0:00:05 > 0:00:08Glasgow...my hometown.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I've lived here most of my life,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16but it still has the power to surprise me.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Wow, the scale of it.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22This is quite breathtaking.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Open a door, walk down the street,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30this is an incredible city.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33And one man did more than anyone else to transform this
0:00:33 > 0:00:37Victorian powerhouse into a new kind of metropolis.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Born 200 years ago, Alexander Thomson
0:00:42 > 0:00:46created a bold, monumental style that defined Glasgow's most
0:00:46 > 0:00:50ambitious age, and helped turn it into the Second City of the Empire.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Thomson designed every kind of building
0:00:55 > 0:00:58the booming industrial city demanded.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Tenements and churches.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Shops and galleries.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Grand terraces and suburban villas.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13In this film, I'm going to meet the people who live in and love
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Thomson's creations.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Every time you walk into a room,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19it strikes you anew how lovely it is.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25And the fans dedicated to saving his legacy.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26I got that out the skip,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and took it home on the back of a 59 bus.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I'm going to discover how a man who never left these shores
0:01:33 > 0:01:36fell in love with different worlds.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38If you look at a Bible of the period,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41you'll see a picture like this,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43with architecture as its star feature.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51And how his unique designs anticipated our own cityscape.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54He treated his own extraordinary style of architecture,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56rooted it in the past but yet something new.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01The name Charles Rennie Mackintosh is known around the world,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05but I believe that Alexander Thomson was perhaps an even
0:02:05 > 0:02:08greater visionary, he was more than just an architect,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12he was an artist, and his blazing imagination was fired by the past,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15embraced the present, and looked to the future.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Wow, this is going to be a treat.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Edinburgh...
0:02:37 > 0:02:40the self-styled Athens of the North.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44An Enlightenment city that rebuilt itself
0:02:44 > 0:02:46in the image of ancient Greece.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52And, overlooking everything, the National Monument.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58A copy of that ultimate icon of the classical world, the Parthenon.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Construction began in 1826.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11But only three years later, funds ran out, and the site was abandoned.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Edinburgh may have fallen out of love with the classical world,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23but, 40 miles to the west, it was a different story.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27The new powerhouse of Glasgow would take ancient Greek ideas and
0:03:27 > 0:03:32ideals and forge an architecture fit for a new industrial world.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Even before work had begun on the National Monument,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Glasgow had overtaken Edinburgh as the biggest city in Scotland.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Over the decades that followed, it exploded.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Its industrial pioneers and immigrant workforce creating
0:03:57 > 0:04:01a dynamic city that could boast some of the finest buildings
0:04:01 > 0:04:03anywhere in Britain.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12This is Great Western Terrace in the west end of Glasgow.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15It was completed in 1877,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18two years after the death of Alexander Thomson.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24But, to my mind, this final masterpiece is as impressive as
0:04:24 > 0:04:27anything you can find in Edinburgh's New Town
0:04:27 > 0:04:29or Bath's Regency crescents.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Colin McCluskey lives on Great Western Terrace.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42- Colin.- David.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44And he's showing me one of the homes which
0:04:44 > 0:04:48has been recently restored to match Thomson's original vision.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50This is quite breathtaking.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53God, the sheer scale of the interior.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56She's quite ravishing.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59You would never imagine, looking at the simplicity
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and the linear nature of outside,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04that this is the treasure trove that's about to be discovered.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Beautiful stuff.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Colin, who could afford to live here, back in the day?
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Tobacco magnets.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12JW MacGregor lived here first.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Blackie, the publisher, lived in the terrace.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And William Burrell moved in in 1902.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21What makes Thomson so special?
0:05:21 > 0:05:25I moved here about 26 years, 27 years ago.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27And I would never move.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31A lot of the people in the terrace, have been here longer than I have.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And would never move.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Once you live in the building, you become part of the building.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47With Great Western Terrace, Thomson managed to match
0:05:47 > 0:05:50the monumental symmetries of classical Athens with
0:05:50 > 0:05:54the ever-expanding ambitions of the Second City of the Empire.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58But the man who became known as "Greek" Thomson,
0:05:58 > 0:06:04began his career in a very different place, and a very different style.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11As industrial Glasgow boomed, its wealthier residents looked
0:06:11 > 0:06:14for a haven from the crowded streets and polluted air.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Thomson, who suffered from asthma, longed for an escape, too.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Sea air and salvation came down the Clyde in
0:06:28 > 0:06:32newly-fashionable villages, like Cove and Kilcreggan.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39And Thomson, now an up-and-coming architect,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43was happy to design houses in whatever style his clients wanted.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Including a clan chieftain's lair,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51at Craigrownie Castle.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56BELL RINGS
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I'm meeting its current owner, Delhi Onia.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02- Delhi.- David, hi, how are you? - Lovely to meet you, Delhi.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- Welcome, please, come in. - Thank you, thank you.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08There we go.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Right, David, this is the drawing room.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18It's certainly not what I expected from a Thomson interior.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Very different in style.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24So, Delhi, what's the history of this extraordinary building?
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Well, the house was built for John McElroy,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31who was a well-known Glasgow iron and steel and railway merchant.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35It was obviously, commissioned through Greek Thomson.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38McElroy and Thomson and their partners
0:07:38 > 0:07:40developed this whole area, Kilcreggan and Cove,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43which are like twin villages.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46As a speculative venture, building, basically,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49weekend and holiday homes for wealthy Glasgow
0:07:49 > 0:07:52merchants and wealthy Glasgow families.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54This was built as a weekend home? Good Lord.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56LAUGHTER
0:07:56 > 0:08:00You've got to be joking! It's a castle.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Maybe, if I can show you around a bit more,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04show you a some of the other rooms?
0:08:04 > 0:08:07- Please, yeah. - Let you see the different styles.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- This is the music room. - The music room!
