Stonehaven Town House

Last updated

Stonehaven Town House
Clock Tower (geograph 5154866).jpg
The building in 2015
LocationHigh Street, Stonehaven
Coordinates 56°57′39″N2°12′15″W / 56.9608°N 2.2043°W / 56.9608; -2.2043
Built1790
ArchitectJames Rhind
Architectural style(s) Scottish medieval style
Listed Building – Category B
Official nameHigh Street, The Cross, The Town House
Designated18 August 1972
Reference no.LB41615
Aberdeenshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Aberdeenshire

Stonehaven Town House, also known as the Clock Tower and the Old Town Steeple, is a former municipal building on the High Street in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The building, which was previously the meeting place of the burgh council, is a Category B listed building. [1]

Contents

History

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 county courthouse for the county of Kincardineshire but, after a new county courthouse was established in Dunnottar Avenue in 1767, it became a storehouse. [2]

The steeple was erected by public subscription in the High Street, a short distance to the west of the tolbooth. It was designed by James Rhind in the Scottish medieval style, built in rubble masonry and was completed in 1790. The design involved a four-stage tower with a doorway in the first stage, sash windows in the second and third stages and clock faces on the fourth stage, all surmounted by a hexagonal belfry with louvres, a spire and a weather vane. The original clock was designed and manufactured by James Duncan of Oldmeldrum. [1]

The building, which was augmented by new blocks to the east and south and became known as the "Town House", served as a meeting place for the burgh council. [3] A barometer was installed in the second stage in 1852 and the mercat cross was moved to its present location, in front of the door to the steeple in 1864. [4] However, the town house was in the "Auld Toon" part of Stonehaven and, 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. [5] The burgh council relocated to a new town hall in Allardice Street in the "New Town" in 1878. [6]

Meanwhile, at the Town House, the cross on the top of the shaft of the mercat cross was replaced with a new cross bearing the arms of William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal in 1887, a new bell was installed in the belfry also in 1887, and the clock faces on the steeple were elevated to the top of the fourth stage and given carved pediments in 1894. [1]

During much of the 20th century and the early 21st century, the main role of the building was to provide the bell chimes for the Stonehaven Fireballs Festival at Hogmanay each year. [7] The building was otherwise underused and the condition of the fabric was allowed to deteriorate. It was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and most of 2021, and then one of its windows was blown out during Storm Arwen in November 2021. [8] An extensive programme of refurbishment works, involved the creation of an interpretive display area on the ground floor, the replacement the flooring on the upper floors, and the servicing of the clock by Smith of Derby, [9] was carried out at a cost of £250,000. [10] Following the completion of the works, the building was re-opened in July 2023. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehaven</span> Town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Stonehaven is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal castle in the Wars of Independence, the Scottish Parliament made Stonehaven the successor county town of Kincardineshire. It is currently administered as part of the Aberdeenshire Council Area. Stonehaven had grown around an Iron Age fishing village, now the Auld Toon, and expanded inland from the seaside. As late as the 16th century, old maps indicate the town was called Stonehyve, Stonehive, Timothy Pont also adding the alternative Duniness. It is known informally to locals as Stoney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kincardineshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of north-east Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north, and by Angus on the south-west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehaven Tolbooth</span> Historic building in Stonehaven, Scotland

The Stonehaven Tolbooth is a late 16th-century stone building originally used as a courthouse and a prison in the town of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Constructed of local Old Red Sandstone, the prison probably attained its greatest note, when three local Episcopalian clergymen were imprisoned for holding services for more than nine people. Lying midway along the old north quay of the Stonehaven Harbour, the present day Tolbooth serves as a local museum with a restaurant on the floor above the ground floor. It is a category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girvan Steeple</span> Municipal building in Girvan, Scotland

The Girvan Steeple is a steeple and the site of a former townhouse in Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Its popular name, "Stumpy Tower", "Stumpy Jail" or "Auld Stumpy", is derived from the Gaelic Olladh Stiom Paidh, meaning "Great Circle of Justice". It is a Category B listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolbooth</span>

A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh, along with the mercat cross and the kirk (church).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayr Town Hall</span> Municipal Building in Ayr, Scotland

