Administration Block, Hospital, Gartloch Hospital, Glasgow

Administration Block and Asylum Section

Designed by Thomson and Sandilands in 1889, this imposing group of red sandstone asylum buildings combines French Renaissance style with Scottish Baronial details. The complex forms a near-symmetrical composition comprising a tall, narrow administration block with dining hall and kitchen to the rear, flanked by a boiler house and laundry to the south and workshops to the north.

Administration Block

The administration block is a three-storey, thirteen-bay symmetrical building with two imposing stair and water towers. It has a single-pile layout with a central corridor. The façade features a base course, ground floor band course, first floor cill course, second floor cill band, and eaves cornice. Second floor windows break through the eaves in mannered dormerheads with varied finials, with the eaves cornice serving as a transom. Windows have ashlar mullions and transoms throughout.

The principal elevation has a slightly advanced, wide entrance bay with channelled stonework at ground level. The doorpiece comprises paired banded columns, a pedimented central section, and a depressed arch doorway. Above are three closely grouped windows at first and second floors with a balustraded ashlar parapet. The entrance bay is crowned by a tall French roof with a dormer, a leaded apex with brattishing, and tall, slender banded chimney stacks flanking it. Either side of the entrance bay are four-light canted balustraded windows at ground level with bipartite windows to each floor above, flanked by single-windowed bays. The two outer bays adjoin the tower bays and contain two single windows each.

The towers are identical and slightly advanced with rounded angles. The stair towers extend to the eaves and feature round-arched keystoned panels containing corbelled, balustraded canted ashlar oriels at first floor level with tripartite French windows above. Oculi flank the corbels at ground level, with pedimented French Renaissance niches above. The water towers rise by as much again above the main building, are largely blank, and terminate in bracketed ashlar balustraded balconies on each face. These have round-arched blind doors (tripartite on the sides) with traceried ventilators above—two on the front and four on the sides. Diminutive bartizans with candlesnuffer roofs and finials, along with gargoyles at the eaves, complete the towers. The pavilion roofs to the towers have been removed.

The side elevations are two-bay and handed (mirrored on each side). The rear bay has an entrance tower that is corbelled to a circular section above ground level with a polygonal second floor and pyramidal roof. The doorway sits within a roll-moulded ashlar panel with a carved panel above, strapwork above the first floor window, and a window to each face at second floor. The bay to the front has a window to each floor, repeating the treatment of the end bays on the principal elevation.

The rear elevation and service buildings have undergone some alterations. The eleven-bay rear elevation has a centre bay comprising a balustraded, nine-light canted bay window at ground floor surmounted by three closely grouped single windows at first and second floors. An arched window sits at ground floor in the outer bay. Covered corridors extend to the rear between the end bays, creating a narrow courtyard before a group of single-storey, hip-roofed and gabled service buildings.

The interior has seen some alterations, including tiled entrance floors now covered with carpet tiles and some woodwork that has been painted. The Board Room on the ground floor retains its wood panelling to dado height, a pedimented over-door on brackets, and an ornate Jacobean-style fireplace with an inset cast bronze plaque listing members of the City of Glasgow District Lunacy Board from 1891 and 1896. A picture rail with embossed frieze sits above, along with a plaster cornice featuring egg-and-dart, dentils, and acanthus brackets. The ceiling has low-relief compartmental decoration. Contemporary furniture includes a sideboard, table, and leather upholstered chairs.

The stairs feature a turned Jacobean-style balustrade. A three-light bay at the first landing contains pastel-coloured, art nouveau-style leaded glass set in polished wood with a panelled base and sides. An arched window at the second landing has painted wood with coloured leaded glass in the upper portion. The south stair has replacement glass in one panel at the first landing.

Boiler House and Laundry

The boiler house and laundry form an eight-bay, single-storey near-symmetrical laundry block with an open court to the rear and a boiler house recessed to the left of the main elevation. Features include a base course, chamfered reveals, original glazing patterns, an eaves cornice partially broken on crow-stepped gabled end bays, and slate roofs with terracotta ridges.

