Knowehead, 372 Albert Drive, Pollokshields, Glasgow

Knowehead is a villa built in 1893 by Thomas Dykes, located at 372 Albert Drive, Pollokshields, Glasgow. It is a two-story building, approximately three bays wide, with a two-story and single-story L-shaped service wing attached to the rear. The villa is constructed of red sandstone, with squared and snecked masonry and an ashlar apron band marking the principal floor, a dividing band, and an eaves band featuring decorative stone brackets supporting deep, corniced eaves. The base course is battered with tooled masonry. Moulded surrounds or pilasters frame the windows of the principal floor, with a cill course and some architraves to the first-floor windows. Guilloche carving is present on the first-floor aprons and parapets of the canted bays, while rusticated quoins add detail. Stone mullions are used throughout.

The south (principal) elevation features a recessed entrance porch on the outer left, with a round-arched opening framed by a Corinthian column featuring corbelled capitals and consoled keystones, and carved spandrel panels. Steps leading to the porch are shielded by a wall with ashlar coping, and the panelled door is topped with a decorative leaded stained glass fanlight. A wallhead balustrade runs along the roofline. A single-story bay flanking the outer left is framed with paired pilasters and contains a window. A two-story bay to the left includes a broad, full-height canted window. The central bay features paired single windows on each floor, while the outer right bay has a tripartite projecting window on the ground floor and a bipartite window on the first floor.

The west elevation has a projecting porch at ground level in the centre and to the right, with a tripartite window illuminating the vestibule. Widely spaced single windows are positioned at the first floor, and the outer left bay contains tripartite windows on each floor. The L-shaped service wing extends from the outer left.

The east elevation showcases a canted full-height window on the outer left, flanked by single windows on each floor. A five-light projecting window (with bowed outer lights) is situated on the ground floor, and a tripartite window is above. Lower, two-story service bays are found on the outer right, connected by a balustraded wallhead.

The windows are timber sash and case with plate glass glazing. The roof is covered with grey slate, and tall, coped ashlar stacks are present.

The interior, though not inspected in 1997, is documented in plans to include decoratively panelled dadoes on the ground floor, keystoned round-arched openings, a pedimented overmantel, swan-neck pediments, and egg and dart cornices to the doorcase on the principal stair. The layout includes an Imperial staircase and a large cupola above.

To the southeast of the corner plot, there are three gate piers for vehicular and pedestrian gates. Each pier has paired pilasters with channelled curved corners, cornices, and stylised caps. Decorative two-leaf wrought iron gates are present. To the northeast, a pair of bull-faced rubble drum piers support bull-faced walls with saddleback coping.