The Laurieston Bar, 58 Bridge Street And 2 And 4 Nelson Street, Glasgow, Glasgow

Entry Name: The Laurieston Bar, 58 Bridge Street And 2 And 4 Nelson Street

Listing Name: 58 Bridge Street and 2 and 4 Nelson Street, the Laurieston Bar

Listing Date: 29 April 2010

Category: C

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 400455

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB51537

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200400455

Location: Glasgow

County: Glasgow

Town: Glasgow

Electoral Ward: Govan

Traditional County: Lanarkshire

Tagged with: Architectural structure

Description

Comprehensive 1960s remodelling of earlier probably mid-late 19th century public house on corner site, now single storey flat-roofed. 7 bays to Bridge Street, 5 bays to Nelson Street, both elevations symmetrical with central 2-leaf timber boarded doors. Distinctive black and white exterior with narrow black tiled base course, deep bands of black and white 1960s-style tiling below and above fixed pane obscured-glass windows. Vertically set stained boarded timber fascia with lettering, THE LAURIESTON, to both street elevations. Shallow cream painted parapet above.

INTERIOR: rare near-intact 1960s scheme constructed around earlier island bar spanning both the public bar and the lounge. Bridge Street entrance leads to small off-sales section, public bar to left, lounge to right. Streamlined boarded timber island bar with Formica bar counter; pair of timber and Formica gantries with inset strip lighting.

Public bar: timber flooring, panelled timber ceiling. Bench-style seating with varnished timber band above. Narrow, oval fixed 2-tier Formica tables. Timber chairs and some bar stools probably dating to 1960s.

Lounge: bench-style seating with deep varnished timber band above incorporating small bell pushes for table service. Rare glazed divider screen on bar counter. Square orange/brown panels to ceiling. To rear, Formica-lined ladies and gents lavatories.

Statement of Interest

The Laurieston is a rare survival of a public house with a comprehensive near-intact (external and internal) 1960s decorative scheme. Within the public house building type it is a particularly unusual example. It forms a distinctive part of the streetscape and has a fine period interior.

The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map of 1892-7 shows a public house on this site and at some point the building was reduced from 2 storeys to a single storey, possibly around the time of the 1960s remodelling. A historic photograph inside the lounge bar shows the former public house with a traditional timber and etched glass exterior. It was extensively remodelled in the 1960s and, although some early fabric probably remains, it is not obvious. The off-sales section reached through the Bridge Street entrance is a particularly late example of this feature. The core of the original island bar counter is thought to remain beneath the remodelling. The 1960s scheme is comprehensive and very much of its time. From the distinctive black and white tiling on the exterior to the lettering used on the doors and entrances as well as the extensive use of Formica, the Laurieston is an excellent example of 1960s public house design of which very few examples are thought to remain today.

It is likely that the remodelling was inspired by the comprehensive development which was concurrently taking place in the Gorbals area as the old tenements were swept away and replaced with modern housing schemes.

Listed as part of the Public Houses Thematic Study 2007-08.

External Links

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