Highland Council Headquarters | |
---|---|
Location | Glenurquhart Road, Inverness |
Coordinates | 57°28′27″N4°14′00″W / 57.4741°N 4.2334°W |
Built | 1876 |
Architect | Alexander Ross |
Architectural style(s) | Gothic Revival style |
Listed Building – Category C(S) | |
Official name | Ardross Street, Highland Regional Council Buildings |
Designated | 15 June 1981 |
Reference no. | LB35144 |
The Highland Council Headquarters, formerly County Buildings, is a municipal structure in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, Highland, Scotland. The oldest part of the complex, which currently serves as the headquarters of The Highland Council, is a Category C listed building. [1]
The oldest part of the current structure is the main frontage on Ardross Road which was commissioned by the Northern Counties Collegiate School, an educational establishment which was founded with strong connections with the Army and India in 1873. Originally known as Inverness College, it also went by Inverness Collegiate School and The Boy's College before closing in about 1914. [2] [3] The building was designed by Alexander Ross in the Gothic Revival style, built in coursed stone and was completed in 1876. [1] [4] [5]
The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto Ardross Street with the end bays slightly projected forward as pavilions. The central bay, which also slightly projected forward, featured an arched pend on the ground floor, a bi-partite cusped window flanked by two single cusped windows on the first floor, and a battlement above. The wings were fenestrated by bi-partite plain windows on the ground floor and bi-partite cusped windows on the first floor. The end bays were fenestrated by tri-partite plain windows on the ground floor and quadri-partite cusped windows on the first floor with gables containing rose windows above. [1]
The building was extended by two bays along Glenurquhart Road to a design by the same architect in 1885. [1] It was requisitioned for use by the Admiralty during the First World War. After the war, it was acquired by the County Education Authority and converted for use as the Inverness Royal Academy War Memorial Hostel. After the hostel moved to Culduthel Road in Inverness in the early 1930s, Inverness-shire County Council progressively moved its departments from Inverness Castle into the building and renamed it "County Buildings". [6] [7]
The complex was extended further along Glenurquhart Road with a modern structure built of brick and glass which was completed in 1963. A bespoke building, intended to accommodate the council chamber, was erected at the west end of the complex. [8] After the abolition of Inverness-shire County Council in 1975, the building became the headquarters of Highland Regional Council and following the introduction of unitary authorities in 1995, it became the headquarters of The Highland Council. [9] A Pictish stone carved between 700 and 800 AD and found at Knocknagel, some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Inverness, which became known as the "Knocknagael Boar Stone" because it depicted a boar, was recovered and placed behind glass within the complex in 1991. [10]
Works of art in the building include a portrait by Charles Martin Hardie of Captain Abraham Howling, Master of Trinity House. [11] [12]
Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. A succession of castles have stood on this site since 1057, although the present structure dates from 1836. The present structure is a Category A listed building.
The Highland Council, the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional representation. The total number of councillors is 74, and the main meeting place and main offices are at the Highland Council Headquarters in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness.
Dundee House is a municipal building in North Lindsay Street in Dundee, Scotland. The original part of the structure, which currently serves as the administrative headquarters of Dundee City Council, is Category B listed.
Wood Green Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases on Lordship Lane, Wood Green, London, England.
Dunoon Burgh Hall is a municipal building in Argyll Street, Dunoon, Scotland. The structure, which is used as an events venue, is Category B listed.
Inverness Town House is a municipal building in the High Street, Inverness, Scotland. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Inverness Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.
Anstruther Town Hall is a municipal building in School Green, Anstruther Easter, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
Denny Town House is a municipal building in Glasgow Road, Denny, Falkirk, Scotland. The structure is used by Falkirk Council for the provision of local services.
East Kilbride Civic Centre is a municipal building in Cornwall Street, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The structure was the headquarters of East Kilbride District Council.
Lossiemouth Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. The building is currently used as a community events venue.
Kirkwall Town Hall is a municipal building in Broad Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. The structure, which is currently used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
Drummuie, formerly Golspie Technical School, is a municipal structure in Drummuie Terrace, Golspie, Highland, Scotland. The complex, which was the headquarters of Sutherland County Council and is currently used as council offices for The Highland Council, is a Category B listed building.
County Buildings is a municipal structure in the High Street, Dingwall, Highland, Scotland. The complex was the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council and is currently used by The Highland Council as offices for the provision of local services.
Dingwall Sheriff Court is a former judicial structure in the High Street, Dingwall, Highland, Scotland. The complex, which was used as the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council as well as the local courthouse before being converted for residential use in 2015, is a Category B listed building.
County Buildings is a municipal structure in Drysdale Street, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of Clackmannanshire County Council and is currently used as courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Wick Sheriff Court is a judicial structure in Bridge Street, Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The structure, which remains in use as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Stranraer Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Lewis Street, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The building, which continues to be used as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
Stirling Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Viewfield Place, Barnton Street, Stirling, Scotland. The building, which remains in use as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.
The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Gloucester Street in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, England. The structure, which is currently used as a community events venue, is a Grade II listed building.
Dalton Town Hall is a municipal building in Station Road, Dalton-in-Furness, a town in Cumbria, England. The building, which accommodates the offices and meeting place of Dalton-in-Furness Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
Captain Abraham Howling, 40 Albany Street, Leith