Eastern Necropolis Gate Lodge

Built in the 1860s as a waiting room and office for Glasgow’s Eastern Necropolis, the Category B Listed Gate Lodge later served as a groundskeeper’s bothy and store before falling out of use. By 2007, years of vacancy and deterioration had left the building in a ruinous condition and it was placed on the Buildings at Risk Register.

MAST were initially commissioned by Parkhead Housing Association to explore whether the building could be brought back into use. The resulting feasibility study established a viable route to its conversion as a new home for social rent, while retaining and repairing an important piece of Glasgow’s built heritage.

The project formed part of the wider Parkhead Cross Townscape Heritage Initiative, a heritage-led regeneration programme supported by Glasgow City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland. MAST worked closely with the client and funding partners to develop a repair strategy that met conservation requirements while allowing the building to provide a comfortable, accessible contemporary home.

Surviving masonry was carefully repaired, with traditional elements including the Scottish slate roof, timber windows and cast-iron rainwater goods reinstated. The decorative ironwork to the adjacent Necropolis entrance was also restored, improving the wider setting of both the lodge and cemetery gateway.

Completed in 2016, the project demonstrates how even a severely deteriorated historic building can be successfully adapted for a new purpose. The conversion removed a longstanding building-at-risk while creating an unusual new home and restoring a distinctive landmark within the Parkhead Cross Conservation Area.