Lions back on duty after £1mPollokHouserevamp
LIONS have been put back on guard duty in Pollok after they were returned home to a famous Glasgow building.
Busts of Pollok House’s big cats were remoulded and replaced as part of a £1million refurbishment of the building, which was completed in March.
The original lions, which overlooked the entrance to the building, were crumbling and duly taken away to be repaired in 2015 as part of a wider project.
The reproduction statues were erected following extensive work by City Building to restore the roof of the historic house to protect it from woodworm and rot.
This included replacing the slates and lead, and installing new ceiling joists.
As part of the project, the company also replaced the stonework surrounding the building’s windows.
Alan Burns, the depute executive director at City Building, said: “Our repairs and maintenance teams carry out more than 500,000 repairs annually, including various types of building refurbishments and are very experienced in working on historic buildings, but Pollok House was a unique project.
“We spent over a year planning our approach as it required some highly specialised skills to preserve the Georgian character of the building and the construction of a temporary roofing structure to enable us to continue roof works over the winter months.
“We are proud of the work we carried out at Pollok House and we’re pleased that we were able to employ some of our apprentices on the job.
“It was a great experience for them and an opportunity they will seldom encounter again in their careers.”
Built in 1752 and designed by William Adam, Pollok House was gifted to the city of Glasgow in 1966 by the Maxwell family.
Karen Cornfield, the property manager, said: “Pollok House is one of the treasures of Glasgow and needs special care and attention to ensure that it survives for generations to come.”
It is now open to the public.