Memory Encapsulated in a Building: Lansdowne Church, Alf Webster, and Memorialisation

EPOCH
3 days ago
8 min read

Karen Mailley

A colourful stained glass window depicting a gothic-style church with glowing orange windows and a tall spire. Surrounding the church are abstract patterns in vivid blues, purples, and reds, along with angelic or celestial imagery, including a figure with a starry headdress and wings. Decorative motifs of holly leaves and geometric shapes frame the scene, blending religious and symbolic elements. — Detail of the McCowan window showing Lansdowne Church. The window is currently in storage, but was originally in situ in the south transept. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

Memory can be a complex and complicated thing. As time progresses, memories can fade, alter, or transform into entirely false versions of events. Furthermore, how each individual remembers an event is entirely subjective and unique to that person. Different people will recall unique versions of the same event, only seen from their perspective and linked to their particular emotions, senses, and sensations. Buildings, however, are the gatekeepers of tangible clues and traces of historic events craved, etched, and moulded into the buildings’ structure.

The City of Glasgow is blessed with a fine selection of buildings which contain rich traces of the past. From Glasgow’s City Chambers situated on George Square to the feminist haven of The Glasgow Women’s Library in Bridgeton, the buildings are saturated with fixtures and fittings: clues linking them to another era. Memory is truly encapsulated in a building; you just need to look closely!

This article will focus on one building in Glasgow’s west end, just a stone’s throw from the city’s famous subway and situated next to the River Kelvin: Lansdowne Church, designed by the Glaswegian architect John Honeyman (1831-1914). The church is still home to wealth of historical clues through the decorative arts housed within it, linking the people of the past to the present day. The material culture associated with Lansdowne Church demonstrates how the built environment can act as a catalyst for change, celebration, and remembrance.

Built in 1863 in the Gothic Revival style, the church was home to an active congregation until 2013 when the charity FACT THREE took custodianship. Now in 2025, the building is the venue of The Stand Comedy Club. The building’s history and memory are still present via tangible visual reminders of the past, including: a war memorial, plaster frieze, and stained glass. The building, now popularly known as Websters, has had to change and adapt over the years to accommodate the changing needs of the surrounding community. Importantly, two large scale windows designed by Alf Webster and a plaster work frieze by Evelyn Beale have survived the changes and with them, the legacy of the people who created them lives on.

Alf Webster (1882-1915)

A vintage sepia-toned portrait of a young man in early 20th-century attire, standing with a confident pose. He wears a tailored suit jacket with large pockets, trousers, high socks, and leather shoes. He holds a hat and walking stick in one hand while resting his other hand on his hip, gazing slightly to the side. — Alfred Alexander Webster. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

Traces of the stained glass artist, Alfred Alexander Webster, are scattered throughout Lansdowne Church. FACT THREE, the current custodians of the building, have even named Lansdowne Church after Alf – becoming ‘Websters’ in 2013.

Born on the 19December 1883 in the family home at 40 Keir Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, Webster was the second son to George Webster and Ann Jane McCall. In 1903, he registered for evening courses at The Glasgow School of Art (GSA), going on to study Architecture, Modelling, and taking stained glass classes held by Stephen Adam Junior (1873-1960). During this period, The Glasgow School of Art was an exciting place to study with influential individuals such as: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Jean Delville, Ann MacBeth, Jessie Newbery, and Fra Newbery either studying or teaching there. In 1904, Webster began an apprenticeship at Stephen Adam Senior’s (1848-1910) studio at 168 Bath Street in the city centre before taking over after Adam’s death in 1910. Over the next five years, Webster would design and complete several striking windows for churches - including examples at New Kilpatrick (1914), Ramshorn Church (1911), St Muns Parish Church (1912), and of course the two windows in Lansdowne Church.

The two large scale windows for Lansdowne Parish Church were among the last executed by Webster before his death in France on 24 August 1915. Webster enlisted in February of that year with the Gordon Highlanders, but his war was short lived. He was wounded by shellfire in the trenches and died in Etaples following a series of operations witnessed and recorded by Captain John Lauder, the son of Sir Harry Lauder who recounted his son’s wartime correspondence in his memoir A Minstrel in France (1918).

