| Old Town Hall | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2010 | |
| Location | Harbour Street, Ardrossan |
| Coordinates | 55°38′24″N4°48′55″W / 55.6400°N 4.8154°W |
| Built | 1859 |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
  Shown in North Ayrshire | |
Ardrossan Civic Centre is a municipal building in Glasgow Street in Ardrossan, a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The building, which was previously the offices and meeting place of Ardrossan Burgh Council, is currently used as a masonic hall.
Following significant growth in population, largely associated with the status of Ardrossan as a seaport, and following extensive lobbying by Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton whose seat was at Eglinton Castle, the area became a burgh in 1846. [1] [2] [3] In this context the new burgh leaders decided to commission a town hall: the site they selected was at the corner of Harbour Street and Princes Street. [4] The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the factor of the Eglinton Castle estate, George Johnstone Redburn, with full masonic honours, on 30 October 1858. [5]
The old town hall was designed in the neoclassical style, built in red sandstone and completed in around 1859. [6] The design involved an asymmetrical frontage extending for four bays along each of the two streets. The Princes Street elevation featured a round headed opening with a rusticated surround in the right hand bay. It was fenestrated with casement windows on the ground floor and with sash windows with alternating segmental and triangular pediments on the first floor and there was a parapet above. A clock, with a stone surround and an acroterion above, was presented by the then provost, John Hogarth, and unveiled at the corner of the building above the parapet in June 1887. [7]
In the 19th century, Justice of the Peace court hearings were typically held in the town hall. [8] Meanwhile, a police station was subsequently established on the opposite side of Princes Street. [9] [10]
The building continued to serve as the offices and meeting place for Ardrossan Burgh Council for most of the first half of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the council sold the old town hall to the local masonic lodge, in an exchange of properties involving a building known as Castlecraigs, in August 1946. [11] [12] [13]
After being damaged in a storm, the mechanical clock on the old town hall was given an electric mechanism in November 1983, [14] and the exterior of the building was cleaned, with financial support from the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland, in late 1997. [15] The building continues to accommodate the offices and meeting place of the local masonic lodge. [16]
Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland, it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. The local authority is North Ayrshire Council, formed in 1996 with the same boundaries as the district of Cunninghame which existed from 1975 to 1996.
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also known as the town council, from the granting of its first burgh charter in the 1170s until 1975. From 1975 until 1996 the city was governed by City of Glasgow District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Strathclyde region.
Irvine is a town and former royal burgh on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The 2011 Census recorded the town's population at 33,698 inhabitants, making it the largest settlement in North Ayrshire, and 22nd largest settlement in Scotland. Irvine was designated at the fifth and final Scottish new town in November 1966. Irvine is the administrative centre and the seat of the North Ayrshire Council administration which has its headquarters based at Cunninghame House. Irvine was the site of Scotland's 12th century military capital and former headquarters of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, Hugh de Morville. It also served as the capital of Cunninghame and was, at the time of David I, Robert II and Robert III, one of the earliest capitals of Scotland.
Borrowstounness is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falkirk council area, 17 miles northwest of Edinburgh and 6+3⁄4 miles east of Falkirk. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, the population of the Bo'ness locality was 15,100.
Saltcoats is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages along the shore. It is part of the 'Three Towns' conurbation along with Ardrossan and Stevenston and is the third largest town in North Ayrshire.
Pollokshaws is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood and Hillpark to the south and Shawlands to the north, with the Glasgow South Western Line railway and the open lands of Pollok Country Park to the west. The White Cart Water flows through the area.
Kilwinning is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about 21 miles (34 km) southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Parish. The 2001 Census recorded the town as having a population of 15,908. The estimated population in 2016 was 16,460.
Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore of the Firth of Clyde.
Saltcoats railway station is a railway station serving the town of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.
Ardrossan Castle is situated on the west coast of Scotland in the town of Ardrossan, Ayrshire. The castle, defended by a moat, stands on a ridge above the town. There is a keep dating from the fifteenth century, and a vaulted range containing a kitchen and cellars. In a deep passageway there is a well. Part of the keep remains up to the corbels of the parapet, but it is in ruins. The original castle, owned by Clan Barclay, was partly destroyed during the Wars of Scottish Independence. This event, in which the English garrison was slaughtered, became known as "Wallace's Larder," a name which is still applied to the remaining vaults. Rebuilt by Clan Montgomery in the 15th century, Ardrossan later fell into disuse and was partially demolished by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century who used the stones to help construct the Ayr Citadel. This castle is the subject for a ghostlore story featuring the ghost of William Wallace.
The Stevenston Canal was a waterway in North Ayrshire, Scotland, built for Robert Reid Cunningham of Seabank and Patrick Warner of the Ardeer Estate, which ran to the port of Saltcoats from Ardeer, and Stevenston with a number of short branches to coal pits along the length of the cut. The canal opened on 19 September 1772, the first commercial canal in Scotland. It closed in the 1830s, when it was abandoned following the exhaustion of the coal mines and the rise of importance of Ardrossan as a harbour. At the time of its construction it was said to be the "most complete water system of colliery transport ever devised in Britain."
Airdie Town House is a municipal building in Bank Street, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town house, which was the headquarters of Airdrie Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.
The Town Buildings, also known as the Municipal Buildings, are in Fore Street, Port Glasgow, Scotland. The structure, which served as the meeting place of Port Glasgow Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.
Saltcoats Town Hall is a municipal building in Countess Street, Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The building, which is used by North Ayrshire Council as hub for the delivery of local services, is a Category B listed building.
Ardrossan Civic Centre is a municipal building in Glasgow Street, Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The building, which is largely used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
Campbeltown Town Hall is a municipal structure in Main Street in Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.
The Old Town House is a municipal building in the High Street in Old Aberdeen, Scotland. The structure, which is now the home of the King's Museum, is a Category A listed building.
Auchtermuchty Town House is a municipal structure in the High Street, Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which accommodates the local public library, is a Category B listed building.
Whiteinch Burgh Hall is a municipal building on Victoria Park Drive South in Whiteinch, part of Glasgow, Scotland. The burgh hall, which is currently derelict, is a Category B listed building.