WANTED: loving owner to care for and adore one of Scotland's most prestigious addresses. Must have a passion for architecture which matches bank balance - and be prepared to part with more than a quarter of a million for the privilege.
One Moray Place, the former home of one of the country's most famous architects, Alexander ''Greek'' Thomson, goes up for sale this week.
The property - centrepiece of a nineteenth-century terrace in Strathbungo on Glasgow's south side - is being put on the market by Gavin Stamp, its owner of 13 years.
An expert on Greek Thomson, Dr Stamp reluctantly is parting with the property after he left his position as professor of architectural history at Glasgow School of Art for a research post at Cambridge University.
His departure not only opens the door to one of Thomson's most admired houses, but also leaves the campaign to conserve Glasgow's architectural heritage short of arguably its most influential supporter.
Given the house's historical and architectural significance, the sale is expected to attract intense competition from those with a knowledge of Thomson's work.
About 20 viewings have been lined up since the six-bedroom, end-terrace property appeared on a private estate agent's website last week.
Potential buyers will be able to inspect the detail of the elaborate plaster ceiling with rose motif and cornicing in the dining room; the wood-panelled family room and the grand skylight - or cupola - complete with Thomson's signature stellar motif. Offers start at (pounds) 275,000.
Famed for his love of the horizontal lines and geometry of Greek architecture, Alexander Thomson moved into the first house of Moray Place in 1861. The terrace, which he designed a couple of years previously for a local builder, was described by Henry Russell-Hitchcock, an American historian, as ''with little question, the finest of all nineteenth-century terraces, both in design and execution, and one of the world's most superb pieces of design based on Greek precedent.''
Thomson apparently modelled the terrace on the ''Stoa of Attalos II of Athens circa 150BC''.
Paul Murphy, the estate agent who is negotiating the sale, said that architecture devotees who share the present owners' enthusiasm for Thomson will be first in line.
He said: ''The sellers are keen for somebody who is going to have a particular interest in Greek Thomson and that will be a key factor in getting the right buyer, as they are architecture lovers themselves.''
The architectural treasure is a grade A-listed building and could have an ultimate price tag of up to (pounds) 400,000. Although money has been spent on external renovation and costly roof repairs, the inside is said to be in need of repair. Internal restoration work could cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Mr Stamp, who was in Cambridge yesterday and unable to be contacted for comment, founded the Alexander Greek Thomson Society in 1991 and is credited with a revival of interest in the architect's work.
His constant and robust defence of Thomson was vital in saving such threatened buildings as the Egyptian Halls and St Vincent Street Church.
His decision last year to leave Glasgow to take up the prestigious (but temporary) Mellon fellowship research post at Cambridge was greeted with dismay in conservation circles.
At the time, Mr Stamp's wife indicated that they had no immediate plans to sell 1 Moray Place, a comment which left his supporters hopeful that he might return to Glasgow after his one-year fellowship was over. The fact that he is now selling the house suggests that his move might be of a more permanent nature.
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