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M233 Scotland Street Public School

Address: 225, Scotland Street, Glasgow G5 8QB
Date: 1903–7
Client: School Board of Glasgow
Authorship:

(Mackintosh)

1903: 27 April: Purchase of ground for new school in Tradeston. 1
22 June: Mackintosh appointed architect (but official letter of appointment not written until 21 August). 2
2 November: First drawings submitted to The School Board of Glasgow. Modifications requested. 3

1904: January: First set of drawings for school and janitor's house made for submission to Glasgow Dean of Guild Court. 4
August–September: Second set of drawings made for submission to Glasgow Dean of Guild Court. 5
24 October: Appointment of principal contractors. 6
24 November: Plans approved by Glasgow Dean of Guild Court. 7 15 December: Work begins on site. 8

1905: 23 February: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court approves revised design for janitor's house. 9
May: Iron beams laid at first- and second-floor level in school. 10
September: Roof of school being slated. 11
October: Concrete floors being put in school. 12

1906: May: Finishing plasterwork in classrooms. 13
4 August: School year commences in the new building. 108 children enrol on the first day. By 21 September, 391 children have enrolled. 14
5 October: Formal opening of new school. 15

1907: 2 May: Building work discharged by Glasgow Dean of Guild Court 16

1914: 11 September: 1033 children present, the highest ever recorded in the school log book. 17

1940: 1 April: Air raid shelter for 400 children completed. Openings between piers of drill hall probably filled in at this time. 18

1971–c. 1973: Improvements to toilet blocks and cloakrooms carried out by Glasgow Corporation. Fire doors installed. 19

1974: Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society recommends restoration of Mackintosh's W. gateway, altered at an early date to allow vehicular access. Exterior stonework cleaned with aggressive chemicals between spring and autumn. 20

1979: W. gateway damaged, following inaccurate reconstruction at unknown date after November 1974. 21
June: Ceases to operate as a school. 22

1981–c. 1982: Refurbishment of janitor's house, including blocking fireplaces, capping chimneys, rewiring, new plumbing and central heating. 23

1986: June to October: 'Renovation work in progress'. 24

1988: 6 April: W. gateway restored to its original form by this date. 25

1989–1990: Work carried out by Strathclyde Regional Council in connection with conversion to museum of education, including reinstatement of drill hall piers, restoration of cloakrooms and cookery room, repairs to masonry of stair-towers and replacement of N. windows with small-paned sashes. 26

1990: 26 November: Reopened as a museum devoted to the history of education. 27

1997: Following the reorganisation of local government when Strathclyde Regional Council is abolished, ownership of building transferred to Glasgow City Council, under the departmental jurisdiction of Glasgow Museums. 28

1999–2001: Alterations to the building including the installation of passenger lift at W. end of building; the construction of an access ramp in drill hall; the restoration and replastering of five former classrooms and the corridor on the top floor; and new displays on the history of the school and catchment area. 29

2001: October: Most of the building reopened to the public. 30

2002: January: Three classrooms containing displays examining the design of the school, the history of education and the history of the surround Kingston district opened. 31

Notes:

1: Glasgow City Archives Collection: School Board Property Committee minutes, D-ED 1/1/1/7, 27 April 1903.

2: Glasgow City Archives Collection: School Board Property Committee minutes, D-ED 1/1/1/7, 22 June 1903; Glasgow City Archives Collection: School Board Property Department letter book, D-ED 1/1/12/20, pp. 418–19.

3: Glasgow City Archives Collection: School Board Property Committee minutes, D-ED 1/1/1/7, 2 November 1903, 23 November 1903.

4: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild plans, SR4/4/48.

5: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild plans, TD1309/A/520.

6: Glasgow City Archives Collection: School Board Property Department letter book, D-ED 1/1/12/21, pp. 612–25, 804.

7: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

8: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

9: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court Proceedings, D-OPW 19/21, p. 71.

10: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

11: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

12: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

13: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

14: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Scotland Street School log book 1906–44, D-ED 7/275/1/1, 4 August 1906, 21 September 1906.

15: Glasgow Herald, 6 October 1906, p. 10.

16: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow Dean of Guild Court, Register of Inspections, D-OPW 25/60, p. 101.

17: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Scotland Street School log book 1906–44, D-ED 7/275/1/1, 11 September 1914.

18: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Scotland Street School log book 1906–44, D-ED 7/275/1/1, 1 April 1940.

19: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow District Council building control warrant drawings, GDC12/3/1972/802.

20: 'Cleaning Danger', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 3, Spring 1974, p. 2; 'Scotland Street School', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 4, Summer 1974, pp. 5–6; 'Scotland Street School', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 5, Autumn 1974, p. 8.

21: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: correspondence between Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society and the City Architect, Glasgow Corporation, 1974; correspondence between Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society and Depute Director of Education, Strathclyde Regional Council, 1979.

22: Colin B. Kirkwood, 'Notes on Mackintosh Buildings', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 23, Autumn 1979, p. 5; 'Scotland Street School', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 29, Spring/Summer 1981, p. 2.

23: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow District Council building control warrant drawings, GDC12/3/1981/1065.

24: 'Scotland Street School', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 43, Summer 1986, p. 4.

25: Gavin Stamp, 'School Lessons', Architects' Journal, 187, 6 April 1988, pp. 42–53.

26: Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow District Council building control warrant drawings, GDC12/3/1989/3570/A; Gavin Stamp, 'School Lessons', Architects' Journal, 187, 6 April 1988, pp. 42–53; Tom Ewing, 'Scotland Street School Museum', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 55, Spring 1991, p. 4.

27: The work was funded the European Regional Development Fund. Dorothy Stewart, 'Scotland Street School Museum of Education', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 54, Autumn 1990, p. 3; information supplied by Alison Brown, curator, Glasgow Museums, 24 June 2013.

28: Information supplied by Alison Brown, curator, Glasgow Museums, 24 June 2013.

29: This work was funded the European Regional Development Fund. Glasgow City Archives Collection: Glasgow City Council building control warrant drawings, GCC16/3/99/04217; Alison Brown, 'Scotland Street School, Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 82, Spring 2002, pp. 7–10. Additional information supplied by Alison Brown, curator, Glasgow Museums, 24 June 2013.

30: Alison Brown, 'Scotland Street School, Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 82, Spring 2002, pp. 7–10.

31: Alison Brown, 'Scotland Street School, Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 82, Spring 2002, pp. 7–10. Additional information supplied by Alison Brown, curator, Glasgow Museums, 24 June 2013.

'Mackintosh Architecture' led by The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council; with additional support from The Monument Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; and collaborative input from Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.