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Delhi, this is a complete contrast to the drawing room
0:08:14 > 0:08:15- we've just been in.- Yeah.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- Chalk from cheese.- Yeah. - So what is it like as a family home?
0:08:19 > 0:08:22It's just a fantastic place to live.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25It looks kind of imposing and magnificent,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and it is, but there's a warmth and an intimacy about it that we've
0:08:28 > 0:08:31been able to share with other people, since we've been here,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33that we've really, really appreciated.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41When it was built in 1854,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Craigrownie was the height of architectural fashion.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Its romantic fantasy of turrets and battlements was repeated on
0:08:50 > 0:08:53an even grander scale at Balmoral.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57And dozens of other Scots' baronial piles up and down the land.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Thomson loved a monumental sense of scale.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09He loved rooting buildings in the landscape.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Craigrownie, behind me, which seems to grow out of the rock itself,
0:09:13 > 0:09:14is a prime example.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18But he had less time for misty, medieval nostalgia.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21No, he wanted to look back deeper in time to something more
0:09:21 > 0:09:25elemental, something that would connect him to the eternal itself.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Alexander Thomson's love affair with ancient worlds began early.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40One of 20 children, he was born in 1817,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44in a small cottage in the Stirlingshire village of Balfron.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51His staunchly Presbyterian father was book-keeper
0:09:51 > 0:09:55at the local cotton mill and oversaw his family's education.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01It was an upbringing steeped in the vivid language and imagery of
0:10:01 > 0:10:02the Old Testament.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Sandy Stoddart is one of the country's foremost sculptors.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18He understands just how profoundly the Bible moulded
0:10:18 > 0:10:21the imagination of Victorian prodigies, like Thomson.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25If you look at a Bible of the period,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28you will see that it's going to be peppered with engravings,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31the Holy Land, all the mud huts,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35tremendous things to terrify children. I was one of them.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38And, then, you find, well, a picture like this,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41with architecture as its star feature.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43This is Belshazzar's Feast by John Martin.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- Oh!- He is the king of the vast.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50And what we see here is an insistence on the power of
0:10:50 > 0:10:52the horizontal.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55The endless procedure into the distant horizon,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57the vanishing point,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01has a power to make one think of the pathos of the distance,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04the far away, not only geographically distant,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06but also distant in time.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Now, this is something that would have entered into the young
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Thomson's mind when he's looking at illustrations and knowing
0:11:12 > 0:11:14about this culture at the time.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Pathos was never far from Thomson's life.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30By the time he was a teenager, both his father and mother were dead.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38But his talents won him an apprenticeship at
0:11:38 > 0:11:41a Glasgow architectural firm.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Here he was enthralled by classical mouldings and architectural
0:11:44 > 0:11:47fragments, collected from abroad.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54The Bible, Babylon, Israel and Egypt, ancient ruins,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58all these things were bubbling away in Thomson's fervent imagination.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02And when he eventually realised those visions in stone,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05he created some of the most exotic and beautiful buildings
0:12:05 > 0:12:06ever seen in Britain.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Caledonia Road Church in the Gorbals,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21the dramatic ruin dominates the city's skyline.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24And a landmark of another kind, too.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Built in 1856, this is when Thomson became "Greek."
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Before the Caledonia Road Church, Thomson had designed
0:12:40 > 0:12:42in an eclectic mix of styles.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45But, now, in a new partnership with his brother George,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49he would begin his lifelong and very personal exploration of
0:12:49 > 0:12:51classical architecture.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Sally White, from the Alexander Thomson Society,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01knows and loves this building well.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02Sally...
0:13:04 > 0:13:07..in the 1970s, I spent ten years in the Gorbals,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11the Citizens Theatre, 150 yards from here, and this building,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15this tower, is emblazoned in my memory, it is so iconic.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17So, tell me about it.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Well, I think it is a stunning piece of architecture,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21even as a ruin, it is a stunning piece of architecture.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It was described by the American historian
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Henry-Russell Hitchcock as one of the finest,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30if not the finest, Classical Romantic church in Europe.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Was he unique in that period, of designing in this style?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Yes, I think he was,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40I think that many architects have used classical architecture
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and its principals and produced beautiful buildings, but Thomson
0:13:43 > 0:13:46didn't recreate them, he understood the language,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48he understood the complex geometries,
0:13:48 > 0:13:52he understood the mystical qualities of it and he then interpreted
0:13:52 > 0:13:54that in a very individual and unique way, so,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56I think that is difference.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Alexander Thomson was the last great architect of the Greek revival.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the first archaeological
0:14:10 > 0:14:15surveys of Greece inspired a new classical building style.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20In countries such as England, Germany and the United States,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Greek revival architecture became
0:14:23 > 0:14:27a statement of civic virtue, rationality and democracy.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36But in Scotland, there was another influence -
0:14:36 > 0:14:40the intense debates and upheavals of the Presbyterian movement.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Presbyterianism, in 19th-century Scotland,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47was the idea of the Old Testament over the New.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51The New Testament was thought to be irredeemably Romanised.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Whereas the Old Testament was more primitive, less corrupted.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Now, architecturally speaking, this meant Greek...
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Because Greek architecture is unto Western architecture as
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- the old Testament is unto Scripture.- The purer form....
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The purer, the originating form.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11And, of course, there's an extension here,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because having gone to the original Greek form, they even go further
0:15:15 > 0:15:19than that, Thomson actually goes as far as Egypt.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20As ancient Egypt.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22And, of course, that's Israel and Egypt, you see,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and the Presbyterians regard themselves as the new Israelites.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28That's why Thomson has this vast backward-looking skill.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Thomson was fascinated by the past.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37But he couldn't have predicted the future.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40An elder with the United Presbyterians,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43he worshipped at Caledonia Road Church until his death.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48But, a century later, the church fell into disuse,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50as the Gorbals were cleared.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Taken over by the council, it was allowed to fall into disrepair.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00In 1965, the empty building was torched by vandals.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Caledonia Road Church is a survivor of an earlier,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15perhaps greater period in Glasgow's history,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and its creator might have taken some consolation from the fact that,
0:16:18 > 0:16:24despite everything, this evocative ruin still stands, still speaks.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37At the Mitchell Library, there are other tantalising relics of
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Thomson's first great Greek-style building.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46I'm meeting architect Fiona Sinclair to take a look at them.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Oh, what's this?
