Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

121-125 (ODD NOS) RENFIELD STREET AND RENFREW STREET, THE PAVILION THEATRELB33103

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
22/03/1977
Supplementary Information Updated
27/05/2010
Local Authority
Glasgow
Planning Authority
Glasgow
Burgh
Glasgow
NGR
NS 58930 65845
Coordinates
258930, 665845

Description

Bertie Crewe, 1902-4. Striking 3-storey French Baroque theatre on prominent corner site with square-plan corner turrets with slated pyramidal roofs to corner and Renfrew Street. Buff terracotta with profusion of decorative sculpted panels.

RENFIELD STREET ELEVATION: 3 3-light pilastered main bays with narrow central dividing bays. Recessed central entrance with later canopy. Set of 3 2-leaf part-glazed entrance doors. Storeys divided by cornices. Main bays with 1st floor with windows divided by floating aprons, oculi windows to top storey with segmental pediments with richly sculpted tympana. Stepped parapet to bays. Lettering 'PAVILION' over centre between 1st and 2nd storeys with flanking blue and gold mosaic panels. Large 'PAVILION' sign attached vertically to central bay.

RENFREW STREET ELEVATION: bays arranged 1-3-1. Outer bays slightly advanced with 4-stage towers with sculpted top panels to top stages with small segmental skyline pediments. Central bays with ground floor frieze with lettering 'THE PAVILION'. 1st floor with 3 windows. Central 3-light, flanking windows 4-light with blind arcade aprons. Central window flanked by sculpted pilasters, repeated above. Parapet raised to centre and pedimented.

Variety of glazing patterns. Some stained glass windows. Predominantly multi-pane over plate glass. Plate glass to oculi.

INTERIOR: fine, rich Louis XV interior scheme. Small semi-circular apsed entrance hall with decorative plasterwork ceiling and terrazzo floor with mosaic inserts including central harp motif. 2-leaf timber doors with oval glazed panels and decorative mouldings. Auditorium (damaged by flood in 1992 ' see Notes) with 2 cantilevered tiers forming circle and gallery. 4 boxes and (altered) semicircular proscenium arch. Ornately decorated plasterwork with swags, volutes, putti etc. Domed ceiling contains rare operational sliding roof panel.

Statement of Special Interest

Opened on the 29 February 1904 as the Palace of Varieties, The Pavilion is an important and outstanding example of theatre architecture by one of the most celebrated theatre achitects of the period. The terracotta street elevations with ornate sculpted panels and touches of blue and gold mosaic along with the corner towers makes this building an unusual and striking addition to Glasgow's streetscape. It is one of the country's best surviving Edwardian theatres.

A flood in March 1992 damaged the plasterwork in the auditorium although this was subsequently repaired on a like-for-like basis.

The auditorium contains a rare operational sliding roof panel to keep the air in the theatre fresh. An early centralised vacuuming system remains in place with the main apparatus surviving in the basement.

Bertie Crewe trained in Paris, as well as London, which may explain his adoption of the French Baroque style here. The theatre was constructed for the Newcastle-based Thomas Barrasford who often chose Crewe as his architect.

The Pavilion is renowned as a specialist variety theatre.

Category changed from B to A and list description revised as part of the Theatres Thematic Study 2010.

References

Bibliography

Ordnance Survey Map (1908-11). Williamson et al, The Buildings of Scotland ' Glasgow (1990) p208; Bruce Peter Scotland's Splendid Theatres (1999) pp109-113. www.scottishcinemas.org.uk [accessed 16 March 2009]. www.theatrestrust.org.uk [accessed 17 March 2009]. Further information courtesy of owner. From previous list description: 'Evening Times 30 July 1902. B 5 March 1904 p260.'

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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