Repair works underway on Glasgow tenement damaged by WW2 explosion

The 1904 tenement, at 43 Queensborough Gardens in the West End, features an ornate bay window on the first floor which has separated from the main stonework.

The tenement at 43 Queensborough Gardens (Image: John Gilbert Architects)

Though there are a number of factors at play, it seems likely that the German WW2 bomb which obliterated the tenement next door in March 1941 contributed to the problem.

A large crack has formed where the bay window has separated from the wall (Image: Glasgow City Heritage Trust)

Niall Murphy is the director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, who are helping to fund the repair works. He believes that the bay window was shaken loose by the impact of the nearby explosion.

“The neighbouring tenement was taken out by a Luftwaffe bomb in the war,” he said.

“I’m wondering whether the shockwave has gone right through the building, and basically made the building jump slightly.

“The bay window looks like it has heaved at some point. There’s a huge crack in it. I suspect the shockwave rippled through this tenement and helped give the stonework a push.”

The crack is visible on both sides of the window (Image: Glasgow City Heritage Trust)

Niall said the decorative masonry on the window would have originally been included as a marketing ploy.

“The ornamented bay window is quite a pretentious feature in some ways,” he said.

“Tenements like this were built for rent, and these decorations would have been included to market the property.”

The windows features an ornamental design (Image: Glasgow City Heritage Trust)

The repair is being carried out by Glasgow firm John Gilbert Architects, with heritage consultant Kirstin Mackenzie serving as project lead. She says that the impact of the explosions may have exposed an inherent flaw in the window.

“Because this is a corner tenement, the joists - the horizontal wooden beams between floors - are running parallel to the wall on one side, rather than perpendicular,” Kirstin said.

“Basically, the joists are not pulling the wall in. So the bay window isn’t attached to the rest of the building, it’s sort of just hanging there. And the heavy stone ornamentation is bearing down on a bay window that’s not really tied into the rest of the structure.

“So it has this original defect. Then having a bomb going through the back of it obviously didn’t help.”

Kirstin Mackenzie, right, with the John Gilbert Architects conservation team (Image: John Gilbert Architects)

Though surveys determined there was no imminent danger of the masonry falling down, Kirstin says it still makes sense to repair it as “you can never rule out a freak event.” She says that project engineers Narro Associates have devised an “innovative” fix.

“Quite often you walk past tenements and they have a big steel band around the bay window,” she said.

“Whereas here, all the work will be internal. We’ll be coring through the stone and basically using steel ties to tie the stonework to the joists.

“It should be relatively imperceptible. It’s a really innovative approach.”

The joists beneath the floorboards, which the bay window is not properly attached to (Image: Glasgow City Heritage Trust) Another day in the office for Kirstin (Image: John Gilbert Architects)

Originally from South Africa, where she trained as an architect before doing a masters in building conservation at Strathclyde, Kirstin says that tenements are one of the things that first attracted her to Glasgow.

“One of the most striking things about Glasgow is its tenements,” she said. “They’re really special. They’re often the last tangible bit of working class history that we have.

“The thing that drew me to Glasgow is the idea of making sure Scotland’s heritage is available for everyone. And Glasgow is very much a city for everyone.”

“People idolise Edinburgh. But for me, Glasgow is a far more interesting place architecturally.”

A 1905 newspaper cutting found beneath the floorboards, detailing the misfortune of a certain Mr Berry, who had "54 pints of water fluid taken out." He at least received "hearty congratulations" for his efforts though (Image: Glasgow City Heritage Trust)

Niall and Kirstin will be giving a free talk on November 26 about this project and the architecture of tenements more generally. More information can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/43-queensborough-gardens-and-the-architecture-of-glasgow-tenements-tickets-1056414998699.