Just imagine..

You don't know how good things could have been

Another week, another devastating fire in Glasgow, resulting in the very sad loss of the Category B listed Forsyth House (1851) on Union Street. Architectural heritage is irreplaceable - whether from the 20th century or any other period. Attitudes towards the care, protection and maintenance of our historic buildings must change.

The Forth Bridge opened on this day 136 years ago. An engineering marvel in the east, but did you know that Glasgow had its very own Forth Bridge? Ours was a just a wee bit smaller... #glasgow

#OnThisDay 1963 the Hawker P1127, forerunner of the Harrier, made the first touch and go by VTOL (Vertical Take Off & Landing) ever in the world on a Carrier on HMS ARK ROYAL off Portland, UK @RoyalNavy

History Hour with Amelia 🌍 Mid-19th century Punjab. Mostly desert. Regular famines. Millions dead. British engineers built 75,000 miles of irrigation canals across India. That's three times around Earth's equator 🤯 2.5 million acres of wasteland turned into cropland. Lyallpur went from 7 people per square mile to 301 in thirty years. Between 1850-1900: 15 million dead in famines. After the canal system was complete: India is famine-free until the wartime Bengal crisis of 1943. We hear a lot about the mistakes of the British Empire. This bit rarely makes it into the history books. 🇬🇧

Our statement on the future of Victoria Barracks, Sydney, was quoted in this evening's Channel Ten 5:00pm news bulletin. Read the full statement here: militaryhistorysocietynsw.bl… #auspol #Auspol2026

Just a reminder of what your roof trusses are going through.

So, just three weeks after my original post, on a quiet Saturday morning a digger was put through the gatehouse to the Victoria Infirmary at Glasgow’s Queen’s Park and within a few hours - by the time I got there - it was reduced to rubble. I appreciate @WeAreSanctuary were within their rights here as, frustratingly, the gatehouse was neither listed or in a conservation area therefore this is permitted development; however, given that it was a building designed by one of the best mid-Victorian architectural practices in Glasgow - Campbell Douglas and Sellars, who designed the 1888 International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry at the Kelvingrove and what was the St Andrews Hall later the west extension to the Mitchell Library which is one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Europe - perhaps it should have been? Regardless, when we are in a housing emergency demolishing a house which should have been brought back into use at least a decade ago is not a good look. Part of what gives ‘The Victoria’ its kerb appeal is the contrast between the new buildings and the surviving historic buildings and the authenticity that lends it. Sadly, yet again another historic building has been dispatched. It all feels at bit snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and leaves me concerned for the neighbouring Administration building which is at least ‘B’ listed and meant to be retained but is in increasingly poor condition and will no longer have the benefit of rates relief…

Just love these drawings!

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is pure movie magic. David Lean insisted on building a full-scale bridge in Sri Lanka and using a real train for the explosion. It took months to prepare and was filmed with only one chance to get it right.

The People's Palace on Glasgow Green. It was designed by the City Engineer A.B. MacDonald and decorated with sculptures representing Art, Science, Shipbuilding, Industry and Progress by William Kellock Brown. #Glasgow