Govan Municipal Building, 16 Orkney Street, Glasgow is a Grade B listed building in the Glasgow City local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 15 May 1987.

Govan Municipal Building, 16 Orkney Street, Glasgow

WRENN ID
stony-vestry-hazel
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
Glasgow City
Constituency
Glasgow South West MP: Dr Zubir Ahmed (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
15 May 1987
OS grid reference
NS 556 655
Coordinates
55.86136, -4.30845
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

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

Description

Govan Municipal Buildings, located at 22 Orkney Street in Glasgow, were constructed between 1866 and 1867 by architect John Burnet. This building is two stories tall and features eleven bays of painted channelled ashlar. The southern four bays are a later addition.

On the ground floor, there are four windows set within an architrave and a central carved arched doorpiece with a modern door. To the south, there are three additional windows and a door. A disced band course runs along the building. The first floor has seven windows that front the public hall or courtroom, adorned with a Corinthianesque pilastrade. There is also a later group of four windows with a pilastrade to the south. The building is topped with a dentil cornice and a slate roof that features a tall square ventilator, which is original.

Flanking the main structure are one-storey advanced blocks, with a gateway door and a modern window to the north and a window to the south, all made of channelled ashlar. The rear of the building is constructed of rubble and includes three tall arched windows that provide light to the stairwell.

Inside, the Entrance Hall is notable for its two marble Corinthian columns, a dentil cornice, and a cast-iron scrolled stair banister. There is also a small cast-iron spiral stair. Some of the rooms have been altered.

In 1898, a three-storey brick prison block with red sandstone margins was added to the rear of the building. This block contains 40 cells arranged on either side of a central top-lit hall.

Local climate

Govan Municipal Building, 16 Orkney Street, Glasgow sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,290 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 94% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 83% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 56 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 95% of listed buildings. Of these, 32 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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