Glasgow, 816-818 Govan Road, British Linen Bank
Bank (Financial) (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Glasgow, 816-818 Govan Road, British Linen Bank
Classification Bank (Financial) (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Water Row
Canmore ID 161781
Site Number NS56NE 1239
NGR NS 55422 65762
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/161781
- Council Glasgow, City Of
- Parish Govan (City Of Glasgow)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District City Of Glasgow
- Former County Lanarkshire
British Linen Bank, 816-818 Govan Road, 1-3 Water Row, 1897, John Gaff Gillespie of James Salmon & Son
Simple composition with exuberant Glasgow Style external decoration, on a conventionally constructed tenement. Designed at the same time that Gillespie's colleague and future partner, James Salmon Jr (son of William Forrest Salmon and grandson of James Salmon Sr), devised the subtle Art Nouveau interior for the same bank at Main Street, Gorbals. The ground-floor classical stone façade features lively Art Nouveau capitals by the Dutch sculptor, John Keller. The corner entrance is embellished with a trireme's prow and two 'BLB' sails, flanked by two 'Winged Winds' by another friend of William Forrest Salmon, Francis Derwent Wood, the young English sculptor who had just been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy Schools. The entrance is topped by a remarkable lead-covered open crown of thorns.
Taken from "Greater Glasgow: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Sam Small, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk
NS56NE 1239 55422 65762
EXTERNAL REFERENCE:
Courtald Institute: Sculpture egative collection - 'F D Wood, British Linen Bank Exterior'.
