Burgh Hall

Burgh Hall is an historic building in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a Category B listed building dating from 1873.[2] Originally the home of town officials, it has since been used for public and private events.

Burgh Hall
Burgh Hall in 2012
General information
Architectural styleScottish Baronial
Location195 Argyll Street
Town or cityDunoon, Argyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Coordinates55.950465°N 4.927844°W / 55.950465; -4.927844
Groundbreaking30 August 1873[1]
Opening25 June 1874[2]
RenovatedDecember 2014 – June 2017
Cost£4,000[1]
Technical details
Floor count3
Design and construction
ArchitectRobert Alexander Bryden
Website
Dunoon Burgh Hall

Design

The building's architect was Robert Alexander Bryden. He was asked to design a hall large enough to accommodate 700 people. (Bryden is buried about half a mile to the north of Burgh Hall, in Dunoon Cemetery.)

The hall is in the Scottish Baronial style and is three storeys tall.[2] It is built of local schist stone.[1] The stained glass window in the main hall is the work of James Ballantine.[1]

A seating gallery was added to the main hall in 1896 which resulted in its entrance being moved from Hanover Street to the main entrance on Argyll Street.[1] A caretakers' flat is on one of the two upper floors.[1]

History

The ground for the hall was gifted to Dunoon and its people by MacArthur Moir. (Moir did not get to see the building's completion, for he committed suicide in 1872.) The building was formally opened on 25 June 1874, nine months after the foundation stone was laid.[1] The Dictionary of the Clyde, published fourteen years later, described the building as "one of the principal edifices in the town most worthy of notice".[2]

Upon Dunoon's loss of burgh status in 1975, officials moved out of the building, leaving it in only partial use.[1]

The building received Category B listed status in 1993 after John Stirling, of the Castle House Museum, requested its nomination. "Success and a problem for the council," remembered David McEwan Hill, a member of the Burgh Hall Project Group.[3] "It solved the problem and got it off its hands by offering the building to a responsible owner or organisation for £1."[1] It was sold to the now-defunct Dunoon and Cowal Housing Association.[3]

In 2002, a proposal to change the hall into offices and flats was made by the hall's then-owners Fyne Homes. The community objected and a public meeting was held at Dunoon Grammar school to discuss the future of the hall. 400 local people attended.[1]

The property was purchased by the John McAslan Family Trust in 2008.[1][4] (Matriarch of the family, Jean McAslan, died on 23 June 2009.)[5]

After being allowed to fall into disrepair by Argyll and Bute Council,[3][6] it was partially brought back into use in 2010 via the aforementioned family trust, who hired Page/Park architectural firm.[7] Creative Scotland awarded £580,000 towards the approximate overall £2,000,000 cost, with other funders including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Historic Environment Scotland, as well as local and national trusts.[8] First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon re-opened the facility in June 2017.[6]

See also

References
Specific
  1. Dunoon Burgh Hall Chronicles, issue 1
  2. Argyll Street, Burgh Hall Building – Historic Environment Scotland
  3. "SNP offer £10 for Burgh Hall" – Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard, 13 January 2006
  4. The John McAslan Family Trust
  5. "One Enchanted Evening" – Dunoon Advertiser and Argyllshire Standard, 10 July 2009
  6. "Dunoon Burgh Hall reopens after multi-million pound transformation" – The Scotsman, 19 June 2017
  7. Dunoon Burgh Hall – UrbanRealm.com
  8. "Burgh Hall refurb to reinvigorate Dunoon" – Creative Scotland
General
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.