received, a showpiece for the city. The last thing regarding Hamilton’s work here that’s not often considered was the combined scale of the Assembly Room, Coffee House and Exchange. Its footprint was impressive. Industrial complexes like the local Phoenix Foundry aside, only ecclesiastical buildings like the Cathedral and St Andrews Church, or scholastic like the University, or the new Royal Infirmary can compete. David Hamilton’s later Royal Theatre on Queen Street thought to be the largest provincial theatre of its time in Europe stands out too. To be confident enough to take on such a massive undertaking in a new city takes skill, experience, and self confidence. William Hamilton would appear to have had all three.
Fig.14: ‘Trongate’ 1872, attributed to artist William Gawin Herdman. Source: Courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull
A relatively unknown image of the Trongate only recently re-discovered, (sold 2015 for a record price for the artist) showing the Tontine Hotel behind Macrae’s statue that he gifted to the city.
In September of 1911 a fire broke out causing damage of £60,000. Four firemen were badly injured in the blaze whilst trying to contain the spread and protect the historic building and surroundings. After 125 years at the Cross it was sadly replaced in 1912 by the building we see today.
With thanks to George Fairfull-Smith; ‘Wealth of a City’ 2010. ↩︎
Fig.1: John Spreull (1657-1722). The original painting was by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
He was an apothecary and merchant who dealt in pearls and cured red herring and known for being tough in both body & mind. A man of affairs, Spreull was a merchant who fought on the side of the Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679 and was imprisoned for several years on Bass Rock by the victorious Royalists. He was twice tortured in front of the Duke of York and the Committee of the Privy Council of Scotland. The Duke said that “Mr Spreull was more dangerous than five hundred common people”. One suspects judging by the world weary countenance this image was post those ordeals. Being known as ‘Bass John’ could not have been easy; to be reminded of your defeat & torture at every turn.
On his release he continued to trade and must have held and/or acquired land & property. One of those properties was adjoining the original Hutcheson’s Hospital. Despite his ordeals by 18 October 1700 a child Margarit Spreule was borne to John Spreule and Margarit Wingat.
Fig.2: Hutchesons hospital as seen from the rear courtyard. Source:theGlasgowStoryFig.3: McArthur’s map of 1778, ‘The Trongate’ with location of Spreull’s Land. Source: Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
His daughter Margaret never married and was the last of her line. Knowing this, when she and her cousin Bailie John Shortridge were both in old age, she told him that when making provision for his family she wished him “to take care of Will and leave Jamie to me.”
True to her word, she bequeathed her house to her nephew James Shortridge, with an entail stipulating that if he wished to inherit he must change his name to Spreull. This he did on her death in 1784. We are told he immediately pulled down the old property that had belonged to covenanter John Spreull and engaged an architect to build. Given its prominent location in town, one suspects James would have wanted a building worthy of the Shawfield Mansion to its west.
The drawing above shows the characteristic design of arcaded ground floor seen in Robert Adams plans for Glasgow’s new town. This approach for the tenements of the new town was adopted around Wilson Street, Ingram Street, John Street to name but a few.
James had a villa at Linthouse, as such Spreull’s Land as it became known was a ‘buy-to-let’, it commanded a good rent and was for half a century one of the smartest addresses in town. But it wasn’t simply its prominent location or architect who made it memorable. That feature was hidden inside.
Spreull’s Land contained an architectural feature that up until then was only available to a select few, owing to its construction costs, it had mainly been the preserve of Kings & Queens, Lords & Ladies, state & public buildings: the cantilevered stair. Thought to have made its first appearance in the UK at the Queen’s House, Greenwich c1629-35. Other early examples can be seen at Chatsworth House 1688-91.
Cantilevered stairs had already made it to Scotland as can been seen at Dalquharran Castle by Robert Adam 1777-1792. But here at Spreull’s Land the intent is more ambitious than at Dalquharran, elliptical rather than spiral, its scale grander more in keeping with what had been produced earlier south of the border.
Spreull’s Land with its ‘hanging’ staircase wasn’t then unique in terms of its construction, but it was unique in terms of breaking a social barrier by being introduced in a lowly tenement. This wasn’t a building that had been a palace or some prestigious public address that had fallen on hard times, subdivided for the hoi polloi to inhabit. No, here was something designed from scratch (for the wealthy) but a tenement nonetheless. It would have set a new benchmark for what a residential tenement could be. It also points to the growing affluence and aspirations of Glasgow merchants and traders of this time.
Spreull’s staircase (Fig.9) just prior to demolition in August of 1978. The iron rod supports are not thought original and were a later addition as the structure aged.
(David Allan’s shadow work is best ignored. But what are the chances today of someone sitting for a formal portrait whilst they knit a pair of stockings! The house in the background does not appear to be Linthouse b1791 captured by Annan 1870, but Charing Cross has been given as a possible location. Is this an earlier iteration of the villa?)
From Post office directories entry to Spreull’s Land was not directly off Trongate but as the custom at the time from the rear, via an entry from newly projected Glassford Street. It might explain why up until at least 1978, unusually for the Merchant City, only a single story building existed at this point. You can see from Fig.3 of McCarthur’s map that removal of the Shawfield Mansion 1793 would have facilitated this entry point as it was constrained by Hutcheson’s hospital to the east which was not demolished until a year later. The mansion lost out but its offices directly on Trongate survived, temporarily.
In terms fixture and fittings it would appear to have been leveraging the local foundries such as Carron to furnish its fire places.
How do we know Spreull’s Land was the first? Because we are told it attracted visitors from far and wide to admire its engineering for many years. However, with its plain façade (see Fig.10) , engineering innovation was not enough to preserve it for posterity. However, thankfully, at least one of the architect’s buildings does survive in Glasgow. A lone testament of his legacy to the city. (That too has went unattributed until relatively recently.) The architect for Spreull’s Land was William Hamilton (c1730-c1795).1
Postscript: The Linthouse Villa & Portico
Fig.15: Linthouse, photographed in 1870 by Thomas Annan. fl(c1791-1921) Glasgow University Library, Special Collections
The portico (believed to be of Adam design) was preserved and re-erected in Elder Park, where it remains. Ionic portico, pair curved flights of steps, segmental-arched doorway, fanlight, parts of flank walls.
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