Alexander's School, at 94 Duke Street, Glasgow, was designed by John Burnet and built in 1858 at a cost of £6000[1] for James Alexander, the proprietor of the cotton mill next door - itself an innovative 1849 fire-proof construction - to educate local children. It was known as "Alexander's Endowed School".
Alexander's School | |
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Location | |
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Duke Street, Glasgow, |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Former_Alexanders_Public_School_%28geograph_1663146%29.jpg/220px-Former_Alexanders_Public_School_%28geograph_1663146%29.jpg)
It is built in an impressive Italianate style, with the heads of Homer, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Michelangelo and Milton carved high on the front wall by John Crawford.[2] The site is close to where the University of Glasgow stood in the 19th century, and was opposite Duke Street Women's Prison.
Following the Education (Scotland) Act 1872, it became a state school known as the Ladywell School - the district has a well long associated with Our Lady - and in the 1960s became an Annexe to St Mungo's Academy. This was removed in 1977 to Crownpoint Road and the building housed a special needs school.
The building was protected as a category B listed building in 1970, and this was upgraded to category A in 1998.[3]
In 1996 it was taken over by the East End Partnership, a local agency dedicated to urban regeneration. This commissioned extensive renovation in 2000 to form The Ladywell Business Centre, housing small businesses.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Basic Site Details:Alexander's School". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "John Crawford (1830-61)". Glasgow - City of Sculpture. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "94 Duke Street St Mungo's RC School Annexe including Gatepiers (formerly Alexander's School) (Category A Listed Building) (LB33827)". Retrieved 20 March 2019.