Professor's Square
Professors' Square
Professor's Square (also known simply as The Square) comprises 13 terraced townhouses designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
The houses were originally built as accommodation for the University's professors in the 1870s, and are now home to various college offices and teaching spaces for subjects including Law and Theology as well as administrative departments.
Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin's House
Lord Kelvin’s House (11 The Square), was the home of the renowned physicist Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (for whom many places in the surrounding are named - River Kelvin, Kelvingrove etc.), from 1870 until his retirement in 1899. It was one of the first houses in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
Lord Kelvin earned international acclaim for proposing an absolute scale of temperature now known as the Kelvin Scale. He was equally well-known for his pioneering research in the fields of mechanical energy and heat, his invention of the Kelvin Compass and sounding machine, and his work on the transatlantic telegraph cable, sending the world’s first wireless telegram.
He was both the youngest and oldest matriculated student of the University, first registering as a student when he was only ten years old, and again when he retired at 75.
The Principal's Lodgings
Whilst the majority of the houses in professor's Square are no longer used for their original purpose The Principal's Lodgings (To your left) is still the official residence of the University's Principal, currently Sir Anton Muscatelli.
To Continue: Walk towards Lord Kelvin's house and turn left, then turn right to walk around the side of the building