High life in the tenements

THIS WEEK: The tenement, Scotland’s answer to high-rise living

IT may not constitute a stairway to heaven, but the tenement has survived the centuries to become Scotland’s favourite form of high living. The very word ‘tenement’ has its roots in medieval times, a form of ownership derived from the Latin verb ‘tenere’ meaning ‘to hold’.

Old pictures of Edinburgh show wobbly constructions many floors high, with images of poor citizens spilling out of windows. Indeed, the Cambridge Dictionary still hints at the tenement’s reputation for overcrowding in its current definition as the kind of building you will find ‘in a poor area of the city’.

Perhaps it’s time for a major reappraisal. By the end of the 19th Century, Scottish architects were creating marvellous rows of tenements built of sandstone.

The general rule in Edinburgh and Glasgow was that these buildings should be no more than four storeys high, no taller than the width of the street.

The fancier ones came finished with Art Nouveau flourishes such as copper letter boxes and handsome stained glass.

While many of these touches survive in the 21st Century, there appears to have been something of a postcode lottery going on in the chances of a tenement’s ability to survive to the present day.

The ‘better’ the area, the greater chance of survival. Solid tenements in Glasgow’s Gorbals were demolished in the 1960s. As recently as 2011, the city was bulldozing tenements in the Dalmarnock area to make way for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Only a few miles away in the West End of the city, however, Hyndland boasts Britain’s only tenement conservation area. No bulldozers here.

Close to Hyndland is Hillhead, with its Byres Road bohemia and trendy lanes crammed with tea shops and tapas bars.

Aberdein Considine is selling a top-floor flat at 57 Cresswell Street, poised to enjoy the delights of Cresswell Lane, described by the estate agents as ‘eclectic and fashionable’.

The two-bedroom flat has been upgraded and is tastefully decorated throughout. The wooden floor in the hallway has been stripped back and varnished.

The superb galley-style bathroom has recently been refitted with a contemporary three-piece suite with ‘natural rain-style’ shower, tiled floor and timber dado-style panelling.

Glasgow University, Byres Road and Ashton Lane are all within a short stroll.