"McCall's Black House", a mansion at the north-east corner of Queen Street (leading off to the left) and Argyle Street.
According to the historian Robert Reid ("Senex"), the tobacco merchant John McCall built the house in the 1770s. It was a square building with a double stair on Argyle Street, and had more than forty windows - a very large number for the period. Reid noted that the mansion had "an almost ink-black appearance", which he put down to the fact that it was built with stone from the "Black Quarry". This quarry was located near North Woodside Road and produced the stone for Glasgow buildings from the mid-17th century until it became exhausted at the end of the 18th century. Reid also claimed that it was McCall who was responsible for having the traditional name, Cow Loan, changed to the more sophisticated Queen Street.
McCall's family sold the house after his death and it was demolished to make way for a tenement.
Reference: 700.77.358
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
Black Quarry, mansions, McCall's Black House, quarries, Tobacco Lords, tobacco merchants, windows
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