0:16:48 > 0:16:50- Oh, these are lovely.- Aren't they?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54What we have here are some of the surviving drawings of
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Alexander Thomson's Caledonia Road Church.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Now, the first thing I notice about that is it's got no tower.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02It's remarkable, actually,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04I imagine that this was his initial attempt to design
0:17:04 > 0:17:07a church and then it's entirely possible that
0:17:07 > 0:17:10he felt that it required more of a landmark feature,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13a gateway from the south into the city.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- Almost like a beacon, in a sense. - Exactly, exactly.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Again, this is a beautiful drawing,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23which clearly shows he was working through a series of design ideas.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26That's shorter than that one, isn't it?
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Yes, it is far dumpier than as built.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30And quite different, on top.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Not quite as elegant, but still pretty stunning.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Still pretty stunning.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39And this lovely drawing, this is a working drawing, we are
0:17:39 > 0:17:43so lucky to have this, the tower is, actually, on the other side.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48So it is, he's moved it over. What are these there?
0:17:48 > 0:17:51- These are fabulous, these are little sketches.- Are they his doodles?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54- I think they are. - Thomson's doodles....
0:17:54 > 0:17:55Absolutely beautiful,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59this is what makes this drawing particularly important.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Done by the great man himself.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05What was his work practice like, Fiona, any idea?
0:18:05 > 0:18:09He wasn't greatly interested in running the business.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11He wasn't terribly punctual,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14apparently, which annoyed his clients.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15But once he did settle down,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17once he actually really began to concentrate,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21there was no-one more committed, no-one more committed to the ideal,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and no-one more committed to producing something that was
0:18:24 > 0:18:25as perfect as he could make it.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37The mid-1850s were a time of immense creativity for Thomson.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42But there was also a terrible heartbreak
0:18:42 > 0:18:46that makes his achievements seem all the more astonishing.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56In 1854, a waterborne cholera epidemic struck Glasgow.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59It eventually killed thousands of people,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02including four of Thomson's young children -
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Agnes, Jean, George and Alexander.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21But, somehow, Thomson kept going, kept creating - faith, family,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25friendships and work, always the work, to carry him through.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Out of tragedy came this triumph.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Holmwood House.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Thomson's finest villa.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Completed in 1858,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48this astonishing building still takes your breath away.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Designed for the wealthy Cathcart papermaker, James Couper,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57it was more than a home, it was a show home,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00built to entertain and impress clients.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Wow, this is going to be a treat.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Today, Holmwood is run by the National Trust for Scotland,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and volunteer Ian McGillivray is going to give me a tour.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- So, I'm taking you, David, into the parlour.- It's a beautiful room.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27It's the family room.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32The circular window, Thomson says in his little notes,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36is the ideal place for the lady to do her sewing,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38which is what ladies were supposed to do, of course.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39LAUGHTER
0:20:39 > 0:20:43But when children came, this was their favourite room.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47For, as you can see, a circular curtain track.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49And you can imagine how children would use that 360.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Almost like you're creating a little theatre to play in.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Exactly so, yes.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58But, Ian, this wasn't just a family home, was it?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00It was more than that....
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Thomson designed a house of two halves.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05It's a house for a family to grow up in and it's
0:21:05 > 0:21:10a house to entertain in, it's corporate entertaining in style.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13- Shall we go and have a look? - Yes, please.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15We'll just go round the corner.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16Like an Aladdin's cave.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Right, come away into the dining room, David,
0:21:22 > 0:21:26into a much taller, additional storeys...
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Now, this is very different.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And, behind you, the focus of the room.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41The big, white, marble altarpiece, in bits at the moment,
0:21:41 > 0:21:42but being recreated
0:21:42 > 0:21:46so that even a bowl of spuds would steam up like
0:21:46 > 0:21:48a sacrifice to the gods.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51From Greece, stirring up the Trojan Wars,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53in the frieze all around your head.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56You've got the light coming from above.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59And you've got the biggest sheets of plate glass in Europe,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02at the other side. So the room is filled with light.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- It's very theatrical, isn't it? - It is very theatrical.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09So, it's the theatre of war, the theatre of architecture,
0:22:09 > 0:22:11the theatre of food.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15So, let's come up the stairs.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19And you're coming into light, you're coming out of darkness into light.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22This, again, the drama of the house.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24So beautiful.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30And here we come into the drawing room,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- which is a superb room.- Wow.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- Even in its present state.- Wow.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Now, this was the second half of the entertainment suite.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45You'd be brought up after lunch, with your coffee and your liqueurs,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47and probably the signing of the contract.
0:22:47 > 0:22:53So, this was a very important room in the corporate entertainment game.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57And you can imagine the effect it would have on somebody coming up.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Well, he'd be sitting imbibing a beautiful, living work of art.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Of course, you would sign
0:23:03 > 0:23:06on the dotted line straightaway, wouldn't you?
0:23:09 > 0:23:12One of the incredible things about Holmwood House
0:23:12 > 0:23:13is that it's survived at all.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Like other Thomson buildings over the years, it's been altered,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21knocked about, neglected.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26That it still stands is thanks to a small band of enthusiasts,
0:23:26 > 0:23:31including architectural historian Professor Gavin Stamp,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35who, in 1991, began a campaign to save Holmwood.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Now, I'm highly critical of the civic administrations in this city,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42decade after decade, who let its architectural heritage
0:23:42 > 0:23:45go to ruin and disappear into the mists of time.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47How difficult a challenge was it?
