One of Glasgow’s best known abandoned buildings, the former Sir John Stirling Maxwell School, in the southside of the city, has been demolished. The prominent red sandstone building, in Bengal Street, Pollokshaws, was reduced to rubble in 2023 after being declared ‘structurally unsafe’ by the city council. It had lain empty and abandoned since 2011 when it closed its doors for the final time after providing a centre of learning for generations of local children.
The school was established by wealthy landowner Sir John Maxwell, of nearby Pollok House, and proudly bore his name on the facade. He originally gifted the land to open an industrial school in Pollokshaws in 1854, providing free education for the children of the Parish of Eastwood. The venture was partly funded through the sale of goods made in trades classes and vegetables grown in the grounds.
In the early years of the 20th century, plans were drawn up by architect John H. Hamilton for a new school building which was constructed in 1906/07. It was a bold, classically-styled three-storey edifice which, thanks to its grand design and the use of red sandstone, controversial at the time, contrasted with the surrounding blond stone architecture. An extension was later added to the rear of the building which provided accommodation for 550 pupils and staff.
The school was officially opened by Sir John on January 9, 1909, and remained in use, latterly as a primary school, until the summer of 2011. In its early years, prior to the First World War, it also provided night classes for the local community. In 1985 a Gaelic Unit was established at the school.
Following closure of the school, the building was fenced off and boarded up. There was an active campaign to save it, one idea to convert it into an eco-hub, the Maxwell Centre for Environmental Change. However, falling increasingly derelict and with parts of the roof collapsing, the council decided to cut their losses and pull it down. Despite its epic scale and bold design, the school was not a listed building, although it is recorded by Canmore.
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