Description

Dated 1924. 2-storey, 9-bay gabled red brick warehouse with slightly lower, 3-bay forward-facing gabled section adjoining to S. Red brick (probably on steel or iron frame) with some red sandstone dressings. Base course; ground floor red sandstone cill course, continuing as string course on smaller building; upper floor slightly corbelled-out; brick eaves course. 9 bays to main part of building divided by plain brick pilasters, corbelled out at upper floor; tall, segmental-arched windows to ground; small segmental-arched windows to upper floor with projecting sandstone eaves; corbelled brick skewputts.

FURTHER DETAILS: principal elevation to E, facing road: 2-leaf timber-boarded entrance door across two left-hand bays; 6 ground floor windows to central bays; upper floor windows in alternate bays. Similar fenestration to W (facing river). 3-bay gable to N with tall windows at ground and oculus with raised margin to gable apex. 3-bay gable to E elevation of lower block: later entrance doors in central segmental-arched architrave with polychrome voussoirs and large, prominent keystone all within shallow rectangular recess; oculus window with raised tabbed margin above to gable apex; terracotta panels flanking entrance to each side inscribed 'G.C.O.' and '1924'; slightly lower rectangular recesses to outer bays with 2 small windows to each side breaking through string course. 4 pilastered bays to S elevation with segmental-arched windows.

Predominantly metal-framed fixed lights; tilting hopper windows to upper floor. Ashlar-coped skews. Welsh slate roof. 3 iron vents with conical tops to roof ridge; 2 vents to lower building no longer have conical tops.

Statement of Interest

A fine and nicely-detailed warehouse occupying a prominent position beside the River Cart on Abercorn Street, between Abercorn Bridge and Niddry Street Bridge. Both the brickwork and proportions of the building are very good, and the use of shallow pilasters and arched windows enlivens the façade without making it appear fussy. The entrance doors to the main part of the building are stencilled with lettering reading 'Machine Tool Merchants. C & G. Oldfield Ltd'. The lower building probably contained office accommodation, and the G.C.O. initials by its entrance evidently stand for C & G Oldfield. This area of Paisley was once very heavily industrialised, and this warehouse is one of an increasingly small number of good surviving industrial buildings in the locality.

The southern section of Abercorn Street was formerly called West Croft Street.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77777747

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

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)