Alma, 181 Maxwellton Avenue, East Kilbride

Alma is a probably David Rhind-designed, single-storey former school built in 1839, with a later attached four-bay range to the north. The building is situated on Maxwellton Avenue in East Kilbride.

The school is constructed of squared sandstone with dressed margins, featuring a piended roof and a base course. The northwest (entrance) elevation has a central bay with a pediment breaking through the eaves. This bay contains a porch with a three-pane fanlight and a panelled door, flanked by two single windows on either side. The northeast range has three single windows and a gateway to the left. A canted bay is the prominent feature of the southeast (rear) elevation, flanked by two single windows. A gateway on the left leads to the front garden. A gateway is also attached to the southwest elevation.

Timber sash and case windows with 12 panes are present throughout. The roof is slate, with a tall, coped stack at the left wallhead and a central wallhead chimney at the rear.

The entrance is marked by three tall stone gate piers with square shafts on short plinths and shallow, pyramidal, corniced caps. Two shorter stone piers with square shafts and stepped pyramidal caps define the rear entrance. A coped rubble boundary wall encloses the property.

The area was previously known as Hogsmuir, and the village developed fiercely independently from East Kilbride until the mid-20th century. In 1839, Sir William Alexander Maxwell of Calderwood Castle established a local school that surpassed the Parish School of East Kilbride, funded by his endowment to provide education for the poor. Subjects taught included English, arithmetic, Latin, and dressmaking for girls. Three small cottages were built adjacent to the boundary wall to accommodate teachers. The school closed in 1911 and was subsequently converted into a residence. In 1921, Captain Tillet purchased the house and named it Alma, after his wife, Alice Marie. Records indicate that David Rhind acted as architect, and the National Archives reference RS 3/242a includes Maxwell’s application (1848) for public funding as witness in 1841.