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Well, it was difficult, because it was then occupied by
0:23:50 > 0:23:53an order of nuns, who were selling up.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57And a developer had an option on it and the plan was to cover
0:23:57 > 0:24:00the grounds with blocks of flats.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Its future was uncertain, so we felt that it ought to be
0:24:03 > 0:24:06rescued and ought to be in the hands of an organisation that
0:24:06 > 0:24:10could look after it, like the National Trust for Scotland.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12It's wonderful to come here now and see the restoration that's
0:24:12 > 0:24:14slowly going ahead.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Gavin, what is the particular genius of this building?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23This is the first picturesque Grecian villa, by that I mean that
0:24:23 > 0:24:29it's asymmetrical, it's a building to be seen from various angles.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34Before this, Grecian villas tended to be precisely symmetrical,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Thomson's asymmetrical villas
0:24:36 > 0:24:38you see down at Cove and Kilcreggan,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42they tend to be Italianate, or they're Gothic or they're baronial.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46But having found his language, the Greek...
0:24:46 > 0:24:48hence his nickname, Greek Thomson,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52used it in a quite new way and making this an asymmetrical
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Grecian villa, the first of its kind.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Holmwood House is a breakthrough building.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04A brilliant fusion of different styles.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Thomson broke down the old, rigid constraints of Greek revival
0:25:10 > 0:25:15architecture, and introduced a romantic freedom and honesty.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18He hides nothing, look at the building from the outside,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and you understand what's inside.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32Holmwood House is an astonishing, beautiful, radical one-off,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35and, of course, it was built for a wealthy client,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38but Thomson was no rich man's architect,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40he had democratic ambitions,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and a burning desire to give architectural dignity to everyone,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46no matter what their station.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Industrial Glasgow was synonymous with tenements.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58A kind of urban housing practically unknown in England,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02but familiar in Berlin, Barcelona, and New York.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And Thomson designed tenements, too.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Built in 1857, in what were then green fields along
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Paisley Road West, Walmer Crescent is a hidden gem.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24It's a tenement. But a tenement on a grand, even heroic, scale.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Thomson devoted as much attention to tenements like
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Walmer Crescent as he did to his more exclusive villas and terraces.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37In a brilliant architectural illusion,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40he built a gentle curve into the bold, blocky facade.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Brenda Lillicrap lives on Walmer Crescent,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51and has researched the history of this pioneering building.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Brenda, what attracted people here in the first place?
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Cos, literally, you were out in the sticks,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58in the countryside, you were not in the heart of the city.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59You were...
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I think it must have been the adverts that were run
0:27:02 > 0:27:04in the Glasgow Herald at the time.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07So there's copies of two typical ones there,
0:27:07 > 0:27:08which really tout the place.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10"To let with immediate entry,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13"several houses with six to nine apartments,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16"each beautifully situated facing the south and commanding
0:27:16 > 0:27:19"an extensive view of the country around, are fitted
0:27:19 > 0:27:21"with every convenience for a genteel family.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23"The situation is dry and airy."
0:27:23 > 0:27:29These were big, well-appointed residences when they were built,
0:27:29 > 0:27:30although they were flats.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35They had internal toilets, which was very unusual at the time.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38You say they're very sizeable apartments.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Do they have servants' quarters?
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Well, they didn't have servants' quarters.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45There was only, in the upper flats, just an alcove in the kitchen,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49but in the first census after the building was occupied,
0:27:49 > 0:27:54so 1861, practically every household had servants.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57The big flats, the ground floor and basement,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01would typically have three servants and the upper flats have one
0:28:01 > 0:28:06or two, and you could have 12 people living in one of the big flats
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and eight, nine, ten living in one of the upper flats.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12They were much more crowded than we are now,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16even though they were obviously doing quite well.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23While the residents of an upmarket tenement like Walmer Crescent
0:28:23 > 0:28:27shared relatively spacious, healthy conditions,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31it was a different experience for the very poorest.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37The population of Glasgow quadrupled between 1800 and 1850.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Its overcrowded slums became notorious as the worst in Europe.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52"I have seen wretchedness in some of its worst phases,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54"both here and upon the continent,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56"but until I visited the wynds of Glasgow,
0:28:56 > 0:29:01"I did not believe that so much crime, misery and disease
0:29:01 > 0:29:03"could exist in any civilised country.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07"In the lower lodging houses, 10, 12, sometimes 20 persons
0:29:07 > 0:29:12"of both sexes, all ages and various degrees of nakedness,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16"sleep indiscriminately huddled together upon the floor.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20"These dwellings are usually so damp, filthy and ruinous
0:29:20 > 0:29:24"that no-one could wish to keep his horse in one of them."
0:29:28 > 0:29:30Thomson was passionate about Glasgow
0:29:30 > 0:29:33and passionate about improving the living conditions of its people.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39He wanted to build a new, healthier kind of urban landscape.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45And his inspiration came from an unlikely place.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Argyll Arcade in the heart of Glasgow -
0:29:53 > 0:29:58built in 1827 by Thomson's former boss, John Baird,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02it was one of the first covered shopping malls in Europe.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07This glittering playground for the wealthy might have given Thomson
0:30:07 > 0:30:12the idea for a radical new housing scheme for the poor.
