Basic Site Details | Name: | St Aloysius RC Church | | Town, district or village: | Garnethill | | City or county: | Glasgow | | Country: | Scotland | | Parish: | | | Status: | | | Grid ref: | | | Notes: | The building is one of the first examples of reinforced concrete roof construction in a British church.
The new Jesuit Church of St Aloysius has just been opened in Glasgow. The church is in the Italian Renaissance style of the 16th century and has an extreme length of 160 feet, a breadth of 99 feet and a height varying between 60 feet and 75 feet. The nave, 44 feet across, is spanned by a vault of reinforced concrete and lit by a number of cupolas. A tower of a campanile type rises to a height of 150 feet. As has been the case at Westminster Cathedral, the interior of St Aloysius is left bare and unadorned, and it will be the work of further years to sheathe the church in marble and enrich it with the decorations. [Building News 25 February 1910 p. 271]
The Roman Catholic Church of St Aloysius has been fitted with a reinforced concrete roof by the Expanded Metal Company. The church is cruciform in shape and is faced with red freestone. The reinforced concrete roof rises from the main walls over the nave, transepts and apse, the roof is in semi-circular arches and the roof of the nave has a clear span of 44 feet 6 inches and a length of 65 feet. This roof is supported on arched ribs which are reinforced to take the whole of the thrust. [Building News 25 March 1910 p. 424]
A similar report appeared in Building News 9 September 1910 but this also noted that the ribs carried a slab 4.5 inches thick forming the roof covering, this slab being reinforced with expanded steel. Two four-light cupolas in this roof also acted as ventilators
| Building Type Classification| The building is classified under the following categories: | | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes |  | Church | | |
Street Addresses| The following street addresses are associated with this building: | | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | Rose Street | Yes | |
Events| The following date-based events are associated with this building: | | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1908 | 1910 | | Church opened February 1910 | | 30 March 1910 | | | Tower finished |
PeopleDesign and Construction| The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | Charles Jean Menart (or Ménart) | | | 1908 | 1910 | |
ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this building: | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts | 1911 | | | | 894 | | Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts | 1921 | | | | 682 |
Periodical References| The following periodicals contain references to this building: | | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 6 November 1909 | XCVII | | | | Building News | 25 February 1910 | | | p 271 - church "just opened"
| | Building News | 25 February 1910 | | | p424 - description of roof construction | | Building News | 9 September 1910 | | | p381 - Further details of roof construction |
Archive References| The following archives hold material relating to this building: | | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 33115 | | | Strathclyde Regional Archives | Glasgow Dean of Guild | | 2/2287, 3 September 1908 |
|