Trades House, 87, 89, 91 Glassford Street, Glasgow is a Grade A listed building in the Glasgow City local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 6 July 1966. 3 related planning applications.

Trades House, 87, 89, 91 Glassford Street, Glasgow

WRENN ID
veiled-obsidian-pearl
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
Glasgow City
Constituency
Glasgow East MP: John Grady (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
6 July 1966
Address
Trades House, 87, 89, 91 Glassford Street, Glasgow, G1 1UH
OS grid reference
NS 593 652
Coordinates
55.85943, -4.24913
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Trades House, located at 79, 81, 83, and 85 Glassford Street in Glasgow, is a classical building designed by Robert Adam and completed posthumously between 1791 and 1799. The structure features extensions at the rear by David Hamilton from 1838, and the interior was recast by James Sellar in 1887-1888. John Keppie partially or totally refaced the building in 1927 and redecorated the saloon in 1916. In 1955, extensive alterations were made, including a new trades' hall ceiling designed by Walter Underwood.

The building is two stories tall with a full attic and has a symmetrical seven-bay elevation that alternates between recessed and advanced sections. The exterior is finished in polished ashlar with a rusticated ground floor, featuring bold voussoirs above the openings. There have been various alterations to the ground floor openings, including a reduction in the size of the main door and the insertion of stained timber windows with panelled aprons. The tall first floor is distinguished by pairs of Ionic columns that support a central pediment, with three Adam-type Venetian windows in the advanced bays (which have altered glazing) and console pedimented windows in the recessed bays. The raised attic covers five inner bays and features a central parapet adorned with paterae that supports the Royal Arms. Centrally set back is a domed drum with louvred aedicules and a leaded cupola. The outer bays were raised from a single storey by Sellars in 1887. Above the pedimented windows are two bronze panels depicting gryphon-flanked vases.

The main entrance boasts a decorative mosaic floor inscribed with "Trades House." The main windows feature small-pane glazing, while the outer bays and attic have plate-glass sash cases.

Inside, the building was reconstructed by Sellars in 1887-1888. A grand staircase rises in two flights to the first floor, with fluted newels supporting bronze lamp standards and stained glass created by Sellars. The banqueting hall was remodelled by Sellars and originally featured an Adam-style ceiling, which was replaced in 1956 with an African timber ceiling and a silk frieze depicting trades at work, created between 1902 and 1903. The saloon is panelled in Spanish mahogany and has a plaster panelled ceiling, with glass by Guthrie and Wells from 1897 and an Adamesque marble chimneypiece.

Part of the ground floor has been absorbed into the adjoining bank at No. 99 Glassford Street.

Local climate

Trades House, 87, 89, 91 Glassford Street, Glasgow sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,250 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 80% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 58 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 97% of listed buildings. Of these, 34 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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