British Linen Bank

Glasgow, Scotland

Client - Glasgow Preservation Trust

Partnership to restore the British Linen Bank and bring it back to its original use

The former British Linen Bank in Glasgow is a Category A-listed tenement block built in 1900 and retaining significant Art Nouveau stone carvings and iron work. A century ago, the building would have been surrounded by similar structures, but a series of clearances in the 1960s and 1970s relocated residents to newly built estates across the city and demolished most of the tenement blocks.

The British Linen Bank escaped demolition but had been empty since its last resident moved out in the 1980s and the building had fallen into dereliction. Now a partnership between the Southside Housing Association (SHA) and the Glasgow Building Trust has restored the building to its original usage, with commercial space on the ground floor with six flats above.

Formed in 1971 and among the oldest community-based housing associations in Scotland, SHA focuses on providing and managing affordable, quality rented accommodation and commercial space in Glasgow, and the British Linen Bank building has joined the SHA’s growing portfolio.

Back in 2009, the AHF provided grant funding for an Options Appraisal for the British Linen Bank. This established the fundamental viability of restoring this Glasgow icon to its original usage. More recently, in 2015, an AHF Project Development Grant enabled the SHA to develop design plans for the renovation of the building that combined sensitive restoration of period detail with high-quality spaces that reflect modern living preferences. Through these efforts, this former neighbourhood blight is providing quality homes to support Glasgow’s Southside community.

AHF Funding

Options Appraisal Grant - £10,082 (2009)

Project Development Grant - £15,000 (2015)

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