Central Police Headquarters, 54 St Andrew's Square, Glasgow

Central Police Headquarters, 54 St Andrew's Square, Glasgow

A B McDonald designed this distinctive police headquarters in 1903, built on an awkward site and arranged around a central courtyard. The building comprises offices, a court hall, cells, recreation areas and reception spaces organised across 2 and 3-storey bays, with attics to the corner bays. It is constructed in red brick with red Dumfriesshire sandstone ashlar dressings, featuring ashlar base, band, cill and lintel courses and a moulded cornice. The building demonstrates Renaissance detailing throughout its irregular plan.

On the Turnbull Street elevation, an 8-bay entrance block occupies the left side, with the outer left bay set at an angle. At the centre runs a pend with a round ashlar voussoired archway showing Gibbsian detail and enamel-tiled interior. Above this sits a semi-circular wallhead pediment ornately carved with an escutcheon. Two recessed 1st floor windows beneath are divided by a free-standing Ionic ashlar column, with swag and strapwork carving to the apron below. Raised panels flank the 1st floor windows, breaking the eaves as dies and bearing wreaths and pendant carving at apron level. Three windows serve each floor to left and right of centre, with an additional outer right bay containing a door and window above.

To the right stands a taller 2-storey pedimented bay housing the court hall, marked by a dentil cornice and 4 ground-floor windows. Above sits a Venetian window for the court room, set in a recessed panel with Ionic columns, keystone and "Let Glasgow Flourish" carved in the tympanum. Classical seated male statues flank the pediment on each side. Three further 2-storey bays with attics continue to the right, their 1st floor windows topped by semi-circular pediments with small attic windows set under the eaves.

The corner block, addressed to both Turnbull Street and St Andrews Street, rises 3 storeys with parapet and attic. The Turnbull Street elevation features a gabled bay to the left containing a tripartite segmentally arched doorway with keystone and an adjacent window. Tripartite windows occupy the 1st and 2nd floors within an ashlar panel, the 1st floor window accompanied by a bracketed carved shallow balcony and pediment to the centre light. A large semi-circular timber mullioned attic window in the gablehead displays a keystone, with a slightly bowed and consoled 2nd floor cornice supporting decorative wrought-iron window guard. The segmentally pedimented apex bears the date 1904, with a mannered obelisk to the skewputts.

The corner tower itself features tripartite windows, chamfered at ground level and rounded at the 1st and 2nd floors. Corniced and keystoned 1st floor windows display segmental pediments to the centre lights. An octagonal cap crowns the tower, pierced by segmentally arched windows with mullion cornice, lead cupola and tapering finial.

The St Andrews Street elevation to the north comprises 4 bays with regular fenestration. Two corniced 1st floor windows occupy the centre, flanked by pedimented windows. A dormer window at the centre, flanked by wallhead stacks, bears a segmental pediment and keystone. A 2-storey outer bay concludes the elevation to the right.

The courtyard elevations adopt a severe, functional character rendered in red brick with grey ashlar cills and lintels. Small multi-paned windows serve the cells to the west, positioned above open garage bays that formerly housed stables. Taller windows to the north, some fitted with metal grilles, light the interior. A porch addition occupies ground level.

The interior was not inspected during the 1989 survey but reportedly contains good panelling to the court hall. Top-hopper windows predominate throughout. The attic windows feature small-pane glazing patterns. Grey slates cover the roof, with skylights providing interior illumination.