The laundry's main elevation has a plain six-bay centre with single windows (the right-hand window is now a doorway) flanked by broad, advanced gabled outer bays. These outer bays have transomed and mullioned bipartite windows in the centre surmounted by a simple frieze with cornice above. An oculus sits in each gablehead, with cloverleaf finials at the apex and large scrolls at the base of the crowsteps resting on the eaves cornice. A slated and louvred ridge ventilator runs along the roof. Windows in the outer bays have nine-pane upper lights and single-pane lower lights. The body of the building has unusual twelve-pane sashes resting on two long panes in the upper sashes and two-pane lower sashes.

The north elevation has a doorway with a timber canopy on the return and a single-bay link to the boiler house with a mullioned and transomed bipartite window. The south elevation is an eight-bay asymmetrically arranged single-storey return adjoining a two-storey, hip-roofed end bay. The rear elevation is an asymmetrically arranged group with a five-bay, two-storey block to the left adjoining a single-storey range. This links with a cast iron sectional tank with boarded sides. The rear of the boiler house is gabled with a later garage-type entrance.

The boiler house's main elevation features a crow-stepped gabled entrance bay with a chimney stack to the right. The round-headed entrance has later metal sliding doors and is flanked by rectangular niches with blind roundels above. A circular ventilator opening sits in the centre above the entrance. The gablehead has a rectangular bellcote with a bell and cloverleaf finial. Large scrolls at the crowstep base are slightly recessed. The tall battered chimney base has similar stylised niche details capped by finialed blocks at the angles. The circular red brick chimney has metal bands and a broader top, adapted with a modern cap. The side elevation has four slim rectangular moulded panels surmounted by blind oculi to the left, flanked by two blocked-up windows.

The interior comprises a workshop and coal store with similar kingpost roofs with curved brackets supporting collars, horizontal boarding between trusses, and intermittent skylights. The workshop roof is varnished.

Workshops

The workshops form an L-plan workshop building with a courtyard to the rear. The block to the south is set back, enclosing the court with a curtain wall surmounted by railings and gate piers with ball finials.

The principal block's main elevation is identical to the laundry. The north elevation is a simple twelve-bay elevation with twin roof ridge ventilators and a plain chimney stack in the centre. Glazing is identical to the laundry block. The south elevation is four-bay with single windows using the same glazing as the north.

The south block's main elevation is a single gabled bay identical to the gabled bays of the principal block. The side elevation is five-bay with some alterations and a ridge ventilator. The courtyard elevations of the north and south blocks are similar. On the east side of the courtyard stands a single-storey timber store with a piended (hipped) roof.

Pair of "Villas" to Southeast and Northeast

These are identical three-storey, eleven-bay symmetrical villas with single-storey, one-bay piend-roofed sanitary annexes on the returns. Features include a base course, a broken stringcourse at first floor cill level, an unbroken stringcourse at second floor cill level, and an eaves cornice. Third floor windows break through the eaves in mannered pedimented dormerheads with finials (the eaves cornice serving as a transom).

The principal elevation has a pavilion-roofed three-bay, slightly advanced, wide entrance bay channelled at ground level. The central round-headed doorway has a distyle portico with banded columns flanked by single windows. Pilasters flank the windows, rising to finials at a balustraded parapet. Either side of the entrance bay are four-light canted bays at ground level with single windows above, flanked by single-windowed bays (the inner ground floor windows are now doors). The outer bays are advanced with four-light canted bays at ground level (originally pedimented—see former nurses' home below), bipartite windows at first and second floors, and a segmental-arched window above. Thin pilasters rise from below the first floor cill to a ball-finialed concave pediment at the head of the crow-stepped gable. The crow-stepped gable descends to recessed scrolls resting on the cornice. The spandrel between the pediment and segmental-arched window is filled with vertical banding.

The side elevations are handed (mirrored) and three-bay, with a single-storey, two-bay piended M-roof sanitary annexe (ridge ventilators removed). The annexe has a tripartite transomed and mullioned window to the front and four narrow windows with oculi above to the rear. At first and second floor level are a pair of single windows, the second floor with similar treatment to the front.