Traces of Webster

A stained glass window panel featuring the text ‘Without money and without price’ in a decorative banner. Below, a medieval church with a tall spire sits among golden fields of wheat, with a farmer holding a sheaf on the right. The background is patterned with diamond lattice panes, and inscriptions of gratitude and dedication appear at the bottom, framed by ornate foliage. — Detail of the Templeton Window showing the dedication. (Credit: Author’s Image).

The first window which Webster executed is still in situ. The north transept window, commonly referred to as the Templeton window, was executed in 1913. Named after Ms. Templeton, who gifted the window, it depicts the life of Christ in eight large scenes with a panel dedicated to the memory of their mother, brother, and sister and in appreciation of their present minister. Ms. Templeton was the spinster daughter of James Templeton, a long-serving Manager and Elder of Lansdowne United Presbyterian (UP) Church. Underneath the window, previously sat a bronze memorial plaque dedicated to Webster in ‘Glasgow Style’ lettering.

A bronze-coloured memorial plaque dedicated to Alfred A. Webster, featuring a cross and anchor symbol at the top. The inscription reads: "To the Glory of God and in Memory of Alfred A. Webster’. — Bronze memorial plaque to Alf Webster, currently not on display. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

The south transept window was gifted to the church by Mr and Mrs David McCowan, well-known Glasgow philanthropists. The window consists of three large lancets with a trefoil above and depict a set of events commemorated in Holy Week.

Detail of a stained glass window panel depicting a bishop in yellow and gold robes, holding a crozier and a book, standing on a small platform with an arched base. The base features the City of Glasgow crest with a tree, bird and fish. The panel is framed by green and black patterned glass with geometric shapes. — Detail of the Templeton window showing the City of Glasgow crest. (Credit: Author’s Image).

The window was executed around 1913 to 1914 and includes a scene depicting representations of Glasgow, including: the city crest featuring the tree, the bell, the fish, and the Glasgow City Chambers. The crest is also featured in the north transept window. By depicting Glasgow buildings within his work, Webster is not only celebrating the city but also memorialising it within the stained glass.

A stained glass window panel depicting four figures, including a central figure in a blue robe holding a ship, with three other figures in various poses, one holding a tool. The background features green and brown hues with rooftops and geometric patterns, framed by black lead lines. — Detail of the Old Shettleston window entitled ‘The Crucifixion’. (Credit: Author’s Image).

This celebration of the city was replicated by Webster in his other windows, such as in a window entitled the Crucifixion in Shettleston Old Church, where he included a male figure holding what appears to be a Clyde-built ship.

Evelyn Beale and Commemorating the First World War

A mural featuring four figures in traditional attire, depicted against a golden background. From left to right: a figure in armour with a red cape holding a sword and a shield with a red lion emblem, labelled "WALLACE"; a kneeling figure in dark robes holding a book with red text, labelled "KNOX"; a standing figure with hands raised in prayer and a blue shield with a white dove, labelled "S. COLUMBA"; and a robed figure with a striped garment guiding a child with a red ribbon, labelled "S. PAUL." The scene includes floral elements and a framed border. — Detail of the plaster frieze depicting William Wallace, John Know, St. Columba, and St. Paul. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

Now hidden away behind a canopy of blackout material which forms the stage setting in the church is a delicately carved plaster war memorial by the artist and sculptor Evelyn Mary Beale (1870-1944). Designed and executed between 1919 and 1923, Beale’s triptych plasterwork frieze features figures from Scotland’s rich history including William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, John Knox, St. Columba, and St. Paul. Everyday heroes of the Great War, such as a nurse, solider, and pilot, are positioned closest to the central figure of Jesus with his arms outstretched.

