The Moon over Martyrs' School

I was over at the Townhead area of Glasgow this morning and it was a beautiful day, so decided to take some photos of Martyrs' School from the motorway bridge. The autumn foliage looked fabulous in the morning light and you can still see the moon in the sky.

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Martyrs' School was commissioned in 1895 and was built on the Street where Mackintosh was born. The school had to house between 900 and 1000 pupils from the Townhead area.

The school is clearly visible from the top of High Street. The solid red sandstone construction is topped by three ventilators with highly decorative finials. Inside there are lime-wash plaster walls and spectacular roof trusses. The Martyrs’ project shows the embryo of Mackintosh. It was probably the first time he was allowed some freedom of expression. Well worth looking large.

In 1973 the main objective of the Mackintosh Society was the preservation of Martyrs’ Public School, which was under threat of demolition. In the 70s the centre of Glasgow was undergoing radical change with the creation of the inner-city ring road. Thousands of city-dwellers and families were relocated to new suburbs, and buildings by about one hundred different architects were being demolished to enable the creation of this new transport infrastructure. Amongst them Mackintosh’s two school buildings - Martyrs’ and Scotland Street - and the districts they were located in were directly affected by the proposals.

Without the excellent work of the Mackintosh Society this building would not be here today. The building is currently being used by the Social Work Services.