Au/Co/Au trilayers are interesting for a range of applications which exploit their unusual optical and electronic transport behaviour in a magnetic field. Here we present a comprehensive structural and morphological study of a series of trilayers with 0–7 nm Co layer thickness fabricated on glass by ultrahigh vacuum vapour deposition. We use a combination of in situ electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and x-ray scattering to determine the optimum deposition conditions for highly textured, flat and continuous layered structures. The 16 nm Au-on-glass buffer layer, deposited at ambient temperature, is found to develop a smooth (1 1 1) texture on annealing at 350 °C for 10 min. Subsequent growth of the Co layer at 150 °C produces a (1 1 1) textured film with lateral grain size of ~150 nm in the 7 nm-thick Co layer. A simultaneous in-plane and out-of-plane Co lattice expansion is observed for the thinnest Co layers, converging to bulk values for the thickest films. The roughness of the Co layer is similar to that of the Au buffer layer, indicative of conformal growth. The 6 nm Au capping layer smoothens the trilayer surface, resulting in a surface roughness independent of the Co layer thickness.