B is for Boathouse

Finding suitable premises to store boats, gym equipment, and socialising space is a perennial issue for rowing clubs. The Clutha Boathouse (1854) was the first purpose-built rowing club boathouse on the Clyde, located on the current Glasgow Rowing Club boathouse site at Siverfir Street in Huthesontown. Built for the Glasgow Regatta Club, the ground floor had a dual function as boat storage for clubs and business premises for boatbuilder James Banks McNeil. Social spaces occupied the first floor and a flat-roofed turret provided expansive views up the river towards Rutherglen Bridge. As rowing grew more popular, clubs struggled to find suitable storage space adjacent to the river. Clyde and Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Clubs found a temporary home in rented sheds on Adelphi Street from J & S Smith, carpet manufacturers. They began lobbying Glasgow Corporation for their own building in the 1890s. 

In 1905, they got their wish. The West Boathouse opened in May of that year. The material cost of the building was £1,333 (roughly £166,000 in today's money) and was paid for by Glasgow Corporation with a generous donation from James Henry Roger, a local wine merchant and a founding member of Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club. Roger was a canny and uncompromising character who stumped up the cash in exchange for Clydesdale's claim to occupy the preferred eastern half of the building.

Built by City Surveyor A. B. McDonald, the boathouse was a unique addition to Glasgow Green and the river frontage. The West Boathouse received listed building status as Category B in 1993 as a 'rare building type in Scotland' - a surviving timber-framed sports building built on the banks of a busy river. Viewed from Glasgow Green, the building is austere with little hint of the architectural flourishes seen from the riverside. Viewed from the water, the building rises dramatically from the banks. The large arched windows, deeply recessed eaves, and cantilevered balconies are playful and elegant. This attention to detail and investment in the sport is perhaps a recognition of the popularity and status of rowing at the turn of the twentieth century. Regattas attracted thousands of spectators, and many of the club members were influential men within the city (there were no women members at this time), able to exert a little political pressure to get an impressive new boathouse in a prime spot on the river.

The building was pinned in place with deep timber piles, which allowed it to flex with the natural movement of the riverbank and ultimately contributed to its survival. In contrast, the heavier, brick-built East Boathouse built in 1924 has suffered from subsidence. This clever solution also allowed for a quick build - the timber frame elements were manufactured off-site and delivered as a flatpack-style 'kit build'. A metal lath was tacked onto the timber frame and coated with a 2-inch thick render layer to form the walls. Architectural details such as the quoins (corner stones) and string course gave the impression of a sturdy masonry building but were, in fact, built up of extra layers of render, akin to icing on a cake.

By the late 1990s, Glasgow City Council, who own the building, were becoming increasingly concerned with the condition of the West Boathouse. Historically, the clubs had carried out essential repairs and maintenance, but the building now faced significant structural problems. In 2015, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, a charity that rescues and repairs historic buildings, began working with the rowing clubs and Glasgow City Council to explore options to save the building. 

Time was running short - surveys of the building revealed the below-ground timber foundations were deteriorating rapidly. Twenty-eight of the original 30 timber foundation piles had wholly rotted through. The exterior cladding was in danger of collapse, and the roof leaked like a sieve. Interior facilities were outdated, and the accessibility of the building was, by modern standards, very poor. 

After several years of hard work and generous funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Glasgow City Council and many others, the £2.8 million Rejuvenation of the West Boathouse Project got underway in 2019.

Making old buildings fit for purpose, while remaining true to their origins is a balancing act and involves extensive consultation with building users, heritage bodies, regulatory authorities and the design team.

Archival sources - old photos, architectural drawings and the 1904 Bill of Works - helped build a picture of the original construction techniques and materials. This research informed a sensitive repair, restoration, and reuse scheme, overseen by Advanced Level Conservation Accredited architect Rebecca Cadie of ARPL Architects. The eventual design comprised a significant renovation and upgrade programme:

• Ground floor boat sheds were converted to a larger single, shared space which can accommodate longer boats. The ground level was lowered on riverside to increase height for additional boat storage capacity
• Extensive repair and replacement of decayed timbers throughout the building
• Timber foundations replaced with concrete piles and foundations
• Roof retiled and ventilators repaired and reconstructed
• New, insulated structural cladding and flexible render system to form exterior walls
• Quoins and string course reinstated using 'Buildlite' architectural mouldings
• Insertion of 2 new 'Diocletian'-style arched windows facing onto river, and original ground floor windows repaired and unblocked
• New, widened front entrance created, balconies restored and new flagpoles
• Original colour scheme reinstated
• Interior timber panelling, windows and doors repaired and reinstated
• New services installed including gas central heating system, electrics, fire and security systems
• Improved facilities and accessibility within interior, including: accessible changing and toilet facilities; shared club room, gender-neutral changing rooms and platform lift access to upper floor
• A new pontoon and gangway to increase accessibility to the river