0:30:13 > 0:30:18Thomson's plan replicated Argyle Arcade on a huge scale,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22with glass and iron canopies spanning the gap between tenements.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Beneath this sheltering sky,
0:30:25 > 0:30:29ordinary people would be able to live and breathe.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33It was a revolutionary humane vision,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37but like most humane visions, it came to nothing.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43There's a tragic irony to Thomson's career.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Of the many designs that this great architect did realise,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49many have been lost forever.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58His tenement on Queens Park Terrace was bulldozed as recently as 1981.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Cowcaddens Cross disappeared a decade earlier.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06His churches have suffered even worse.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11Chalmers Free Church in the Gorbals was turned into a factory
0:31:11 > 0:31:15before being gutted by fire and then levelled in 1971.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21And his extraordinary Queens Park Presbyterian Church
0:31:21 > 0:31:26was destroyed by Luftwaffe incendiary bombs in 1943.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32But there was one survivor.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44St Vincent Street Church in the heart of Glasgow city centre.
0:31:45 > 0:31:51Built in 1859, this massive monolith is jaw-droppingly impressive
0:31:51 > 0:31:53on the outside.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58And, inside, the surprises just keep on coming.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18'Evan Macdonald is an elder in the Free Church congregation,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20'who worship here.'
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Evan, this is truly astounding.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26I guess it's the word of God made manifest in stone and iron and wood.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29- Well, Thomson, of course, was a man of faith.- I know he was.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32And his faith influenced his architecture, I think.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36Thomson took some references from Solomon's temple
0:32:36 > 0:32:39in the design of this building here.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42His inspiration was the temple of Solomon.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Yes, but more than that, there's Egyptian, Assyrian
0:32:47 > 0:32:50and Classical influences
0:32:50 > 0:32:53so it's really an eclectic style, in many respects.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57How does it feel to work in here and be an elder in this congregation?
0:32:57 > 0:33:02Well, it's amazing, really, because this particular space,
0:33:02 > 0:33:07although it's large, it's warm, it's welcoming,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10and for singing, it's a good space.
0:33:10 > 0:33:16Evan, I know as a performing artist that churches of any kind
0:33:16 > 0:33:17are always the best for acoustics
0:33:17 > 0:33:19cos they were built for the human voice.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21- Exactly.- When they were built, there was no amplification.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22That's right, yes, exactly.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25It just had to be the resonance of the human voice
0:33:25 > 0:33:27and it's beautiful to play in places like this.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31Hoy-hoy-hoy! Ho-ho-ho!
0:33:33 > 0:33:36I mean, that's beautiful. That's an actor's dream.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39CONGREGATION SINGS A HYMN
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Twice a day on Sundays and twice during the week,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51the church opens its doors to people from all over the city -
0:33:51 > 0:33:55all over the world, in fact - to lift their voices in praise.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07I know this place has an effect on me,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11but what do churchgoers make of Thomson's masterpiece?
0:34:13 > 0:34:18I think as soon as you walk in, it just takes your breath away.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20It's a magnificent building.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23The first time I saw it, I just...
0:34:23 > 0:34:27I was thrilled and I was amazed at how beautiful it is.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31It's just very sort of worshipful, in a way, to be worshipping God,
0:34:31 > 0:34:35creator of beauty, in a beautiful building like this.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Alexander Thomson was a dreamy visionary,
0:34:43 > 0:34:48a deep-thinking intellectual, a devout man of religion.
0:34:49 > 0:34:55But there was another side to Glasgow's master builder.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Roger Guthrie first began salvaging
0:35:02 > 0:35:05bits of Thomson buildings four to five years ago.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Today, he's collected a treasure trove of artefacts
0:35:12 > 0:35:14that show how the architect was at the cutting edge
0:35:14 > 0:35:17of engineering and technology.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Roger, what are these pieces of substantial glass?
0:35:24 > 0:35:28Plate glass, quarter of an inch thick.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31A new material, it starts off being used more frequently
0:35:31 > 0:35:33in the 1830s, so in the 1850s,
0:35:33 > 0:35:39Thomson's grasping these modern materials with great enthusiasm
0:35:39 > 0:35:41and using large sheets of glass.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44This is from an office building, it's etched glass,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46and the second piece of glass
0:35:46 > 0:35:49is from a very nice villa in Pollokshields.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52I got that out the skip when they were refurbishing the building.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56I took it home in the back of a 59 bus...
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- In the dark of night when no-one saw you?- No, no!
0:35:59 > 0:36:02But Thomson's interesting because at St Vincent Street Church,
0:36:02 > 0:36:07he uses plate glass like this and it's directly glazed
0:36:07 > 0:36:12into the stone so there's no frames taking away from the light.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18'Another industrial material which Thomson used enthusiastically
0:36:18 > 0:36:23'was that ultimate Victorian innovation - decorative cast iron.'
