Charles Wilson, 1849-52

John Neilson (1778-1839) was a Paisley grocer who left half the fortune made by his parents, his brother and himself (£17,185) to form and endow an institution for the education, clothing and, if need be, the maintenance of orphans and impoverished Paisley boys. According to an official history of the JNI, written in 1 902:-

The architect, Mr Charles Wilson (1810-1863) of Glasgow, who was then at the head of his profession in the West of Scot/and, and the designer of the Queen's Rooms, Glasgow (in La Belle Place), one of the best pieces of architecture of which the neighbouring city can boast, seized the architectural possibilities of the site chosen by the Trustees at Oakshawhead and used

Them with admirable skill........    the building is at once an ornament to the

Town and a conspicuous object for many miles in the country....   The idea of it is that of a large central hall with class rooms clustering around it, in the shape of a Greek Cross, and surmounted by a lofty cupola rising from a balustrade balcony, resting upon an octagonal tower....   The central hall is lighted partly from the crown of the cupola and partly by four circular lights in the tower beneath the dome...

The plan is in fact square, and the Greek Cross idea of an earlier two storey design is expressed only by the slightly projecting pedimented central sections of each elevation. The style is Italianate, developed with great originality by Wilson here and in many buildings in Glasgow, including the towered Free Church College {Trinity College).

Use as a School

There were originally only four large class rooms for the planned 250 pupils, divided into Infant, Junior, Juvenile, and Senior Classical schools. The first head, Archibald Gardner (who was Neilson's nephew and the leading trustee) immediately opened the school to fee-paying boys.  By 1873 the number of pupils had trebled, the subdivision of the rooms had begun (to reach 14 at one time) and the building of extensions and annexes. Even the central hall was used as a classroom for a period.

The school as an institution moved to a modern building in 1967 to become the John Neilson High School, and the building was last used as a school in 1977. It was listed Category A, in 1 971.

Conversion to Housing

The building lay vacant, prone to vandals and rot until taken over by Classical House, the developers of the Italian Centre in Glasgow. Extensive repairs and conversion works were carried out in 1991-92.

The classrooms were divided up to form 12 two and three bedroom maisonettes, with bedrooms below and living rooms above, sharing the tall windows. The Janitor's House became a one bedroom unit.

The great octagonal hall under the circular dome, once the noisy hub of the school, is now merely an entrance hall. However, it has been given just the focus it needs in the form of a central statue. The life-size figure of the Greek philosopher Diogenes (412-323 BC) is by the Paisley sculptor, Alexander Stoddart. In his left hand Diogenes holds an upturned model of the dome above him, referring at once to the building's nick name of the 'Porridge Bowl', and to Diogenes' austere life style, intended to contrast with that of the modern day residents. The statue costing £10,000 was 'commissioned by Classical House as a gift to the residents and the population of Paisley'. It was carried in procession through the town to the JNI on 2nd April 1992.

The total cost of the repair work was £1.5 million,

And conversion by Lane, Bremner & Garnett, 1991- 92

The building is opened to the public on Doors Open Days only by courtesy of the residents.