Have you ever noticed a small knobbly bit on the top of a post box and wondered why it's there? Well, here's the answer: it once held a double-sided sign which pointed towards the nearest post office, like this one in Lennoxtown on the outskirks of Glasgow. Most of these sign-holders have been damaged over the years, leaving just the central attachment point, and very few retain their original signs.
The remains of Lennox Castle on the outskirts of Glasgow. Designed by David Hamilton in the syle of a Norman castle, it was built in the 1830s. Between 1927 and 2002, it was used as a hospital before being abandoned. It was destroyed by a fire in 2008.
Love this variation on the polychromatic brick style of industrial building, using a mix of glazed and unglazed bricks. These windows are on the former sawmill offices on Craighall Road in Glasgow designed by George Bell and constructed in 1893.
Some magnificent Classical detailing on the top of the entrance to the former Hillhead High School on Cecil Street in the West End of Glasgow. Designed by Hugh and David Barclay, it was built in 1883, and is a reminder that at this point the area fell under the control of the Govan Parish School Board
Part of the Brutalist Anderston Centre in Glasgow. Designed by Richard Seifert, it was an early example of the megastructure style of urban renewal popular in the 1950s and 60s. While it opened in 1972, it was never completed. It's size and design turned out to be problematic with its many walkways proving difficult to police. By the 1990s, much of it was partially derelict and several parts have since been demolished.
Glasgow Past and Present: The tower of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Caledonia Road Church overlooking a modern housing development in the Gorbals area of the city.
The lodge at the gateway to Maxwell Park on the Southside of Glasgow. Designed by H.E. Clifford, it was built in 1890, along with the neighbouring Pollokshields Burgh Hall.
Here's another rather unusual Glasgow building, this time in Summerston. Like many others, it has a corner tower, but it seems to have been specifically designed to look like a ruin at the top (the neighbouring terrace has exactly the same look to its corner tower!).
Aurelius by Malcom Robertson. Positioned on the line of the Antonine Wall behind the Lambhill Stables, this giant head looks out from the site of a former fort across what was once the northern frontier of the Roman Empire and into the barbarian terrritory beyond.
J.E Boehm's 1888 sculpture of John Elder in Elder Park in Govan. Beside him is a model of the compound inverted vertical steam engine he invented, which dramatically improved the efficiency of steam engines. As well as being renowned as an inventor, shipbuilder and engineer, Elder was also greatly respected for the way he treated his workers.
The distinctive verdigris-covered spires of the former Jordanhill College of Education in the west of Glasgow. Designed by Hugh and David Barclay, it was built in 1913.
The SS Daphne Memorial in Elder Park in the Govan area of Glasgow. Erected in memory of the 124 people, many of whom were little more than boys, who died when the SS Daphne capsized during its launch on the 3rd of July 1883. Created by John McArthur, this is one of a pair of identical memorials. The other is in Victoria Park on the north side of the Clyde.
I love the carvings set into the pavement of Langlands Road in Govan. Created by the artist Kate Robinson, they're part of The Govan Timeline, a pictorial history of the local area. This is one of my favourites, featuring what I presume is the now-lost Fairfields Titan crane and the hull of a ship.
The derelict remnants of Fairfield Farm Cottage in Govan. The farm was purchased in Isabella Elder in the 1880s and turned into Elder Park for the people of Govan. The cottage, which dates from the early 19th Century, was originally used as an amenity for the park. One of the few former farm buildings left in Glasgow, it's B-Listed, but now lies abandoned, fenced off and decaying.
As we approach the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I thought I'd repost this picture of Kelvin Dock beside the Forth and Clyde Canal in the Maryhill area of Glasgow. It might not seem like much now, but this was where some of the landing craft which were used to get troops onto the beaches of Normandy on the 6th of June 1944 were made.
Details of the relief sculptures at the top of the 'Tower of the Winds' of the former Prince's Dock Hydraulic Pumping Station in Glasgow. Believe it or not, this isn't the only copy of this ancient Greek building in Glasgow. There'a another on the cupola the top of the old Athenaeum Theatre on Buchanan Street.
Saint Columba of Iona's Church in the Woodside area of Glasgow. Designed by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia in a modern twist on the Italian Romanesque style, it was built in 1937.
Lambhill Stables on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Glasgow. This was one of four stables built to the same classical design (similar to that used for Canal House at Speirs Wharf) along the canal in the early 1800s. These provided fresh horses at regular intervals for Swifts (fast passenger boats travellig the length of the canal). The other similar stables were at Shirva, Crainmarloch and Easter Cadder near Kirkintilloch.
A question to start today: Why is constructing the building on the left be VAT-free, while renovating the historic building on the right and converting it to a new purpose is not? To me, this is completely the wrong way round and such tax rules are undoubtedly contributing to what seems to be the rapidly-accelerating loss of our built heritage.