A mural depicting Jesus in white and red robes with arms raised, labelled "I AM THE VINE YE ARE THE BRANCHES," surrounded by a golden background. Jesus is flanked by several kneeling and standing figures in various robes and attire, including a nurse with a headscarf, a child, a solider, pilot and others holding hands or looking upward. The scene is framed with architectural elements on the sides. — Detail of the plaster frieze middle panel depicting Jesus surrounded by everyday heroes of the war including a solider, pilot, and nurse. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

Although the frieze has been situated within the building since the 1920s, Beale’s has been cast to the margins of history, and her contributions to Glasgow’s historic built environment and cultural scene have been overlooked. Using the frieze as a starting point to uncover her story, it became apparent that she was not the first choice to produce the frieze as the commission was originally given to Mr Young, a sculptor based at St Vincent Street. The Lansdowne United Free Church 56th Annual Report states that the War Memorial was delayed due to Young falling ill and, ‘In the end Mr Young had to resign the commission altogether and Miss Evelyn Beale was appointed in his place.’ The report also optimistically indicated that the scheme was destined to be completed by the end of the year. However, the memorial was shrouded in bad luck and was still incomplete by 1921 due to Beale also suffering from a ‘protracted illness’. The unveiling of the War Memorial took place on 18 February 1923, and was noted as meeting with, ‘almost unqualified approval and admiration not only of the Congregation but among the many strangers who have seen it’.

A mural featuring five figures against a golden background, labelled "S. ANDREW. S. MARGARET. S. MUNGO. BRUCE" is written above the figures. From left to right: a figure in a striped robe with a cross, labelled "S. ANDREW"; a woman in a dark robe with a child, labelled "S. MARGARET"; a figure in white robes holding a staff, labelled "S. MUNGO"; and a figure in a red cape with a shield bearing a red lion, labelled "BRUCE" with "DEATH IN LIBERTY" text. The scene includes floral elements and a framed border. — Detail of the plaster frieze depicting St. Andrew, St. Margaret, St. Mungo, and Robert the Bruce. (Image courtesy of FACT THREE).

Although currently not on display, the frieze has been a channel to discovering more about Beale’s life. Like Webster, she studied at the GSA, from 1917 to 1920, where she undertook day classes in Drawing & Painting and Modelling. By all accounts, she was a competent all-round designer, designing books and illustrations such as ‘An Edinburgh Alphabet’ which she designed and wrote with pianist Winifred Christie. However, her speciality was plaster sculpture work which she exhibited widely at institutions such as the Royal Scottish Academy, Glasgow Society of Lady Artists, and Glasgow Institute of Art. She also produced pieces which were exhibited at All Hallows Church as part of the Empire International Exhibition in 1938. Beale died on 12 February 1944 in an Edinburgh nursing home at the age of 74. Without the church, and the hard work of FACT THREE to preserve the frieze, Beale’s story may never have been uncovered, and her achievements and legacy would have remained relegated to history’s sidelines.

Looking to the Future to Remember the Past

A stained glass window depicting a religious scene with Jesus in the center wearing a white robe with a halo. He is surrounded by several figures in colourful robes, including a child offering a gift and a seated woman in blue holding a baby. Above, two angels with wings are shown amidst a decorative pattern of grapes and leaves, with the text "MANNA CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN" and "ANGELS FOOD." The window is framed with intricate floral and geometric designs. — Detail of the Templeton window. (Credit: Author’s Image).

Now in 2025, it is envisaged that both Webster and Beale will be brought to the forefront of Lansdowne Church once again. FACT THREE have been awarded funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Glasgow City Heritage Trust to undertake a new heritage project which will tap further into the building’s history. Over the next two years, a bespoke heritage hub will be created to allow the public to access the material culture linked to the building, and a viewing platform will be installed to allow visitors to get up close to Webster’s stained glass. Crucially, the project will also enable the south transept window to be conserved and re-instated by master craftsmen: Rab McInnes and the Historic Environment Scotland Stained Glass Craft Fellow, Gordon Muir. Rab is one of the only stained glass practitioners who has studied Alf’s work and can recreate his complex, and often experimental etching techniques. The formation of the heritage hub will allow a new form of memorialisation and commemoration of the craftspeople who have worked tirelessly on the building throughout its history. As part of the project, an oral history archive will be created to record the stories of the craftspeople who are currently working on the building using traditional skills and techniques. Although the form of memory making and commemoration has changed, the building is still capturing and holding the memories, skills, and experiences of the people who use and occupy the space.