Trust steps in to take turn at stairs to help restore part of tenement life
A HISTORIC Glasgow building has benefited from the first restoration project of its kind for 35 years.
National Trust for Scotland has stepped in to maintain the entrance and stairwell of the Tenement House in Garnethill, which date from the late 19th century.
The interiors give a rare glimpse into life in Glasgow in the early 20th century and have been listed by Historic Environment Scotland.
Now the Trust has completed a project to redecorate the common stair of the red sandstone tenement – the first in more than 35 years – to give a realistic idea of how it looked in the past.
Works carried out include decoration to doors, walls and ceilings; plasterwork; window repairs and decoration; new glazed frameless external door; lighting alterations; repairs to external steps and walls.
Fritha Costain, business manager for Glasgow and the west at the National Trust for Scotland, said: “The Trust cares for Scotland’s natural and national treasures – even tenements – so it’s only right that we take our turn to do the stair.
“It’s definitely one of the more unusual projects that we’ve ticked off in 2018, but it’s just as important because it sets the scene for visitors coming to experience all the Tenement House has to offer.”
The house features original fixtures and fittings, including a coal- fired kitchen range and gas lighting, along with more obscure items like a ball of soap – turned black from years of handling – and a jar of plum jam made in 1929.
With the exception of a few items, all of the interior collection belonged to Miss Agnes Toward who lived in the house from 1911 to 1965.
The shorthand typist preserved her furniture and held on to all sorts of things most people would have thrown away, making this extensive personal archive a valuable time capsule for visitors today and an important vehicle in showcasing what it meant to be an “independent woman” of that time.