Near the cathedral is Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow. This rare example of 15th-century domestic Scottish architecture was built in 1471 as a manse. The ceilings and doorways are low, and the rooms are furnished with period furniture and artefacts; upstairs a room recreates the living space of an early-16th-century chaplain. The building's biggest draw is its authentic feel, though it's a shame the original wooden floors have had to be covered for protection.
Provand's Lordship was once one of several dozen religious buildings in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral. It was built to house the master of the St Nicholas chapel and hospital, which once stood just to the south. Behind Provand's Lordship, the St Nicholas Garden recreates what a 15th-century hospital garden might have been like.