Ayr Town Hall is a municipal building in New Bridge Street, Ayr, Scotland. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Ayr Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkcudbright Tolbooth</span> Historic municipal building in Scotland

Kirkcudbright Tolbooth is a historic municipal building in Kirkcudbright in Kirkcudbrightshire in the administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built between 1627 and 1629 to serve the town as a centre of commercial administration, a meeting place for the council, and a prison, it was used for all these roles until the late eighteenth century when the council moved much of its business to new, larger premises they had constructed across the street; the tolbooth remained in use as a prison until the early nineteenth century, after which it remained in council ownership and was put to a variety of uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musselburgh Tolbooth</span> Municipal building in Musselburgh, Scotland

Musselburgh Tolbooth is a municipal building in the High Street in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. The tolbooth, which was the headquarters of Musselburgh Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building. At right angles and attached to it is the Musselburgh Town House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterhead Town House</span> Municipal building in Peterhead, Scotland

Peterhead Town House is a municipal structure in Broad Street, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The building, which was the headquarters of Peterhead Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stirling Tolbooth</span> Municipal building in Stirling, Scotland

Stirling Tolbooth is a municipal building in Broad Street, Stirling, Scotland. The structure, which was the original meeting place of Stirling Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehaven Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Stonehaven, Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banff Town House</span> Municipal Building in Banff, Scotland

Banff Town House is a municipal building in Low Street, Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The building, which is used as a customer service point and job centre, forms part of a complex consisting of a steeple, completed in 1767, which is a Category A listed building, and a town house, completed in 1797, which is also a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cupar Burgh Chambers</span> Municipal Building in Cupar, Scotland

Cupar Burgh Chambers is a municipal structure in St Catherine Street in Cupar, Fife, Scotland. The building, which was the meeting place of Cupar Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochmaben Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Lochmaben, Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selkirk Town House</span> Municipal building in Selkirk, Scotland

Selkirk Town House is a municipal building in the Market Place, Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a local history museum is a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newburgh Town House</span> Municipal building in Newburgh, Scotland

Newburgh Town House is a municipal building in the High Street in Newburgh, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a series of artists' studios, is a Category B listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreel Halls</span> Municipal building in Anstruther, Scotland

Dreel Halls is a municipal complex in Elizabeth Place, Anstruther Wester, Fife, Scotland. The complex, which is used as a community events venue, consists of the former St Nicholas's Parish Church, which is a Category A listed building, and the former Anstruther Wester Town Hall, which is a Category C listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmiglo Town House</span> Municipal building in Strathmiglo, Scotland

Strathmiglo Town House is a municipal structure in the High Street, Strathmiglo, Fife, Scotland. The structure, which is now disused, is a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crieff Town Hall</span> Municipal building in Kirkwall, Scotland

Crieff Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Crieff, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The structure, which is currently used as a tourist information centre and museum, is a Category B listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehaven Sheriff Court</span> Judicial building in Stonehaven, Scotland

Stonehaven Sheriff Court, formerly known as County Buildings, is a judicial structure in Dunnottar Avenue, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The structure, which was used as the headquarters of Kincardineshire County Council as well as a courthouse, is a Category B listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Historic Environment Scotland. "High Street, The Cross, The Town House (Category B Listed Building) (LB41615)" . Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  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. ↑ "No. 19634". The London Gazette . 10 July 1838. p. 1562.
  4. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Stonehaven, High Street, Market Cross (36920)". Canmore . Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  5. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Market Square, Market Buildings (LB41640)" . Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Town Hall, 32-36 Allardice Street, Stonehaven (LB41534)" . Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  7. ↑ "Stonehaven Fireballs". Stunning Stonehaven. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Historic Stonehaven clock tower re-opens for first time since pandemic". Aberdeen Live. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "Stonehaven Clock Tower Re-opens". Smith of Derby. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Project description". My Places Scotland. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  11. ↑ "Stonehaven Clock Tower reopens to the public following programme of improvements". Aberdeenshire Council. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  12. ↑ "Stonehaven Clock Tower reopens to the public after refurbishment". The Press and Journal. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.