A functional carpet mill stood behind the spectacular facade of the Templeton carpet factory.
James Templeton from Paisley patented a chenille Axminster
process by which he could manufacture more densely patterned and
richly coloured carpets. He went on to become one of the most
successful carpet manufacturers in Britain, producing carpets for
state occasions, great houses, luxury liners including the
'Titanic', as well as domestic use.
The City turned down two designs for a major extension to his
factory for this sensitive site on Glasgow Green
before Templeton commissioned a leading Scottish architect, William
Leiper (1839-1916), to tackle the project. His design is directly
inspired by the late medieval Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) in
Venice but Leiper would also have been aware of the colourful
phantasmagoria of designs being used for the pavilions in Glasgow's
1888 International Exhibition showground in the west end. The
flamboyant glazed brick, vitreous enamel tiles, red brick and
terracotta of the facade evokes the rich Oriental-influenced
patterns of the carpets the factory produced.
Work began in 1888 and was completed in 1892 after a major
interruption caused by a terrible accident possibly caused by
inadequate scaffolding and tying-in of the new building with the
existing one behind it. On 1 November 1889, part of a wall
collapsed under construction during high winds, trapping over 100
women working in the weaving sheds at the back; 29 were killed.
During the nineteenth century there was quite a taste for
building industrial and trading premises with exotically styled
exteriors which proclaimed the company's pride and ambition while
concealing the industrial processes within. Classical and Italian
Renaissance designs and Egyptian motifs were especially
popular. Venice was particularly admired, thanks in part to
the writings of John Ruskin. His Stones of Venice was a best seller
and his writings on architecture were enormously influential.
In Glasgow the 'Ca' d'Oro', a surviving building in West Nile
Street, designed by John Honeyman in 1873 as a carpet warehouse,
was also inspired by Venetian architecture.
The late Gothic Doge's Palace in St Mark's Square with its broad
diaper patterned red and white brickwork facade and elegant white
marble colonnades inspired a number of imitations, including
several in Britain. Templeton's is probably the most
spectacular. Several additions and extensions were made to the
building during the 1920s and 30s, and again in the early 1960s but
all defer to some extent to Leiper's original design.
The building has been refurbished as Templeton on the
Green.
Also at Glasgow Green (Back to listing)