Clyde Navigation Trust Building

A very ornate building on the side of the River Clyde. Note the carved bull on the left? The building was designed by Sir John James Burnet and initially completed in 1886, with the corner (pictured here) added in 1905, the building was built for the Clyde Navigation Trust who at the time were considered to be as powerful and influential as the city council and wanted a building that reflected that. The Trust was formed in 1858 to continue the ongoing dredging and improvement work that was required to make the river accessible to ocean-going ships as well as managing and developing the business of the Clyde, allowing Glasgow to become a major port and the ship-building industry to massively expand. Due in part to the work of the trust by the early 1900’s the shipyards of Glasgow had constructed one fifth of all the ships globally in use at the time.