Description

James Taylor Thomson, 1930-34. Single storey and basement 10-bay T-plan former gymnasium block for Possil School, school now demolished. Red brick with contrasting slightly advanced ashlar end bays, base course, cill course, top and bottom of parapet. Recessed openings. Flat roof.

W (STREET) ELEVATION: symmetrical, 10-bay. Central canted projecting flagpole holder at parapet.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 9-bay, with central 3-bay projecting flat-roofed section with central entrance with slightly advanced doorpiece breaking parapet.

Predominantly 6-pane timber windows with upper section inward opening, some now boarded up.

INTERIOR: entrance hallway leads to 2 large gymnasiums with timber floors.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: stepped brick boundary wall with gabled ashlar coping to N, S, W and E, but most complete to W and S. Some sections with railings. To W, pair of brick slender square gatepiers with flat ashlar caps. To S, 2 pairs of brick gatepiers, those to left tall, square with flat ashlar caps, those to right shorter version with entrance now infilled with brick.

Statement of Interest

A striking piece of thirties architecture with contrasting red brick and grey sandstone. It is the sole remaining structure of Possil School which originally consisted of a very large open corrider plan school constructed in a splayed U-plan. The gymnasium block was situated between the splayed wings. The school was converted to housing and the whole site was listed at category C(S) in 1992. Demolition of the school, due to severe structural problems, has taken place (2004) and new housing is being built on its site.

The gymnasium block and boundary walls contribute positively to the streetscape in Balmore Road and form an important part of Possilpark's social history.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56634464

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2