0:36:24 > 0:36:29What's the history of these pieces? That's extraordinary.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34That's the end post for the adjoining piece of railing.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38It's from the same building that the piece of etched glass came from
0:36:38 > 0:36:40and it's a standard design
0:36:40 > 0:36:43which Thomson designs very, very successfully.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44He uses it in his own office,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48and lots of other Glasgow architects used the same design.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53But things like that were private patterns and only Thomson could use.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57It's really quite a gorgeous wee bit of iron
0:36:57 > 0:37:02and that would fit very well in a Gaudi house in Barcelona.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05It wouldn't be out of place at all.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10While all this beautiful metalwork was designed to be on show,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Thomson also used ground-breaking new iron technology
0:37:14 > 0:37:17within the structure of his buildings.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21So, David, this is a Robert McConnell compound beam,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24invented in 1856.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28That's just like a giant version of my Meccano set I had as a kid.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33Yeah, except this could span, say, 12-15 metres.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35You've got a visionary architect
0:37:35 > 0:37:39who's using the contemporary industrial techniques
0:37:39 > 0:37:41- to realise his vision.- Yes.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45So, in places like St Vincent Street Church,
0:37:45 > 0:37:46there is one McConnell compound beam
0:37:46 > 0:37:50and it carries the back gallery of the church,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53which has got absolute clear span
0:37:53 > 0:37:57with no columns, so he's quite a magician.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05What comes across in talking to enthusiasts like Roger
0:38:05 > 0:38:08is that Thomson was plugged into a city that was at the forefront
0:38:08 > 0:38:10of technological innovation.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13He didn't hanker after a pre-industrial past.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17He wanted to build on the legacy of the ancient Greeks
0:38:17 > 0:38:20and create his own very personal response
0:38:20 > 0:38:24to the tumult and excitement of the time.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36These are Thomson's Grecian Chambers on Sauchiehall Street.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Built to house shops and offices,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45today they're the home of the Centre For Contemporary Arts.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50But they're also a time capsule,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54containing clues about Victorian Glasgow's explosive growth.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57Walk through to the inner courtyard
0:38:57 > 0:39:02and you discover an older building hidden behind Thomson's facade.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Architect Karen Pickering knows
0:39:07 > 0:39:10this Russian doll of a structure inside-out.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Karen, we have this extraordinary situation
0:39:13 > 0:39:15which is a very, very unique.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18We have a building inside a building.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22One half, the outer half, is Thomson,
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and the inside isn't.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Yes, there's a really interesting story about the site.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31So, the original building on the site was this villa,
0:39:31 > 0:39:34and this was probably built in about 1825.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36So imagine this is your front door,
0:39:36 > 0:39:40and your garden slopes down a nice, south-facing garden.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Yes, because this must have been ground level.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44- This is the front door of the villa. - Yes.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47We are now at least 1.5 storeys up, aren't we?
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Can you explain how that came about?
0:39:49 > 0:39:53So Sauchiehall Street at that time was beautiful, big villas
0:39:53 > 0:39:55set within gardens.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56It was very suburban.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Then, obviously, industrialisation happened,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01and the city centre spread west.
0:40:01 > 0:40:07And 1865 is when Greek Thomson appeared with the Grecian Chambers.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10So what was Thomson's first task when he came here?
0:40:10 > 0:40:12He built the Grecian Chambers,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17but then what he did was excavated underneath the villa.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21So the villa is actually just sitting on stilts
0:40:21 > 0:40:23surrounded by other buildings.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30Propped up by Thomson's cast-iron columns,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33the CCA has room for everything from art exhibitions...
0:40:35 > 0:40:37..to musical performances.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44But while the Grecian Chambers are a hive of activity,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47arguably the most spectacular of his commercial buildings
0:40:47 > 0:40:49lies empty these days.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57Built in 1873, the grid-like framework of the Egyptian Halls
0:40:57 > 0:41:00contained everything from shops, to lecture rooms,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02to exhibition spaces.
0:41:05 > 0:41:10Today, the exotic building on Union Street is surrounded by scaffolding,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14with only a printed plastic shroud hinting at what lies beneath.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22But the fact that the Egyptian Halls have been vacated and stripped out
0:41:22 > 0:41:26gives you a rare glimpse of the stone and iron skeleton
0:41:26 > 0:41:27beneath Thomson's masterpiece.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Mark Baines is an architect, lecturer
0:41:32 > 0:41:35and chair of the Alexander Thomson Society.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Mark, what is this fairly distressed interior?
0:41:38 > 0:41:42Tell us about Thomson's way of working and his methods.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47This tells us about his elemental approach to architecture.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53It is about simplicity from which derives a great deal of complexity.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58Basically, it is about columns and lintels.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Not arches, as he used in the early part of his career.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05- Reminds me very much of Stonehenge. - It is.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09He described that as the most sophisticated piece of...
0:42:09 > 0:42:13let's call it architectural engineering, that there was,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15and that was centuries ago.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19This is more stable, ultimately, than that.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Why is that stronger than this? I mean, I have always thought...
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Because it is made up of three elements,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30as opposed to a number of different and specially shaped elements.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32But surely once those different and specially shaped pieces
0:42:32 > 0:42:34are all put together,
0:42:34 > 0:42:36they are conceivably just as strong as...
0:42:36 > 0:42:40They spread the load this way, right?
0:42:40 > 0:42:42So they have got to be buttressed.
0:42:42 > 0:42:47Whereas the load in the lintels, in the beam, goes straight down.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50And the whole thing relies on the keystone.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52So what happens if you remove the keystone?
0:42:52 > 0:42:56- Do you want me to show you? - Yes, please.- OK. Here we go.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05The strength of Thomson's column-and-lintel framework
0:43:05 > 0:43:10has enabled this incredible building to weather years of neglect.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13But today, its future is in doubt.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20John Addison is a conservationist and engineer
0:43:20 > 0:43:24involved in the attempt to bring the Egyptian Halls back to life.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27My history goes back about 18 years,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30when I first got involved in this fantastic place.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35And in that time, we have watched it deteriorate.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Not to the extent that it is falling down, or anything like that.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42It just simply has degraded due to the amount of water
0:43:42 > 0:43:44that got into it over the years.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48How great a loss would it be to the city if this disappeared,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50this building?
0:43:50 > 0:43:52It would be a tragedy to lose the thing.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57Because this glorious piece of Thomson architecture,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01it reflects a great architect in a great city.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03He was a technologist.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07He was a thinker, he was a philosopher. Indeed, a poet.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12This place represents him all the way through space and time.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15John, do you think there is a viable future for this building?
0:44:15 > 0:44:16There are lots of futures.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18I think one of the key things is to bring everybody together
0:44:18 > 0:44:20in Glasgow and make it work.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25You know, for almost 150 years,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28this building has stood in the heart of Glasgow,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31and for all of those years, think of the thousands of people that
0:44:31 > 0:44:34came here to work and produce and to learn.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38And all that are left now are the ghosts and the whispers
0:44:38 > 0:44:41of bygone days and a pile of rubble.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44But if this building is ever lost to Glasgow, it would be a shame.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46This is a vital part of
0:44:46 > 0:44:49the industrial architectural heritage of this city.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53But thankfully, there are a small group of hard-working people
0:44:53 > 0:44:56determined to keep Thomson's legacy alive.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11In 1861, Thomson moved his family to Moray Place,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15a beautiful Greek-inspired terrace on Glasgow's Southside
0:45:15 > 0:45:17that he designed himself.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22KNOCK ON DOOR
0:45:23 > 0:45:25- Hello, David.- Hello, Andrew.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28I'm meeting Andrew Greg, who lives at number one,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31to find out how he's been restoring the architect's former home.
