Saw and File Works:
Sited in the Anderston area, west of the city centre, this former industrial building is one of the numerous examples of use of polychromatic brickwork to be found in the city. Purpose-built circa 1870 for the William Cook and Sons Edge toolmakers the building occupies the obtuse angle of the corner site of Elliot Street and Houldsworth Street. The building rises from a rusticated sandstone plinth which provides a flat base for the building as Houldsworth Street falls away in a westerly direction. Rising two stories with an attic the building forms an internal courtyard which is filled with a single storey. The building appears secure and to be largely wind/watertight, however numerous broken windows have allowed limited entry of wildlife and water.
Seven bays with a two bay attic gable front onto Elliot Street forming the east elevation. The gable is capped off, having originally had a chimney rising from the top. The corner is turned with a curve rather than angle with the main pedestrian entrance exactly on the corner atop two steps. A first floor window in the curve above the main door faces north-east. The north elevation onto Houldsworth Street is flat with 12 bays marching westwards. The roof above is slated with numerous rooflights on the pitches. The common red brickwork of the mass of the building's elevations is worn and the pointing in poor condition. The white brickwork arches around each window defining them. A similar device elevates the doorway's visual impact drawing the visitor to the main entrance. The first storey is slightly stepped back allowing a brick cornice to step out again to the eaves. The west elevation is a large blank brick wall fronting onto a car park with the first storey revealed above the blank brick wall with a gable ends at each end. The windows along the west elevation at first floor and attic level have a more detailed design of brickwork around each individual arched window. The south side of the building is a party wall.
This B-listed building according to the BAR website has been vacant since at least 1999 and lists the owners as the neighbouring company Smith & Rodger Limited.
street address: 93 Houldsworth Street, Glasgow, G3 8DZ
Latitude / Longitude: 55.862303,-4.278796 (sourced using Google Maps)
Site visit dates: 05 March 2013
Looking north along the east elvation with the four bayed gable and the three first storey bays extending the total number to seven (05/03/2013
East elevation window showing the contrast of the polychromatic brickwork with the white bricks highlighting the window and benath can be seen the sandstone sill. The lower level of brick can be seen to meet the rusticated sandstone plinth which just breaks ground along the east elevation (05/03/2013
The slated roof can be seen above, the toothed brick cornicing at the eaves and the writing on the wall of the original occupier's: William Cook & Sons (05/03/2013
Painted signage and the chipped and damaged sandstone sill of the first floor windows (05/03/2013
Partially damaged modern metal garage door on the east elevation of the garage which is clearly not in use (05/03/2013
Broken hasp and rusted redundant padlock (05/03/2013
East elevation gable attic windows, one is partially bricked up, the other has smashed glass as can be seen in many of the building's windows. Organic growth can be seen to have taken hold along the top of the first floor cornicing. The flattened gable top has been capped off. Originally a chimney rose to top the gable off (05/03/2013
Organic growth (05/03/2013
The contrasting brickwork and sandstone banding forming the sills (05/03/2013
The corner of Elliot Street and Houldsworth Street is turned with a curve rather than angle with the main pedestrian entry point here atop two steps (05/03/2013
Letterbox (05/03/2013
First floor window with the curve of the turn and cornicing stepping back and then out again (05/03/2013
Contrasting brickwork detail (05/03/2013
View down Houldsworth Street with the twelve bays marching westwards. The rusticated plinth reveals itself as the street falls away (05/03/2013
The final four bays of the north elevation and remains of where the former building which stood immediately to the west was sited (05/03/2013
North elevation first floor windows showing the two types of fenestration featuring twenty individual panes and six individual panes respectively (05/03/2013
Former home of saw manufacturers (05/03/2013
The twelve bays of the north elevation, with rusticated plinth and rooflights just visible on the slated pitch of the roof (05/03/2013
The west elevation with former party wall at lower level now forming a blank brick wall, with first floor arched windows above stepped back in the centre portion and on the gable end to the left (north) in the same plane as the brick wall below (05/03/2013)
The original chimney still rises from this west end gable, unlike the east end gable where the chimney has been taken down (05/03/2013)
Numerous smashed windows and the polychromatic detailing around the windows can be seen to be more complex than that found on the plainer north and east elevations (05/03/2013)
Smashed windows (05/03/2013)
One of the current tenants (05/03/2013)
Looking north and how the building steps in along the west elavation (05/03/2013)
The step in of the first floor (05/03/2013)
The eight bays of the west elevation step-in and the two bays facing south (05/03/2013)
The join of the second party wall at the south end of the west elevation and further organic growth (05/03/2013)