Pair of "Villas" to North and South

These are identical three-storey, thirteen-bay symmetrical villas. Features include a base course and stringcourses at first and second floor cill levels. Third floor windows break through the eaves with mannered pedimented dormerheads with finials (the eaves cornice forming the transom).

The principal elevation has a three-bay, slightly advanced entrance bay channelled at ground level. The doorway is set in a distyle portico with banded columns. The bay is terminated by twin pilasters capped by finials above a blind balustraded parapet. A superimposed pediment with a central oculus sits above, with a wide stringcourse above the lintels, moulded at first and second floors, and single transomed windows. The entrance bay is flanked by five bays with a four-light canted bay at the centre ground with ashlar mullions and transoms. Glazing at first and second floor windows is identical to that on the laundry.

The side elevations are handed, two-bay symmetrical returns with a slightly recessed canted stair tower at the rear. The returns have a four-light canted bay at centre ground with ashlar mullions and transoms, single windows to first and second floors, a double crow-stepped gable with central oculi with cloverleaf finials, and a slightly recessed terminating scroll motif as in the laundry, boiler house, and workshops. The roof is gambrel (mansard). The stair tower has a central ground floor door, a single window at first floor, and a small round-headed window at second floor.

The rear elevation has stair towers at each end, which are advanced. Various single-storey annexes adjoin the nine-bay central block. The treatment of the first and second floors is similar to that of the frontage.

Dining Hall and Recreation Hall Block

This is a two-storey, five-bay symmetrical block with corbelled angle turrets. Features include a base course, a cornice at ground floor lintel level, a stringcourse at first floor cill level, an entablature with parapet, and a slate roof with a centre conical-roofed ventilator and prominent brattishing along the ridge. The angle turrets have finialed conical roofs. A single-storey kitchen range sits to the rear.

The principal elevation has a central later door set in a four-light window, flanked by canted four-light bays with balustraded parapets above and ashlar mullions and double transoms in the upper lights with small-pane glazing. Bipartite windows sit in the outer bays with single transoms. The base of the angle towers is elaborately corbelled onto the rounded corners. At first floor are five bipartite windows with a double transom feature and richly carved panels in the entablature above. The angle towers have slender roll-moulded windows surmounted by round-headed windows and swan-neck pediments with ball finials.

The south elevation is five-bay with the ground floor asymmetrically arranged. The first floor has three closely grouped bipartite windows with the outer windows pedimented, to the left of the angle tower. A blind parapet is surmounted in the centre by twin stacks behind and flanking a slightly advanced gablet with crowsteps, a cloverleaf finial, and a blind oculus.

The north elevation has similar details to the south elevation but has been altered. The rear elevation is largely masked by the service wing. It is piend-roofed with a gambrel roof for the ridge ventilator. The eaves are broken at the centre by a broad crow-stepped gabled bay with a blind oculus and cloverleaf finial.

Link Corridors

The link corridors form an L-plan with branches to the southeast and northeast villas, connecting the administration block, dining hall, and villas. The corridors have a stugged (roughcast) ashlar base with a glazed upper section and slate roofs. Two single-storey bathroom blocks sit off the corridors between the north and northeast villa and south and southeast villa. These are piend-roofed with ridged ventilators and recessed entrance bays (doorways now blocked up).

Hospital Section

Designed by Thomson and Sandilands and built 1892–96, the hospital section forms part of the larger asylum complex and displays Baronial and Renaissance details. It comprises a two-storey U-plan administration section with a single-storey H-plan block to the rear containing the kitchen and dining hall at the centre.

Front Block

The front block is a two-storey, near-symmetrical U-plan block with a nine-bay centre flanked by five-bay wings. Crow-stepped gabled double bays sit on the returns, with single-storey sanitary annexes to the outside (an additional flat-roofed storey has been recently added). Features include a base course and a stringcourse at first floor cill level. First floor windows break through the eaves in mannered finialed dormerheads as in the asylum section. Crow-stepped gables have cloverleaf finials and terminating, slightly recessed scroll details as on the asylum section buildings.

