The memorial stone of the Royal College Building, which is the oldest purpose-built teaching building on the University campus, was officially laid by King Edward VII in 1903. This post marks the 120th anniversary of the stone-laying ceremony, described as a ‘memorable and imposing spectacle’ in the Scottish press of the time.[1]

Artist’s impression of the proposed George Street façade of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College building. Submitted by David Barclay, architect, 1901 (Archives reference: OP/2/1/18).

The University of Strathclyde was originally founded in 1796 as Anderson’s Institution and was known from 1877 as Anderson’s College. In 1887, Anderson’s College merged with four other bodies: Allan Glen’s School, the College of Science and Arts, Atkinson’s Institution, and the Young Chair of Technical Chemistry, to form a new institution named the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College (GWSTC).

The GWSTC’s classes initially took place in multiple premises inherited from its predecessors, including the old Andersonian (Anderson’s College) Buildings on George Street, the Young Laboratory buildings on John Street, and the College of Science and Art buildings on Bath Street. However, these premises were generally unfit for purpose. As the range of classes expanded and the numbers of day and evening students rose, overcrowding became a serious problem, particularly in the laboratories, which were often cramped and uncomfortable to work in. Consequently, the GWSTC was obliged to turn away many prospective students.[2] A new, modern facility, properly fitted out and spacious enough to satisfy all the GWSTC’s teaching requirements in one single location, was desperately needed.

In 1900, the GWSTC’s Board of Governors launched a public appeal to raise funds for a new building. This proved extremely successful, generating contributions from the Governors themselves, from the City of Glasgow, from trade and occupational groups interested in the technical and vocational training offered at the GWSTC, and from many individual subscribers, notably the well-known steelmaster and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, who gave the huge sum of £25,000.[3] The Governors intended to site the new structure on George Street and the corner of Montrose Street, where the Andersonian Buildings, the City Public School, and the Pupil Teacher Institute, all owned by the GWSTC, then stood. Rather than demolishing these immediately, the Governors opted to remove the existing buildings in phases, thereby limiting disruption to teaching activities whilst the new building was under construction.

By October 1900, the GWSTC had organised a competition to design its new home and invited seven architectural firms to take part, including Clarke and Bell, David Barclay (practising as H. & D. Barclay), and Honeyman and Keppie, for whom a certain Charles Rennie Mackintosh then worked. At the closing date of 19 April 1901, the Governors judged the entries and selected David Barclay’s submission as the winner. Barclay’s striking design, ‘a free treatment of Italian Renaissance’ in architectural style, featured street-facing exterior walls of red Dumfriesshire stone, five floors and a semi-basement, and provided over seven acres of floor space in total.[4]

With Barclay appointed as architect and the initial contracts for construction work awarded, the Governors’ attention turned to arrangements for laying the memorial stone of the new structure. The stone was to be positioned on the south-east corner of the site, at the intersection of George Street and Montrose Street.

On 14 May 1903, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra travelled to the GWSTC for a formal ceremony in which the memorial stone was to be laid by the King. All contributors to the building fund were invited to attend, together with staff and former students of the GWSTC and representatives of public bodies. A standing area on the slope of Montrose Street was also provided for approximately 800 current students, while some of the workmen engaged on the project watched on from the rear of the site.

Souvenir programme of the Royal visit to Glasgow, 14 May 1903 (archives reference: OE/7/1/4/2); Drawing of the trowel used by King Edward VII to lay the memorial stone of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College building (later known as the Royal College Building) (archives reference: OP/6/6/3).

Before the stone was set in position, a time capsule, containing copies of the GWSTC’s Calendar (prospectus) and Annual Report, the local newspapers of the day, some contemporary coins and banknotes and an explanatory document signed by the Governors was interred at the appointed spot.[5] The contractors having then applied mortar to the base upon which the stone would rest, the Chairman of the Governors, Mr William Robertson Copland, presented the King with a solid silver, ivory-handled trowel. The King smoothed the mortar over the base, and the stone - ‘a massive block of Peterhead granite, weighing about two tons’ and suspended from above - was swung over and carefully lowered into place.[6] David Barclay next handed the King a builder’s level crafted in silver gilt, while the Chairman of the Governors presented an ivory mason’s gavel. The King applied the level to check that the stone sat plumb, tapped the stone three times with the gavel and declared it to be ‘well and truly laid’.[7] Watch a silent film of this portion of the ceremony on the Moving Image Archive website. The Chairman of the Governors addressed the King, who made a speech in reply, voicing his appreciation of the importance of advanced scientific and technical education. The ceremony then concluded with the singing of the National Anthem, led by a choir organised by the GWSTC’s Euing Lecturer in Music, Mr Harry Colin Miller.[8]

Photograph of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra standing on the platform following the ceremony to lay the memorial stone of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College building (later known as the Royal College Building) (archives reference: OP/2/1/19/10).

Following the ceremony, the building was constructed in four large sections, with each section taking a year or more to complete and requiring further capital to be raised. The first section was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Right Hon. John Sinclair, M.P., on 21 December 1905. The second section, fronting George Street, was completed and in use by September 1908. The third section, extending to John Street, was completed in session 1908-1909 and the final section, also on John Street, was occupied during session 1909-1910.[9]

Photograph of the south-east corner of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College building (later known as the Royal College Building) by W. Ralston, Glasgow, c.1910 (archives reference: OP/2/1/24/4).

The finished building, truly impressive in its scale, was lauded as ‘the largest single structure in Great Britain devoted to education.’[10] The memorial stone at the south-east corner can still clearly be seen today. In 1912, the GWSTC was officially renamed as the Royal Technical College, and in 1956 it was renamed again as the Royal College of Science and Technology. Ever since then, the distinctive and imposing building originally erected to house the GWSTC has been known as the ‘Royal College Building’.

[1] University of Strathclyde Archives and Special Collections, OE/7/1/4/4: Album of press cuttings and photographs relating to the ceremony for laying the memorial stone. Cutting from the Glasgow Herald, 15 May 1903, p.9.

[2] J. Butt, John Anderson’s Legacy: the University of Strathclyde and its antecedents 1796-1996, (Tuckwell: East Linton, 1996), pp.102-103.

[3] Ibid., pp.101-102; University of Strathclyde Archives and Special Collections, OE/7/1/2/2: Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College Governors’ scheme for new building: appeal for subscriptions.

[4] University of Strathclyde Archives and Special Collections, OE/7/1/7/5: Notes upon the history and objects of the College with plans of the new buildings (1909), p.33.

[5] OE/7/1/4/4: Album of press cuttings and photographs relating to the ceremony for laying the memorial stone. Cutting from the Glasgow Herald, 15 May 1903, p.9.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Butt, John Anderson’s Legacy, p.104.

[9] Ibid.

[10] OE/7/1/7/5: Notes upon the history and objects of the College with plans of the new buildings (1909), p.34.