Story of Glasgow firm behind some of city's most beautiful buildings

In this week's column from Glasgow City Archives, archivist Curstaidh Reid is on a mission to find out why.

There are 150,000 separate architectural plans comprising more than 700,000 individual sheets here at Glasgow City Archives.

So, when I noticed that lots of the plans bore the name Frank Burnet, I was curious to learn more about this architectural firm which apparently made such a mark on the city’s landscape.

It began with Burnet setting up his own firm in 1878. Born in Melrose, he had studied architecture at the Glasgow School of Art before joining John Carrick, City Architect, and working with the City Improvement Trust.

The Trust had been set up by the Glasgow Improvement Act 1866, which allowed the council to demolish slum property, redevelop land and build replacement housing. It was this role that gave Burnet experience of building tenements, knowledge he took into his own firm which would build 540 tenements in the city between 1884 and 1906.

Page from volume of City Parish Maps by John Carrick: City of Glasgow Improvements & New Streets: Plans and Sections, 1866 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Of course, he did not manage this impressive number alone.

In fact, the firm would change name multiple times over the years to reflect the partners that came and went.

Firstly in 1889 it became Burnet & Boston after assistant William James Boston (1861-1937) was promoted to partner. Eleven years later another apprentice, James Carruthers (1872-1952), was promoted to third partner and so his name was added to the title from 1901.

This reverted back to Burnet & Boston when Carruthers left in 1908. After the titular architects passed away in 1923 and 1937 respectively, Frank Burnet’s son, Frank Russell Burnet, continued the practice and took on a partner named James Bell.

The name remained unchanged as Burnet & Boston until 1961 when it was updated to Burnet, Bell & Partners.

Although the volume of tenements built was remarkable, quality was not sacrificed for quantity.

Plan detail showing tenements built at the corner of High St and Duke St for the City Improvement Trust, 1903 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

As proof, take the example of the elaborate St George’s Mansions which are located only a stone’s throw away from the Mitchell Library at the corner of St George’s Road and Woodlands Road.

The outer walls present a feast for the eyes, featuring balconies, turrets, columns, arches, decorative railings and a clock. Sculptural elements include the city crest at the first-floor corner balcony and three shields guarded by cherubs along the top floor corner balcony.

Plan detail of tenements built at the corner of St George's Rd and Woodlands Rd, 1900 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

The firm was also responsible for the design of grand villas, including Hughenden House in the West End (1907) and Matheran House on the Southside (1903), both B-listed.

Designed for marine engineering magnate Hugh Dunsmuir, Matheran House was built in the baronial style with balustrades, stained glass windows and corner turrets.

Plan detail of Matheran House, 1904 (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

It was not only domestic spaces that the firm worked on, either.

They built the branch office and business premises for the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1900, as well as the Royal Exchange Assurance Building between 1911 and 1913.

This stands at seven storeys at the corner of West George Street and West Nile Street, with arched windows on the ground floor and pretty sculptural detailing throughout.

Plan detail of Battlefield Rest tramcar shelter, 1914. (Image: Glasgow City Archives)

Residents in the south of the city will also be familiar with the firm’s eye-catching Battlefield Rest.

Now a restaurant, this building started life as a tramcar shelter and was built between 1914 and 1915. The shelter was originally intended to be one of many similar structures built across the city for the tram network.

However, the outbreak of WWI put a halt to these plans and so the Battlefield Rest remains the only example of its type. With quirky semi-octagonal ends and attractive green and cream tiling in a horizontal pattern, it has been praised for the elements of Edwardian and Art Nouveau styles on display and also boasts B-listed status.

Many more buildings could be mentioned, such was the firm’s pace of work over the decades, and several more high-profile architects would connect with the company as apprentices and lead designers.

Thanks to the firm’s acquisition by Mosaic Architecture & Design in 2017, it continues to be a part of the city’s changing environment nearly 150 years after its creation.