Kelvin House, 15-17, Marshall's Lane, Paisley

3-storey, roughly 3-bay, rectangular-plan office building with Art Deco front elevation and 1949 1st floor bridge link to truncated section of 2-storey 19th century former industrial building. Rendered brick with sandstone and concrete dressings. Deep sandstone base course to front elevation of main building only; raised parapet / blocking course to all 3 sections.

A good example of the work of J S Maitland. The principal elevation faces the River Cart, roughly opposite Paisley Abbey, and is easily visible from that side of the river. James Steel Maitland was one of the most important architects working in Paisley in the first half of the 20th century. He had worked as principal assistant to T G Abercrombie (another leading Paisley architect) from 1920, became a partner in 1923 and continued the practice after Abercrombie's death in 1926. He designed a large number of buildings in Paisley, which at this period were distinguished by their well-proportioned slightly Art Deco facades and bands of horizontal glazing. Other examples in a similar style are numbers 35 and 50 High Street. His most famous building is the Russell Institute. The office building was built for J Kirkpatrick and Son, electrical contractors. The bridge link was added in 1949. The arched-window section is the truncated remains of a mid-19th century warehouse or industrial building that is marked on the 1st edition OS map (circa 1864). (Historic Scotland)

27 March 2014: External inspection finds the building appears generally sound but disused, vandalised with evidence of decay to some of the re-inforced lintols. Downpipes are broken as are many panes of glass. Lower windows are protected with metal grills. The building is understood to have last been in use as offices for Renfrewshire Council social work staff but closed around 2009. A Development Brief was prepared as part of the marketing of the site for sale in 2011 suggesting the building may be suitable for conversion to flats or commercial use. The Brief notes the property has been subject to water ingress througfh the flat roof.

4 February 2015: The property is noted as being Under Offer on Renfrewshire Council's website.

27 February 2015: BBC News website reports on proposals to convert Kelvin House and the adjacent 1830s building on Forbes Place into a hotel with a microbrewery and long-stay car-park.

18 May 2015: Local planners note the property has been purchased by a private developer who is seeking planning permission and listed building consent for conversion to hotel use.

June 2019: A member of the public notes scaffolding has been erected around the building.

25 November 2022: Planning permission for demolition (ref:22/0740/LB) is currently being sought. Supporting documentation states that the ground and first floors were damaged by fire in January 2016. It also states that the building has suffered from vandalism and unauthorised access. Risk moved to HIGH and condition moved to POOR.

24 July 2023: A further application for partial demolition was submitted and has now been withdrawn. Listed Building Consents (22/0740/LB) is still awaiting decision.

6 September 2023: Local planners advise site visit sees that overall condition has not changed much from external inspection. The area is barricaded off with large vegetation growth within.