Stonehaven Town Hall

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Stonehaven Town Hall
Stonehaven Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 950512.jpg
Stonehaven Town Hall
LocationAllardice Street, Stonehaven
Coordinates 56°57′50″N2°12′29″W / 56.9640°N 2.2080°W / 56.9640; -2.2080
Built1878
Architect James Matthews and William Lawrie
Architectural style(s) Renaissance style
Listed Building – Category B
Official nameTown Hall, 32-36 Allardice Street, Stonehaven
Designated25 November 1980
Reference no.LB41534
Aberdeenshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Aberdeenshire

Stonehaven Town Hall is a municipal building in Allardice Street, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The building, which is largely used as an events venue, is a Category B listed building. [1]

Contents

History

The clock tower of 1790 Clock Tower (geograph 5154866).jpg
The clock tower of 1790

The first municipal building in Stonehaven was the Stonehaven Tolbooth which was erected on the old pier in the late 16th century. [2] It was used as a courthouse and as a prison and later as a storehouse [2] and was followed by the town house and clock tower which were erected by public subscription in the High Street, a short distance to the west of the tolbooth, in 1790. [3]

In the 19th century the focus of development moved north of the Carron Water to what became known as the "New Town": the market buildings were built on the west side of Allardice Street and completed in 1827. [4] In the 1870s the burgh leaders decided to commission a dedicated civic events venue for the town: the site they selected was on the east side of Allardice Street facing the market buildings. [5] The new building was designed by James Matthews and William Lawrie in the Renaissance style, built in rubble masonry at a cost of £4,000 and was officially opened on 7 May 1878. [6] [7] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Allardice Street together with an additional recessed bay on the left which featured an arched carriageway on the ground floor; the central bay featured a doorway flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature and a frieze inscribed with the words "Town Hall". [1] The first floor was fenestrated with round headed sash windows in all the bays including the recessed bay. [1] At roof level there was a cornice, a parapet and a central panel inscribed with the date of construction and, behind the parapet, there were also five dormer windows. [1] Internally, the principal rooms were the assembly hall, a billiard room and a reading room. [8]

The building was used as an events venue from an early stage: the showman, Walford Bodie, conducted his first public performance of hypnosis, ventriloquism and magic in the town hall, at the age of 15, in 1884. [9] The market buildings and the town hall were transferred to an elected board of trustees, who held the properties for the benefit of the burgh, in 1901, [10] shortly before the town hall was altered to a design by Duncan McMillan and John Ross McMillan in 1903. [1] Although the town hall was used as a venue for civic events, burgh council officers and their staff were located in offices in Cameron Street. [11] Concert performers included the contralto singer, Kathleen Ferrier, who made an appearance on 4 April 1943. [12]

In summer 1975, an annual art exhibition was instituted in the town hall, involving artists from all over the north-east of Scotland. [13] The community-run radio station, Mearns FM , was based at the town hall from its inception in 2007 until late 2019: after broadcasting from temporary studios, the station moved permanently to a new studio on Ann Street on 13 September 2020. [14]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic Environment Scotland. "Town Hall, 32-36 Allardice Street, Stonehaven (LB41534)" . Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 Napier, James (1870). Stonehaven and its historical associations being a guide to Dunnottar Castle and other places of interest. John Taylor. p. 3.
  3. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Town House And Clock Tower, High Street, Stonehaven (LB41615)" . Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Market Square, Market Buildings (LB41640)" . Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1903. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "Stonehaven Town Hall". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  7. ↑ The British Architect and Northern Engineer. Vol. 9. J.F. Wells for the Proprietors, The British Architect Company. 10 May 1878. p. 224.
  8. ↑ "Stonehaven". Gazetteer of Scotland. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Tait, Derek (2018). The Great Illusionists. Pen and Sword History. ISBN   978-1473890763.
  10. ↑ "No. 11354". The Edinburgh Gazette . 5 November 1901. p. 1271.
  11. ↑ "No. 17998". The Edinburgh Gazette . 12 January 1962. p. 19.
  12. ↑ Fifield, Christopher (2011). Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier: Revised and Enlarged Edition. Boydell Press. p. 226. ISBN   978-1843830917.
  13. ↑ "Art display will be absent from Stonehaven's town hall for first time since 1975". Press and Journal. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  14. ↑ "About us". Mearns FM. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
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