A Glasgow perspective: the first time ever I saw your face

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It began here in March. A short terrace just off Great Western Road, each door flanked on either side by one of these Egyptian-style faces. Surely we must have noticed them before? If we had, we’d forgotten.

After that, we saw faces everywhere. These two beauties (one a bit grumpy looking) are on the side of a large villa about 10 minutes walk from home.

Cleveden Road face
Cleveden Road face

These are on an old church, now Webster’s Theatre.

Webster’s Theatre face
Webster’s Theatre face

These are from Maryhill Halls, Glasgow Academy, and North Park House.

Maryhill Burgh Halls faces
Glasgow Academy faces
North Park House faces

And finally, more private houses – some whose locations I can no longer remember.

West End face
West End face
West End face
Lowther Terrace face
Lowther Terrace face

I’m linking to Becky’s SquarePerspectives challenge with occasional posts on the new perspectives on Glasgow that our lockdown walks have given us. I know a few non-squares have sneaked in here – square doesn’t always work, but I’m sure Becky will forgive me!

Once again, my title is taken from a piece of music, this time from the inimitable Roberta Flack. What a voice!

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77 Comments »

  1. I have never been to Glasgow, but having those faces everywhere would add a new dimension for walking around and visiting there. Thank you for this wonderful post.

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  3. Pingback: Time to Explore – The life of B

  4. Hi Anabel – Roberta’s voice is brilliantly paired with your faces … amazing selection – loved them … take care – Hilary

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  6. The first face reminds me of the Succession movement…probably spelling that wrong but it took place a bit before and during the 20s when King Tut was found. Yeah, that one gal looks like she needs a coffee. There are often all these little bits of gold right near us that we don’t realize are there.

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    • That’s interesting! I had to look it up, it’s the Secession Movement and it started around 1897. No-one seems to know who designed these houses, but they date from about 20 years before that. Before their time?! I find it odd that there is no record of the architect, especially given this unusual features, but all the other Victorian terraces nearby are well documented.

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  8. The Egyptian style face at the start of your post reminds me very much of the Guardians on the Hope Memorial Bridge in Cleveland. I know exactly what you mean about noticing faces everywhere once you start to pay attention to them – Marcus and I have a similar thing with lions on buildings and statues. They’re everywhere!

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  11. Its an odd conceit if the faces actually reflected the occupants and some are down right scary. But that urge to embellish is it hardwired or a function of wealth! And are they corbels or gargoyles? And does it matter! Sorry I’m wittering! Lovely pictures. Glasgow is the City of Faces…

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    • As I understand it a corbel would bear weight and a gargoyle would have a water spout, but I think these are all purely decorative so neither. The urge to embellish is probably both hard wired and a function of wealth. Another theme to come might be the odd creatures we spot decorating people’s gardens – the urge to decorate in a more 21C way!

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  12. Yes, your title immediately brought the song to mind! Funny how you’ve only just noticed these faces recently. I should go for a walkabout in town and see what pops out at me.

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  16. What an interesting post. Can’t say I ever really saw faces on buildings and if I did, sadly they didn’t register . I have decided that when it stops raining I will take a run into town here and have a wander around. I’ll also have a good look next time I am in Adelaide. “Killing me Softly” was always my favourite

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  18. I do like the term “architectural bling” and I’m sure that what they are. Here, human forms carved on Maori buildings are visual story-telling — part genealogy, part mythology. I shield really check our older European buildings for bling though — you’ve got me fascinated by it.

    And of course I’ll be singing as I go, though without any of the heart-stopping talent of Ms Flack.

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  19. More looking upwards!
    It’s amazing how much detail and ornamentation you find on buildings when you look closely. They would have added substantially to the cost when they were built, but most of the time we walk past without noticing.

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  20. I think if you picked one subject to find on buildings and followed it through, you’d never run out of faces. I wonder if many of them are ‘standards’?

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  25. It’s true, we walk past interesting bits of our history on a daily basis and don’t see them. These ar.! I wish you hadn’t used that song as your title because now it’s going around in my head and I can’t get rid of it. Mind you, it has displaced Fly Me to the Moon which has been there for the last two days!

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  27. It’s surprising the number of things we pass every day without noticing, then we see one and they seem to be everywhere after that. All great faces, I like the first Cleveden Road face, she seems to be very calm and thoughtful, and I like how your post titles are now linked to songs 🙂

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    • It’s the Cleveden Road ones that really amaze me – I pass there often, but have never looked in the right place before (they are on the side wall). I’m trying to link all the perspectives posts to songs. I might regret this choice! So far, so good.

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