0:45:31 > 0:45:37So, this is another Greek Thomson beaut.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40- So, how was it when you moved in? - All covered in paint.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44If you think, there is 150 years of other varnishes and paints
0:45:44 > 0:45:47and different fashions of interior decoration.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48Layers and layers of wallpaper.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51So one of the first things I was interested in finding out
0:45:51 > 0:45:55is whether there were any remains of the original decoration,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57cos we know this was Thomson's own house,
0:45:57 > 0:45:59so it was very interesting to find out
0:45:59 > 0:46:02whether there was anything left from his time.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03What did you uncover?
0:46:03 > 0:46:08So we started to peel the wallpaper off and found these friezes
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and the original paintwork, the original colours.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15So almost everything you see now is as it was in
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Alexander Thomson's time.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21- And is this ironwork original, Andrew?- Yes, it is.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24It was all painted white again,
0:46:24 > 0:46:28and some poor man had to come and strip it with chemicals
0:46:28 > 0:46:29and then by hand.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33He said it was one of the worst jobs of his life.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35- But it was worth it, because... - It was well worth it.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38You can see the detail, and they're beautiful now.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41Oh, what a beautiful door through there, Andrew.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45Another example in the dining room of Thomson's beautiful woodwork.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49He chose the wood very carefully to be free of knots
0:46:49 > 0:46:52and to have nice grain and a natural colour,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55which is what really was important to him in his houses.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Now, you have uncovered a little patch on the wall there.
0:46:58 > 0:46:59What is that?
0:46:59 > 0:47:03Well, above, there is a tiny bit of the original decoration
0:47:03 > 0:47:04of the dining room.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09So I did get a professional painting restorer
0:47:09 > 0:47:12to uncover that little fragment, that was very expensive,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16but it shows, at least, the original colour scheme of this room.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18But it does give you a lovely idea of what it was like
0:47:18 > 0:47:21when Thomson and his family all lived here.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23It clearly wasn't a show home.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26It wasn't somewhere where he was showing off richness of decorations.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28An ordinary, middle-class house.
0:47:32 > 0:47:37Number one Moray Place is different from so many of Thomson's buildings.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41It is surprisingly modest, restrained,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43and, for me, it is especially moving
0:47:43 > 0:47:45that it is being so lovingly restored,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48because this is where Thomson ended his days.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02In the winter of 1874 to '75,
0:48:02 > 0:48:07the asthma that had plagued Thomson all his life grew steadily worse.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11He had made vague plans to visit Italy
0:48:11 > 0:48:14to try and improve his health,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17but realised now that he had left it too late.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24He was never to make that foreign trip.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27On 22 March 1875,
0:48:27 > 0:48:32Alexander Thomson died, here in his home in Moray Place.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35He was 57 years old.
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Thomson left behind an astonishing collection of buildings.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Unique one-offs which challenged the conventions
0:48:57 > 0:48:59of so much Victorian architecture.
0:49:02 > 0:49:07But he also left behind intriguing plans and sketches
0:49:07 > 0:49:09for buildings he never got to realise.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Fiona, I believe this is one of Thomson's last drawings. Am I right?
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Yes. He was working on this drawing something like two days
0:49:20 > 0:49:22before his death.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26In fact, his biographer, Thomas Gildard,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29rather dramatically referred to him having been working on this
0:49:29 > 0:49:31when the pencil fell from his hand.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34- How dramatic. But what a way to go. - Very dramatic.- Yes.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36And what was it for? Where was it for?
0:49:36 > 0:49:38The thinking is, it was a competition entry
0:49:38 > 0:49:41for Annan Town Hall.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44- Oh, wow, what is this? - Oh, this is lovely.- Isn't it?
0:49:44 > 0:49:46I think the thinking is that
0:49:46 > 0:49:49this is a combined church and manse at Balfron.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- Where he came from. - Where he was born.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55And he was, of course, a devout Presbyterian,
0:49:55 > 0:49:58he was devoutly religious, very moral, very spiritual.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01And this is kind of an example of
0:50:01 > 0:50:04his continuing commitment to the church.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06- Oh!- This is lovely.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10This is an absolutely remarkable, unbuilt...
0:50:10 > 0:50:12Yes, but you could imagine coming across it,
0:50:12 > 0:50:14riding through the deserts of north Africa
0:50:14 > 0:50:17and suddenly in the heat haze, in the distance,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20this extraordinary, beautiful, captivating building
0:50:20 > 0:50:22appears like a mirage before you.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26So this was his proposed design for the Albert Memorial in London?
0:50:26 > 0:50:28That is the conclusion that has been drawn.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30It is far more sizeable than
0:50:30 > 0:50:32the final Gothic shrine to the Prince Consort
0:50:32 > 0:50:34that was designed by George Gilbert Scott,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37who, of course, ultimately secured the commission.
0:50:38 > 0:50:44Tell me, Thomson suffered from being from the provinces, didn't he?
0:50:44 > 0:50:45He was slightly looked down upon.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47I think so.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52In addition to which he railed against the Gothic style,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56which was the popular style of the period, particularly in England.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59And I think that made him deeply unfashionable.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02MUSIC: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Glasgow University on Gilmour Hill,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10rising high over the city skyline
0:51:10 > 0:51:14that represents the triumph of the Gothic over the Greek.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20It was built by that most fashionable of London architects,
0:51:20 > 0:51:22George Gilbert Scott.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24And Thomson hated it.
