Town Hall, 401 Govan Road, Glasgow

Town Hall, 401 Govan Road, Glasgow

This Beaux Arts Renaissance town hall was designed by Thomson and Sandilands and constructed between 1897 and 1902. It comprises municipal offices and a council chamber in the eastern block and a main hall in the western block.

The building is constructed of red ashlar. The Govan Road elevation presents a two-storey, thirteen-bay façade. A central arched doorpiece with fine wrought-iron gate and wooden doors is flanked by masks of former Provosts set in the spandrels. Arched windows in Gibb's surrounds flank the doorway. The first floor contains three windows set in swagged architraves beneath oculi, all standing behind a tetrastyle Ionic portico. An entablature and pediment with carved tympanum crown this composition. Two small square columned pavilions with lead domes and urn finials project from the façade. An Ionic aedicule stands in front of the slated dome, which is topped by a colonnaded cupola and flanked by tall stacks. Four bays extend to either side of the portico, with ground floor windows in Gibb's surrounds and first floor windows in architraves. A cornice and balustrade run along the length of the elevation. Corner pavilions feature first floor arched windows set between two Ionic columns, with eaves balustrades, urn finials, and slated square French roofs with oval oculi in pedimented dormers and lead pyramid roofs.

The Summertown Road elevation is two storeys and sixteen bays, with a large gable end to the main hall at the west. Similar decorative details appear here. Three central bays are advanced with an oculus in a stepped-up parapet and a pyramidal slate roof. A small first floor hall to the west features an elaborate cupola in the centre of its ridge. The entrance to the main hall consists of three arched doors with elaborate wrought-iron gates between four columns carrying a wrought-iron balcony, a band course, and a large Diocletian window. Carved tympana sit between paired Ionic pilasters, with an entablature and pediment above. Flanking towers contain oculi at ground and second floors, pedimented windows at first floor, and lead domed pavilions on four piers and Ionic columns at the top.

The Carmichael Street elevation is two storeys and ten bays, with large gallery windows at first floor level set in a corniced balustrade. An ornate cupola rises from the centre of the ridge.

The Merryland Street elevation is two storeys and fifteen bays, similar to the Summertown Road elevation, with a small three-storey section and six additional central bays added in 1902. These additions enclose a yard with two doors and an arched cart entry with an iron gate. The rear of the hall features a semi-circular drum with balustrade rising from a one-storey projection. The roofs are slate, and most windows are original sash and case.

Interior

The eastern section, formerly housing municipal offices and now occupied by the Social Work Department, features an arched vestibule with a mosaic floor displaying the Govan arms and a panelled marble dado. A corbelled plaster cornice with Art Nouveau capitals to pillars and keystones in the arches runs throughout. Panelled wooden doors lead to the Council chamber and Burgh officials rooms. Stairs rise from either side of the door to a landing with balusters and marble Ionic columns. The first floor corridors feature a majolica tiled dado and pedimented wooden doorpieces.

The Council chamber is lit by a domed skylight, though its side windows have been blocked. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling, which is finished in ornate plaster panelling. Ornate plaster pilasters, an arch with GBC in the keystone beneath a pediment, and smaller arched doors complete the decoration. Modern timber dado and wallpaper have been introduced.

The main hall retains only the curved panelled pilaster ceiling and part-fluted Ionic columns in the gallery following a 1973 refurbishment. Beyond some tiles at the western entrance and a curved plaster roof in the foyer, little else survives in the section now managed by Glasgow District Halls Department.