The historic-listed Scottish house 'smashed to smithereens' over safety concerns

An historic listed building from Glasgow’s 1938 Empire Exhibition has been “smashed to smithereens” due to safety concerns.

Africa House in Ardeer was one of the few buildings left from the famous exhibition, and for years the local community and Historic Environment Scotland have campaigned to keep the building standing.

However, it has now been demolished after the owners surveyed the building for redevelopment and found the walls to be “dangerous”.

Africa House. | Supplied

More than 12 million people visited the Empire Exhibition, which ran from May to December 1938 in Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park.

Over 100 temporary buildings were set up in the park, including Scotland’s first skyscraper, the 300-foot Tower of Empire.

The exhibition included a model Highland village, a Scottish Avenue promoting Scottish trade, and a Dominion Avenue with pavilions dedicated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The South African Pavilion, later renamed Africa House, was “an enlarged version of an early Dutch settler’s house” and displayed exports from the country such as gold, diamonds and ostrich feathers, as well as scale models of some of Africa’s most famous beauty spots.

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It was one of only a handful of buildings not immediately dismantled after the exhibition - it was moved and rebuilt in Ardeer in North Ayrshire where it was used as a staff canteen by the explosives company ICI Nobel.

However, it became derelict in the 1990s and ever since has been deteriorating and heavily vandalised.

The Empire Exhibition 1938 in Bellahouston Park, with Africa House pictured right. | James Valentine & Co/University of St Andrews Library

In recent years, applications to demolish the B-listed building have been submitted to the council, but have faced opposition from the local community and Historic Environment Scotland.

The building was then sold at auction to an unknown purchaser for £68,000 in November 2023.

A spokeswoman for North Ayrshire Council told The Scotsman the current owner of Africa House had informed the council that they would be surveying the property to aid redevelopment proposals.

Africa House was moved to North Ayrshire. | Supplied

She said: “In order to survey the building, the owner removed collapsed material from the interior - these works did not require any consent from the council.

“The removal of the collapsed material revealed the extent of the condition of the building, including walls which were in danger of collapse.

Supplied via Paul Sweeney MSP

“The demolition was agreed by the council in the interests of safety. The council remains in contact with the owner and is expecting redevelopment proposals.”

Paul Sweeney, Labour MSP for Glasgow, said there needs to be tougher enforcement of listed building legislation to stop more historic buildings being demolished in this way.

He said: “It had been damaged by fire and gutted, but the distinctive baroque gable ends were fine and intact until a few days ago.

Paul Sweeney MSP | Jane Barlow/Press Association

“Someone then appeared with a JCB and smashed it to smithereens.

“It is depressing, but I am not surprised, because I have become grimly familiar with these sorts of stories with our built heritage.

“This adds more impetus to the need to reform the legislation here.

“A lot of our urban landscape comes from 1870 to 1920 so there is a huge stock of buildings that are getting more complicated to maintain, and there will be more pressure on them in the years to come.”

A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland said: “The category B listed former South African Pavilion is one of the few remaining buildings from the Glasgow Empire Exhibition of 1938. Listed building consent is required prior to undertaking works, such as demolition, to the building.

“However, sometimes a local authority decides that urgent action is required to remove or reduce danger to public safety, which they have a duty to preserve under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003.”