Templeton On The Green, converted from the Templeton Carpet Factory, is a distinctive building near the People's Palace, in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, opened in 1892. In 1984 it was converted into the Templeton Business Centre, then in 2005 a major regeneration project made it into a mixed use 'lifestyle village' incorporating apartments, office space, and the

WEST West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

brewery, bar and restaurant.

History

The building was designed and built as a

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

for James Templeton and Son, for the manufacture of Templeton's patented spool

Axminster carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have ...

After repeated design proposals had been rejected by Glasgow Corporation, James Templeton hired the famous architect

William Leiper William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh.Doge's Palace in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. (

Venetian Gothic Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...

style) Construction began in 1888. On 1 November 1889, during construction, the factory façade collapsed due to insecure fixings and the wind which blew it down. 29 women were killed in adjacent weaving sheds. The building was completed in 1892. (The story of the disaster is carved in a section of stone beneath the base of Templeton Gate, installed during refurbishment work to the area in 2005.) The building was completed in 1892, at a cost of £20,000, but restoration of the collapsed facade and weaving sheds added £3000 to the building costs. A fire in the factory in 1900 resulted in more deaths, commemorated by a female statue on top of the facade. In 1983, James Templeton & Co merged with A F Stoddard and Henry Widnell & Stewart to form Stoddard Carpets. The building was converted by the

Scottish Development Agency Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and became a business centre in 1984. File:Templeton Building detail - geograph.org.uk - 1076318.jpg, alt=Templeton building detail, Templeton building detail File:Cut from the factory floor.jpg, alt=Cut from the factory floor, Iain Kettle, Cut from the factory floor, Iain Kettle

Current use

In 2005, the building was extensively modified in a £22 million regeneration project to form a mixed use 'lifestyle village'. This incorporates 143 new apartments, accommodation for

Sportscotland Sportscotland (officially styled sport), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, pri ...

(the Scottish Institute of Sport),

DP Architects DP Architects Pvt. Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational architectural industrial design firm. It started as Design Partnership in 1967 and was incorporated as a private limited company in 1993. It is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy. It ...

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(a creative design studio) and the

brewery, bar and restaurant, which takes up the ground floor of the main building.

References

External links

{{Portal, Scotland
Video footage of Templeton's Carpet Factory
Buildings and structures in Glasgow Listed industrial buildings in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Brick buildings and structures Gothic Revival architecture in Scotland Venetian Gothic architecture in the United Kingdom Glasgow Green