Annan Town Hall | |
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![]() Annan Town Hall | |
Location | High Street, Annan |
Coordinates | 54°59′14″N3°15′53″W / 54.9872°N 3.2646°W |
Built | 1878 |
Architect | Peter Smith |
Architectural style(s) | Scottish baronial style |
Listed Building – Category B | |
Official name | High Street, Town hall and freestanding lamps |
Designated | 3 August 1971 |
Reference no. | LB21097 |
Annan Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which accommodates the local library and is also used as a venue for the provision of local services, is a Category B listed building. [1]
The first municipal building in the town was a tolbooth which dated back at least to the early 17th century: a clock, a bell and a steeple were added in 1740. [2] Debtors were typically incarcerated in the prison cells there during the 18th and 19th centuries. [3] However, by the mid-19th century it had become dilapidated and it was demolished in 1875. [2]
The current building was designed by Peter Smith of Glasgow in the Scottish baronial style, built in red sandstone from Corsehill Quarry and was completed in 1878. [4] [5] [6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing east along the High Street. The central bay, which projected forward, contained a four-stage tower. There was a wide doorway with a round headed hood mould in the first stage, a French door with a rectangular fanlight and a stone balustraded balcony in the second stage, a vacant pedestal intended for a statue with a small canopy above in the third stage, and a belfry with louvres and bartizans in the fourth stage; the tower was surmounted by a spire. The outer bays were fenestrated with cross windows on both floors. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber on the first floor. [1] The stained glasswork was carried out by Adam & Small [7] and the clock was designed, manufactured and installed by Potts of Leeds in around 1900. [8]
A stone carved with the words "Robert de Brus, Count of Carrick and Seigneur of Annan", which had originated from the 12th century Mote of Annan was removed to Devon where it was found in 1925. [9] The stone recalled the Bruce dynasty who were Lords of Annandale; it was subsequently returned to Annan and installed in the council chamber in the town hall in 1927. [10] [11] [12]
The town hall continued to serve as the meeting place of the burgh council for much of the 20th century. The burgh council was abolished in 1975. [13] [14] The burgh council's successor, Annandale and Eskdale District Council, also based itself at the town hall. It built a large extension to the north of the building alongside Battery Street, which it called the District Council Chambers, with its main entrance to the right of the old town hall facing the High Street. [15] Since the district council's abolition in 1996 the modern building has been an area office of Dumfries and Galloway Council. [16] The council also continues to use the town hall for meetings of the Annandale and Eskdale area committee. [17]
In 2007, a local businesswoman, Janette Weild, launched an initiative to commission a statue of Robert the Bruce to place on the vacant pedestal on the third stage of the tower. [18] The statue, which took the form of the Scottish king holding the Declaration of Arbroath in one hand and a sword in the other, was designed by Andrew Brown, cast in bronze at a cost of £43,000 and was installed on the pedestal in the presence of Charles Edward Bruce, Lord Bruce, the son and heir of Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin, in January 2010. [19] The local library relocated from Charles Street into the town hall in December 2017. [20]
Works of art in the town hall include a painting by William Ewart Lockhart depicting two children. [21]
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, 25 miles (40 km) from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire.
Dumfries and Galloway is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the north-east; the English ceremonial county of Cumbria, the Solway Firth, and the Irish Sea to the south, and the North Channel to the west. The administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Dumfries. The second largest town is Stranraer, located 76 miles (122 km) to the west of Dumfries on the North Channel coast.
Kirkcudbright is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
Annandale and Eskdale is a committee area in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It covers the areas of Annandale and Eskdale, the straths of the River Annan and the River Esk respectively. From 1975 until 1996 it was a local government district.
Nithsdale, also known as Strathnith, Stranith or Stranit, is the strath or dale of the River Nith in southern Scotland. Nithsdale was one of the medieval provinces of Scotland. The provinces gradually lost their administrative importance to the shires created from the twelfth century, with Nithsdale forming part of Dumfriesshire. A Nithsdale district covering a similar area to the medieval province was created in 1975, based in the area's main town of Dumfries. The district was abolished in 1996, since when the area has been directly administered by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Annandale is a strath in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, named after the dale of the River Annan. It runs north–south through the Southern Uplands from Annanhead to Annan on the Solway Firth, and in its higher reaches it separates the Moffat hills on the east from the Lowther hills to the west. A 53-mile (85 km) long-distance walking route called Annandale Way running through Annandale was opened in September 2009.
Annan is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and a Georgian building now known as "Bridge House". Annan also features a Historic Resources Centre. In Port Street, some of the windows remain blocked up to avoid paying the window tax.
Lochmaben is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th century, Edward I rebuilt Lochmaben Castle. It was subsequently taken by Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas in 1384/5 and was abandoned in the early 17th century. The town itself became a Royal Burgh in 1447.
The site of the old Newbie Castle, Newbay Castle or Newby Castle was the caput of the Barony of Newbie near Annan close to the confluence of the River Annan and the Solway Firth in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Held by the Corries and then the Johnstones. Newbie Harbour on the River Annan was located nearby.
Wigtown County Buildings, also known as Wigtown County Buildings and Town Hall, is a municipal building in The Square, Wigtown, Scotland. The structure primarily served as the meeting place and town hall for Wigtown Burgh Council, but was also used for some meetings of Wigtownshire County Council. It is a Category B listed building.
Kirkcudbright Town Hall, currently operating as Kirkcudbright Galleries, is a municipal building in St Mary's Street, Kirkcudbright, Scotland. The building, which was the headquarters of Kirkcudbright Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.
The Old Town Hall is a municipal structure in George Street, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a local history museum, is a Category A listed building.
The Midsteeple is a municipal building in the High Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a ticket office and a meeting place, is a Category A listed building.
The New Galloway Town Hall is a municipal building in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, situated on the town's high street. A tolbooth has existed on the site of the current building since at least 1711; in 1875, it was rebuilt and enlarged. In 1971 it was designated a Category B listed building.
Lochmaben Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Lochmaben, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which accommodates a library and a local customer services point, is a Category A listed building.
Lockerbie Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a venue for the provision of local services, is a Category A listed building.
Langholm Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
Sanquhar Tolbooth is a municipal building in the High Street in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which accommodates a local history museum, is a Category A listed building.
Moffat Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
A grant was made for repairs to the tolbooth in 1610.
The Brus (Bruce) Stone, with an inscription possibly referring to Robert I, was removed in the 19th century but rediscovered in Devon and returned in 1925.
It was retrieved from a descendant of the Annandale Johnstones who lives in Devonshire, in 1925, and, two years later, unveiled in Annan Town Hall
The stone is now preserved within the council chamber of Annan Town Hall.