Govan historic buildings

  • Govan Old Parish Church
  • The Lyceum, one of the last surviving 1930’s super cinemas in the UK

Project History
Click an image to enlarge

  • Scaffolding in place to aid the roof repairs
  • Napier House, before it was demolished in 2009
  • Groundworks at Govan Cross

Location:

Greater Govan & Glasgow Harbour, Govan

Description:

Central Govan has a rich heritage and superb listed buildings. The Central Govan Action Plan is working to preserve the architectural legacy, to retain Govan's unique landmarks and attractive character. The plan is to give buildings and public spaces a new lease of life that will help contribute to the social and economic vitality of the Govan community.

Central Govan was awarded conservation area status in May 2009 by Glasgow City Council in order to protect the surviving historic urban form and to ensure that all future development is both complementary and of the highest quality.

Local agencies are currently leading the development of a wide variety of projects through the Central Govan Action Plan framework and Govan Cross Townscape Heritage Initiative:

Orkney Street Enterprise Centre
The renovation of the former Orkney Street Police Station was completed in summer 2009.

Pearce Institute
A multi-million pound, phased restoration programme started in spring 2010 with the current phases completed in 2012.

Fairfield Shipyard Offices
The building has been refurbished and is now in use as office accommodation.

Govan Old Parish Church
An option appraisal study investigating future sustainable uses for the church was completed late in 2009.

Lyceum
One of the last surviving 1930's super cinemas in the UK, the B-listed Lyceum was converted to a cinema and bingo hall in 1974 before closing its doors in 2006. From this time, the building has lain empty and in an increasingly poor state of repair. Located on a prominent position on Govan Road and in private ownership, there are no firm plans for improvement in place but options continue to be explored where possible.

Napier House
Unfortunately, the building was the subject of a dangerous building order during 2009. To maintain public safety Glasgow City Council demolished Napier House in the same year.

Aitken Memorial Fountain
The fountain was removed from Govan Cross in Spring 2010 restored and replaced as part of the multi-million pound public realm improvements.

Water Row Archaeological Evaluation
As a precursor to the future development of the Water Row site an archaeological evaluation was carried out in late 2007 with post excavation analysis completed in Autumn 2009. Archaeologists unearthed evidence of Govan's medieval past. Pottery pieces dating back to the 15th century were discovered, as were substantial remains of Reid Dye Works, the former ferry slipway and even two pre-modern cottages not previously recorded on maps. The puzzle, however, over the exact location of Doomster Hill, a 10th century law hill and one of Govan's most important monuments, still remains unsolved.

Current status:

See individual project pages for more detail

Timescale:

2006 - 2012