0:51:24 > 0:51:29He said its mock medievalism made it a laughing stock.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31But who was listening?
0:51:31 > 0:51:35By the time the university was completed, Thomson was dead.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40And it seemed as if his vision was dead, too.
0:51:40 > 0:51:41He had a few disciples.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45But the truth was that Gothic, and not Greek, was the fashion.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49And for the next few decades, medievalism would rule.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52But perhaps, just perhaps,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56it might be Thomson's vision that ultimately endured.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02A generation after Thomson, a group of international architects,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05including Frank Lloyd Wright in America,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Mies van der Rohe in Germany
0:52:07 > 0:52:09and Le Corbusier in France
0:52:09 > 0:52:13began to think about new ways of designing and building
0:52:13 > 0:52:16that chimed with his elemental philosophy.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24I think Thomson recognised the emergence of what I would call
0:52:24 > 0:52:25a modern architecture.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29Not modernism, because I hate that word,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31but a modern architecture.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35Freethinking, using classical principles,
0:52:35 > 0:52:40but not being a slave to the aesthetics.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44And he's using and adapting the language,
0:52:44 > 0:52:47the architectural language of his day.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49That is the magic of the man.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52That is why I admire him.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57There is an argument that Thomson anticipated certain aspects
0:52:57 > 0:52:59of 20th-century architecture.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01He is aware that his own time
0:53:01 > 0:53:04hadn't produced an identifiable style.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07You find him saying "castaway archaeology"
0:53:07 > 0:53:10and, "Let's not be dependent on the past."
0:53:10 > 0:53:13So he created his own extraordinary style of architecture
0:53:13 > 0:53:16rooted in the past, but yet, something new.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26There is one last Thomson building I want to visit.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29A building which I think perfectly represents
0:53:29 > 0:53:32that radical fusion of the old and the new.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40At first sight, this looks like a big detached villa.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42It has Thomson's stamp all over it.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46The shallow pitch roof, geometric carvings,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49and, of course, not an arch in sight.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51But come with me for a second.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04It's a mirror image of the other side.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08But this is, in fact, a suburban semidetached.
0:54:08 > 0:54:09Now, what Thomson did brilliantly
0:54:09 > 0:54:13was to give each house its own separate entrance,
0:54:13 > 0:54:15with the back of each home
0:54:15 > 0:54:17looking like an organic part of the other.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24It is not an optical illusion -
0:54:24 > 0:54:26it's magic.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33- David.- Evelyn, hello. - Welcome.- Lovely to meet you.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Thank you for agreeing to show me around.
0:54:36 > 0:54:42'Dr Evelyn Silber owns one half of this inspired building in Langside,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45'and she has kindly offered to show me around.'
0:54:45 > 0:54:47- Lead on.- Right, come on through.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52Oh... Wow.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56The interiors are just as beautiful and extraordinary as the exteriors.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Yep, he really liked doing his decoration
0:55:00 > 0:55:04and echoing some of the things that are outside inside as well.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09So, Evelyn, for you, what is so special about this house?
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Well, I fell for it the first time I walked through the door.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15The scale of the rooms is just wonderful,
0:55:15 > 0:55:19and the sense of craftsmanship
0:55:19 > 0:55:23and the colour and the way all those things interact.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25You are always aware when you wake up in the morning,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28you live in this really beautiful building,
0:55:28 > 0:55:29and every time you walk into a room,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32it strikes you just how lovely it is.
0:55:33 > 0:55:34You have whetted my appetite.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39- You're going to show me the rest of the house?- Yes, let's get upstairs.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43- So, here we are.- Oh! THEY CHUCKLE
0:55:43 > 0:55:44Beautiful!
0:55:45 > 0:55:47This is quite, quite breathtaking.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51- Stunning. This is your living room! - Yeah.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- Look at the windows. - It is amazing, isn't it?
0:55:54 > 0:55:59180 degrees, windows right the way round.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03And that, in a way, makes me think of his sort of protomodernity,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06because a modern house, a lot of people would want
0:56:06 > 0:56:09in their reception rooms an enormous amount of light.
0:56:09 > 0:56:14And yet here he is in 1855, 1856, doing the same thing
0:56:14 > 0:56:17with a whole full length of the wall.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20- He was a genius ahead of his time, wasn't he?- Yeah.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22- He was a true visionary.- Absolutely.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32Alexander "Greek" Thomson's nickname was a misnomer.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34He was equally "Egyptian" Thomson,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37"Assyrian" Thomson, "Indian" Thomson.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Definitely "Modern" Thomson.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48In fact, he was hard to put in a box,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50impossible to pin down and categorise.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56But his work anticipated much of the architecture
0:56:56 > 0:56:58that surrounds us today.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04And this inspirational, intensely creative and original man
0:57:04 > 0:57:07left behind another more personal legacy.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13A few years after Thomson's death,
0:57:13 > 0:57:17his friends met to discuss how best to celebrate his achievements.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20As a tribute to a man who had never been abroad,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23they decided to set up a travel scholarship
0:57:23 > 0:57:26for young artists and architects.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30And one of the first to win that award
0:57:30 > 0:57:33was a rising young star from the East End of Glasgow,
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38Thomson and Mackintosh -
0:57:38 > 0:57:42two great international architects from a great international city
0:57:42 > 0:57:46that has never embraced or supported its native genius.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56He is hugely important, nationally and internationally.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01I think Thomson ranks amongst the greatest.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04He's a towering figure.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07Great mind, as well as being a highly original architect.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09I'd put him top.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13He was a profound thinker, a great dreamer.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15He had this remarkable capacity
0:58:15 > 0:58:18for looking beyond the earthly, the worldly.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24You've got to acknowledge that he is one of the greats.