Allan Glen Secondary School (Former), 201, St James Road, Townhead

4 storeys and basement Classically inspired Board School, with stepped facades and dentilled cornice construction of squared and snecked pink sandstone with ashlar dressings and details, and rock faced base courses.

Built as Canning Place Public School, to accommodate 1090 pupils, at a cost of £17,500. The school is of local significance as the sole surviving pre-WWI building in the immediate area. A well detailed example of Scottish school design at the end of the 19th century, and by a respected practice, it retains its Janitor's House (in separate ownership) and parts of its boundary walls.

The practice name, Burnet, Boston & Carruthers, was only used between 1901-08, although Frank Burnet began his practice in 1889. Most of the work of Burnet´s office executed before 1901 and after 1908 goes under the name of Burnet & Boston. Frank Burnet (1846-1923) mainly designed tenements before being joined in practice by William James Boston (1861-1937), in 1889, thereafter branching out to do all types of commission. This is their only known school however, and it was executed at the time when most of the design work was undertaken by James Carruthers (1872-1952) and John A Campbell.

The school building has an alternative community use as the Phoenix Centre, for complimentary therapies (2010). Some original features, such as timber partitions and tiled walls are extant in the interior, alongside later work from the 1960s and 1970s when the building served as an annexe for Allan Glen's School. Classroom interiors have been largely stripped of original detail, although an Edwardian fireplace has survived in the headmaster's study. The janitor's house had been sealed by the time of viewing and the only visible window frames were non-original. While the roof structure of the house appeared intact, the stonework showed signs of wear. The school has lost much of its context due to the demolition of the surrounding tenements from which its pupils were drawn, and especially by the loss of the rest of the pre-1950s streetscape, including Canning Place, the cul-de-sac which it originally terminated. Some ancillary buildings, presumably lavatories and shelters, shown on the 1908 OS map have also been lost, together with the playground to the W of the school.

List description revised and change of category from B to C(S), 2011. (Historic Scotland)

28 November 2013: Desk based assessment with information provided by local planners finds the former school, latterly functioning as The Phoenix Centre, is now disused. Some vegetation growth to flat surfaces is evident, notably to the single story offshot to the East elevation. There is some water damage to stonework to one downpipe, and some dampness evident around the single storey offshot between the North and East elevations. Otherwise the building appears, externally, to generally be in good condition.

15 October 2021: Marketed for sale through City Property Glasgow, with best bids invited.

27 April 2022: A member of the public has advised that City Property Glasgow LLP are currently considering offers as of 25 April 2022.

23 August 2022: A member of the public advises that the property has been sold as of August 2022 according to the City Property Glasgow LLP website.

29 June 2023: External inspection finds the condition of the building to have deteriorated. There are signs of widespread damp and salt deposits. There is vegetation growing in the masonry, especially on the rear elevation. The rainwater goods appear generally intact but there are signs of leaking from both the upper goods and the downpipes. The northeast corner on the single-storey extension on the east elevation has suffered masonry loss and there are signs of movement in the remaining blocks. The roof of this extension is partially covered with tarpaulin. Many of the windows have been boarded up internally, however several broken pieces of glazing remain uncovered allowing for water ingress. There are signs of possible unauthorised access. At the time of assessment, the visible doors appear to be secure. The iron boundary fence is intact, but shows signs of rusting. The grounds do not appear to be maintained. Condition moved to Poor and Risk to Moderate.

16 February 2024: Planning permission (ref: 23/02267/LBA) is currently being sought for alterations and extension to building to form flatted residential development, external repairs, replacement windows and doors with amenity space, hard and soft landscaping, parking and associated works.