Copy - McLuckie and Walker

McLuckie and Walker: The men who built Stirling

Architects Andrew McLuckie (1843-1911) and Ronald Walker (1858-1911) designed over 200 buildings in Stirling between 1886 and 1911. McLuckie was born in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire and Walker was born in Tarbert in Argyll but both men spent most of their lives in Stirling, and died within months of each other in 1911. They were ordinary local men whose buildings were, and still are, embedded in everyday life in Stirling. Stirling City Heritage Trust is celebrating their legacy through this online exhibition featuring photography by Jo Cound, architectural plans from Stirling Archives, images from The Smith’s collection, and original prints by local artist David Galletly.

McLuckie & Walker © David Galletly

circa 1923

Barnton Street

Built: 1897

This sweep of shops and homes sits on a busy main road in Stirling’s city centre. SCHT funded the enhancement of the shopfronts in 2020, including new traditional signwriting. During the restoration, ‘ghost signs’ were revealed, like this one for J. A. Gardner Millinery at 63 Barnton Street. We found out that in the early 20th century the business was run by a Miss Gardner who held regular fashion shows at her shop.

53-71 Barnton Street

1950s

View down Spittal Street from the entrance of the Old High School of Stirling, Academy Road, on the right.

Spittal Street

Built: 1903

This large red sandstone tenement which straddles two streets, is an excellent example of the influence of Art Nouveau on McLuckie & Walker’s work. The building was erected for Lawsons Ltd and housed their furniture and upholstery department. The company was founded in 1856 by Ex-Baillie Robert Lawson and they had branches in Glasgow, Ayr, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. Over the years the building has been home to generations of Stirlingshire people. In 1903 inhabitants included John Crae, a perambulator maker, and William McIntosh, a hairdresser.

23-25 Baker Street & 32 Spittal Street

1910s

Unveiling of Bayne Clock at Bridgehaugh with the British Custom House Bar in the background.

Bridge Tower Clock (Bayne Clock)

Built: 1910

The Bridge Clock Tower was presented as a gift to the people of Stirling by Provost Bayne, who had been living in Stirling for almost 50 years. His daughter used gold scissors to cut the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony to start the clock. The Tower cost £1,000 to build (over £78,000 in today’s money) and had a very unique feature; the pendulum contained a barometer.

Bridge Clock Tower

Bridge Street Clock - detail © Jo Cound

circa 1953 Junction of Cowane Street and Wallace Street.

Wallace Street

Built: 1908

These charming cottage-like buildings have distinctive broad-based chimneys, a common feature of McLuckie & Walker’s style. They are still residential buildings, and in 1909 they were home to 8 different households, including; Miss Ramsey, a teacher, (perhaps at the nearby Allan’s School?), George Graham, a tailor, and George Horsburgh, a confectioner.

15-17 Wallace Street

Wallace Street - detail © Jo Cound

Early twentieth century

King Street

Built: 1897-1899

This building was commissioned by Stirling’s Co-operative Society. It cost over £10,000 (c.£820,000 in today’s money) and was described by the Dundee Advertiser as ‘a handsome pile’ when it opened. It originally contained; 3 shops on the ground floor, a drapery, a saloon, and a boot shop, a bakehouse, and grocers. At the rear there were offices, a Boardroom, and a warehouse.

14-18 King Street: The Co-Operative Building

Built: 1893-1907

The stately villas in this crescent were all designed by McLuckie & Walker over the course of their career, with Ronald Walker even living at number 13 Randolph Terrace in 1901. These villas were commissioned by wealthier locals including grocers and colliery directors. Interestingly though, 5 out of 18 houses in 1909 were home to unmarried women, one of whom made her living as a milliner.

Manse Crescent

Site of the Municipal Buildings 1965 extension with Allan's Primary in the background.

Allan's Primary

Built: 1889

This new school contained ‘the most recent improvements in school architecture, and the latest appliances in fittings and furnishings’. At the opening ceremony It was reported that ‘this school would equal any school throughout Scotland, if it did not excel in some respects those of Glasgow and Govan’ as it was ‘so well lighted and ventilated’.

29 Spittal Street: Allan's Primary School

Built: 1909-1910

Built on the site of an earlier chapel, this church is one of McLuckie & Walker’s most strikingly modern buildings, designed in an elegant gothic Art Nouveau style towards the end of their careers. The influence of contemporary Glasgow architects can be seen in the simplicity of the windows and the pyramid shaped stone finials.

Bruce Memorial Church, Cambusbarron

Reconstructed: 1900-1901

The original Logie Church was built in 1805 designed by William Stirling I, but in 1900 McLuckie & Walker were asked to refurbish the church as it became too small for the growing congregation. They transformed the building, it was reported upon its re-opening that ‘with the exception of the tower… nothing of the old edifice remains’. It is now Category B Listed. Andrew McLuckie is buried in the adjacent graveyard.

Logie Parish Church

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