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The Argyll Motor Works, currently known as Lomond Galleries, is a former car factory in
The Argyll Motor Works, currently known as Lomond Galleries, is a former car factory in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire
Alexandria ( sco, The Vale,
gd, Alexandria) is a town in , Scotland. It was opened in 1906 by Argyll Motors Ltd, at the time the largest producer of cars in Scotland. After the Argyll company folded it was used as a torpedo factory, subsequently lying empty for many years, and is now a shopping centre. The elaborate structure is protected as a category A
gd, Alexandria) is a town in , Scotland. It was opened in 1906 by Argyll Motors Ltd, at the time the largest producer of cars in Scotland. After the Argyll company folded it was used as a torpedo factory, subsequently lying empty for many years, and is now a shopping centre. The elaborate structure is protected as a category A
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
Argyll Motors Ltd was established inBridgeton, Glasgow
Bridgeton ( sco, Brigtoun, gd, Baile na Drochaid) is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north ...
, in 1899 as the Hozier Engineering Company. By 1905, the company was expanding production rapidly, and a new site at Alexandria, outside the city, was identified. Plans were drawn up by architect Charles James Halley, and the building was officially opened by John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu
John Walter Edward Montagu-Scott, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (10 June 1866 – 30 March 1929), was a British Conservative politician, soldier and promoter of motoring. He is the father of Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of ...
, on 26 June 1906. The factory covered , and was served by its own railway line and several streets of houses for the factory workers. The new facility cost over £200,000, and was designed to produce 2,500 cars per year. By 1907, production had passed 800 per year, but a series of technical experiments, and increasing competition, led to the company's decline. The high running costs of the huge factory, and the failure to adopt mass production, may also have contributed to the company's troubles. The final blow came in 1914 following a lawsuit brought by Daimler, which Argyll won, but the costs led to bankruptcy and production ceased.
The works, and its employees, were taken over by the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
as a munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
factory during the First World War (1914–1919). Afterwards, it was briefly a silk works, but remained empty for most of the interwar period. In 1937, it was repurchased by the Admiralty and reopened as the Royal Naval Torpedo Factory, which operated into the 1950s. In the 1960s, the site is said to have been involved in Chevaline
Chevaline () was a system to improve the penetrability of the warheads used by the British Polaris nuclear weapons system. Devised as an answer to the improved Soviet anti-ballistic missile defences around Moscow, the system increased the pro ...
, a secret project to improve Britain's Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
nuclear warheads.
The facility was closed in 1969, and in 1971, the Argyll Works was purchased by electronics company Plessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...
. However, their production unit closed within a year, prompting a sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
protest by staff. Despite various proposals, the factory remained empty for nearly three decades; the factory sheds were demolished, and the substantial red sandstone offices facing North Main Street deteriorated. The future of the building was secured in the 1990s with its renovation as a shopping centre, opened in 1997 by Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
as Loch Lomond Factory Outlets. It now trades as Lomond Galleries.
References
{{reflist Category A listed buildings in West Dunbartonshire Motor vehicle assembly plants in the United Kingdom Manufacturing plants in Scotland Industrial buildings completed in 1906 Listed industrial buildings in Scotland Vale of Leven 1906 establishments in Scotland