The principal elevation has a centre entrance doorway set in a distyle portico with banded columns, flanked by four-light canted bays. The three outer bays have single windows except for the centre left, which comprises a small, low square window surmounted by a three-light mullioned window rising slightly above the level of the other windows. The wings are similarly treated. The gabled returns have paired single windows transomed on the first floor.

The side elevations are handed, asymmetrical, and L-plan. From the frontage: the sanitary annexe has three narrow windows surmounted by oculi (as on the asylum section villas), with a recent flat-roofed addition above; a gabled bay has a canted four-light bay (one light is now a fire door) at ground floor surmounted by a balustraded parapet and bipartite window to the first floor. The gable is as on the frontage. Windows have ashlar mullions and transoms with small-pane glazing in the upper lights. A fire escape sits in the re-entrant angle, and a turreted corner feature with a pyramidal roof completes the composition. The end five bays are symmetrical with a slightly advanced stair bay at the centre featuring a round-arched window at first floor level and a blind oculus in the pediment. Side bays are dormered in typical style. A roof ridge ventilator as on the asylum section dining hall and a louvred dormer ventilator are present.

Rear Block

The rear block is an H-plan range to the south linked to the front block at the centre.

The south elevation has been altered. It is a symmetrical single-storey range with verandahs flanking a central five-bay advanced block with gabled end bays. The verandahs are supported on cast iron columns with piended roofs over the back bay. A glazed strip below the eaves remains from the original more extensive glazing. The wings have central three-light bay windows surmounted by parapets, flanked by short canted towers with pyramidal roofs. Canted returns have three bipartite windows surmounted in the centre by segmental dormerheads. The pyramidal roof has dormer ventilators.

The side elevations have been altered. Small square piend-roofed pavilions sit at the centre (formerly for infectious diseases) with ventilators at the roof apex.

The north elevation is split by the central link block. It is handed with an advanced rectangular block (formerly for admissions) featuring a central four-light canted bay and a glazed verandah at the outer corner (originally open). A large gabled ventilator sits in the centre front of the piended roof. The range behind also has a central four-light canted bay masked by a flat-roofed linked corridor to the front. Stacks have been removed.

Original Nurses' Home

Designed by Thomson and Sandilands in 1898, the original nurses' home is a three-storey, thirteen-bay U-plan block with a symmetrical front and slightly advanced outer elaborately gabled bays, identical to those on the southeast and northeast villas. A later extension sits to the rear at the west. Features include a base course, stringcourses at first and second floor cill levels, a stringcourse above ground floor windows on the front only, and an eaves cornice. Windows are transomed, and second floor windows break through the eaves with mannered finialed dormerheads as standard. Tall corniced chimney stacks are present.

The principal elevation has a three-bay centrepiece with a banded entrance bay at ground level featuring a keystoned, depressed arched doorway flanked by pilasters rising to blocks and finials before a blind parapet. The entrance is flanked by single windows with three single windows at first and second floors. The centrepiece is flanked by plain stack bays with round-headed blind features between first and second floors. The left-hand bay is marked "AD" and the right-hand bay is dated 1895 in panels below the cornices. Single windows flank the stack bays. The central section is terminated by two bipartite windows at ground with three single windows to first and second floors. The gabled end bays are as those in the southeast and northeast villas, but the canted bays have original parapets with central segmental-headed panels containing cartouches.

The east elevation is a five-bay, asymmetrical return with a blank bay to the side of the front gable with low-relief corbelling below a central stack. First and second floors repeat the window pattern on the main front with four single windows terminated by a bipartite window on ground and first floors. Single windows sit at third floor with chimney stacks between the middle pairs of dormerheads.

The west elevation is as the east elevation with a later extension to the rear. The rear elevation is a functional fifteen-bay range with the centre three bays advanced. The wing to the right is three-bay, terminating in a canted angle tower with a pyramidal roof. The wing to the left has a large, plain five-bay later extension.