Basic Site Details

Name: University of Glasgow, War Memorial Chapel and Arts Building
Town, district or village: Gilmorehill
City or county: Glasgow
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status: A listed
Grid ref:
Notes: Built in previous open space in western court of university buildings - completing G G Scott's quadrangle. Sculptor Archibald Dawson assisted by Andrew Wilson; stained glass of chapel's four west windows by Douglas Strachan; faculty stained glass in north wall by Gordon Webster (1954)

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Chapel  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 9July 1913  Original appointment
Item 2 of 9March 1914  Alternative proposals and report
Item 3 of 927 August 1914  Appointment confirmed
Item 4 of 91915  Scheme drawn up by Burnet
Item 5 of 91919  Project revived as a war memorial
Item 6 of 9December 1922  Decision to proceed
Item 7 of 919231927  
Item 8 of 9February 1923  Work begun
Item 9 of 94 October 1929  Dedication

People

Design 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.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 6(Sir) John James Burnet A19231927 
Item 2 of 6Burnet, Son & Dick A19231927 
Item 3 of 6Norman Aitken Dick A19231927 
Item 4 of 6Henry Sesom-Hiley Ac. 1923c. 1927As assistant to Burnet Son & Dick on woodwork in chapel
Item 5 of 6James Napier Ac. 1923c. 1927As assistant to Burnet Son & Dick on detailing in chapel
Item 6 of 6James Taylor Thomson Ac. 1923Before 1927In charge of detailing of chapel

Related Buildings, Structures and Designs

Parent Structure and Site

This structure is related to the following parent structure or site (click the item to view details):
 Building nameNotes
Item 1 of 1University of Glasgow, main quadranglesNew university buildings commissioned following purchase of High Street site of original ones by a subsidiary of the North British Railway Company (see also the previous unexecuted scheme for buildings on the Woodlands site, produced under similar circumstances). The appointment of George Gilbert Scott without recourse to a competition was highly controversial.

Main block, also quadrangle, Bute Hall, Hunterian Museum and Library.


Bute Hall Memorial Window:
Building News 18 January 1901 Page 86
'A stained-glass window, erected to the memory of the late Principal Caird in the Bute Hall of Glasgow University, was unveiled on Friday. The window was designed by Mr. Dearle, of Messrs. Morris and Co., Surrey. There are four lights, the upper and the lower portions being separated by the gallery of the hall. In the upper part there are figures of four philosophers and four theologians whose works the late Principal delighted to interpret, and in the lower part are allegorical figures of the four faculties_Arts, Medicine, Law, and Divinity; while in the tracery of the window is a small figure symbolical of the Creation of Light. The prevailing colours of the ground-work, which has been kept relatively light and is foliated in design, are white, pale green, and blue. Upon this ground the figures appear in varied colours'...

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 5Angus, Elizabeth1991John James Burnet: the University of Glasgow memorial Chapel 1913-1929 University of Glasgow MPhil dissertation 
Item 2 of 5Dawson, Hamish1996The man behind the Chapel carving Avenue, no 19, August 
Item 3 of 5Gomme, Andor and Walker, David1987Architecture of GlasgowSecond revised ednLondon: Lund Humphries1st ed (1968), p297
Item 4 of 5McKenzie, Ray2002Public sculpture of Glasgow (Public sculpture of Great Britain series) Liverpool University Presspp397-398
Item 5 of 5Williamson, Riches, Higgs1990Glasgow (The Buildings of Scotland)  p340

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 4Architects Journal11 December 1929   
Item 2 of 4British BuilderMarch 1923   
Item 3 of 4Builder14 June 1935CXLVIII p1105 (illustration)
Item 4 of 4Glasgow Herald4 November 1950   

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 3Glasgow UniversityGlasgow University Archives Drawings BUL/6/5/1-240
Item 2 of 3Historic Environment ScotlandListed Buildings Register32913Formerly listed separately - this now covers the main Gilbert Scott building with Bute and Randolph Halls, and the West Range, Memorial Chapel and Lion and Unicorn Staircase.
Item 3 of 3Strathclyde Regional ArchivesGlasgow Dean of Guild 1/299 (spire)