Alexander "Greek" Thompson's Kirk

Alexander Thomson was born at Balfron in Stirlingshire in 1817. He spent his working life as an architect in and around Glasgow until his death in 1875.
In the Victorian era Thomson created some of Scotland's most unique secular and ecclesiastical buildings. His structures are still instantly recognisable, blending archetypical Greek styling with Egyptian and other exotic themes.




Caledonia Road Church, Gorbals


Caledonia Road Church, Gorbals, was Alexander Thomson's first church in the city, built in 1857. It has an unconventional asymmetric layout which follows the edges of the surrounding roads. It is built in an unusual combination of styles with ancient Greek and provincial Italian elements placed side by side.
The tower of the church is completely original, following no historical precedents. The classical Greek style did not feature towers and it is unlikely that Thomson would have found any examples from antiquity to guide him in his design.
The depopulation of the Gorbals left the church without a congregation by 1962, after which it was purchased by Glasgow Corporation for a mere £3700 in 1963. The church was severely damaged by fire on the night of 30th October 1965. The arson attack took place shortly after consultants had estimated the cost of restoration of the empty building at around £90,000. The shell of the church still survives and is now floodlit at night to become one of Glasgow's architectural attractions.





The church & hall were built for a local congregation of the United Presbyterian Church, previously based at Wellington Place Academy, Commercial Road.

The church fronted Caledonia Road, flanked either side by tenements in Cathcart Road and Hospital Street, designed by Thomson as part of a new development beside Southside railway terminus. The banded masonry of the church tower was extended into the adjoining tenement blocks to give an eye catching horizontality to the completed design scheme.

At the very top level, right, the tower features some intricate carvings around the space that was intended for the clock which was never installed.