Old Town Hall, Portsoy

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Old Town Hall
The Hall, The Square, Portsoy (geograph 7190878).jpg
Old Town Hall
LocationThe Square, Portsoy
Coordinates 57°41′00″N2°41′31″W / 57.6834°N 2.6919°W / 57.6834; -2.6919 Coordinates: 57°41′00″N2°41′31″W / 57.6834°N 2.6919°W / 57.6834; -2.6919
Built1798(224 years ago) (1798)
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Official nameThe Square, The Hall
Designated22 February 1972
Reference no.LB40311
Aberdeenshire UK location map.svg
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Shown in Aberdeenshire
Scotland location map.svg
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Old Town Hall, Portsoy (Scotland)

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building on the north side of The Square in Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The structure, which is used for religious gatherings, is a Category C listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The building was commissioned as an events venue in the late 18th century. [2] It was designed in the neoclassical style, built in brick with a harled finish and was completed in 1798. [1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto The Square. The central bay, which projected forward, featured a sash window with a pediment, and a date stone in the centre of the gable above, which was itself surmounted by a chimney. The bays on either side of the central bay were fenestrated with plain sash windows while the outer bays contained doorways with architraves and square-shaped fanlights. The sash windows and fanlights all featured a distinctive bordered glazing pattern. [1]

The building, which was remodelled in 1892, [3] was used for recruitment meetings at the start of the First World War [4] and then briefly served as a drill station for the local platoon from A company of the 6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders, before the battalion was deployed for service to the Western Front in November 1914. [5] [6] [7] After the war, the burgh council established itself in a new hall in Seafield Street which had been built as a church and completed in 1875. [8] [9]

Following its own recruitment campaign, the local branch the Salvation Army acquired the building in The Square in 1923. [10] The Salvation Army enjoyed a revival of its activities in 1949 but, after its numbers dwindled, the hall closed in 1990. [11] The building was subsequently used by the local branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses and was designated the local Kingdom Hall. [12] In 2015, the building was transferred to the management of a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) known as the "Portsoy Community Church", which leased the former Salvation Army Hall from Aberdeenshire Council. [13] Organisations which subsequently chose to use the building included the local branch of the Destiny Church, which is a Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity group served by a local pastor. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "The Square, The Hall (LB40311)" . Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  2. "Town Hall". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  3. McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publications Ltd. p. 42. ISBN   978-1851582310.
  4. "Portsoy in 1914" (PDF). The North East Folklore Archive. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  5. "6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders". Wartime Memories Project. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  6. "Portsoy Soldiers at the Western Front" (PDF). The North East Folklore Archive. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  7. "Gordon Highlanders". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. O'Connor, Susan (2017). "Architecture, power and ritual in Scottish town halls, 1833–1973" (PDF). p. 245. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  9. "Portsoy Town Hall". Right Lines. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  10. "Salvation Army Hall, Portsoy". 1923. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  11. Armistead, David (2017). "The Army of Alba: A History of The Salvation Army in Scotland (1879-2004)" (PDF). The Salvation Army. p. 271.
  12. Historic Environment Scotland. "Portsoy, The Square, Town Hall (111853)". Canmore . Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  13. "Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 April 2018". Portsoy Community Church: Charity No. SC046193. p. 3. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  14. "Aberdeenshire polling places confirmed". Fraserburgh Herald. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2022.