Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

TARBOLTON, SANDGATE, BURNS BACHELORS' CLUB INCLUDING BOUNDARY WALLLB19689

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
14/04/1971
Supplementary Information Updated
08/04/2021
Local Authority
South Ayrshire
Planning Authority
South Ayrshire
Parish
Tarbolton
NGR
NS 43100 27190
Coordinates
243100, 627190

Description

17th century with later alterations. Two-storey, three-bay, rectangular-plan house. Whitewashed rubble walls, straw thatched roof with raised reed thatched ridge. Modillion eaves course.

North (Entrance) Elevation: central square-headed entrance; panelled timber door; single window to left (with timber shutter), additional entrance (panelled timber door to right); two single windows at first floor with Bachelors' Club plaque between.

East (Side) Elevation: single window to left at ground floor; single window to right at first floor (timber shutter to ground floor window). Recessed stair to outer left provides access to first floor; timber handrail.

South (Rear) Elevation: external stair provides access to first floor; flanking single windows at first floor; infilled opening to left at ground floor. Single windows at ground and first floor to outer left.

Small-paned timber windows (some sash and case). Reed-roofed; painted brick gablehead stacks; circular cans (to left only).

Interior: reconstruction of use from Burns' day (see Notes). Ground floor: divided into byre and kitchen use. Stone floor; timber dado ceiling; dado panelling to bed to south wall; byre to west wall; plain corniced fireplace and grate to east wall. First floor: debating room. Timber floor; whitewashed flat ceiling. Plain square-headed fireplaces to east and west walls.

Boundary Wall: whitewashed boundary wall to east of house.

Statement of Special Interest

Robert Burns formed a debating society for himself and six other young men in 1780. The first subject discussed was whether to marry for looks or fortune. It was here in 1781 that he was initiated into Freemasonry. Owned by John Richard, wright of Tarbolton in Burns' day, the property was acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1938 and formally opened in 1951 after restoring the two floors to their former uses.

It is among a relatively small number of traditional buildings with a surviving thatched roof found across Scotland. A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland, published in 2016 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), found there were only around 200 buildings of this type remaining, most of which are found in small rural communities. Thatched buildings are often traditionally built, showing distinctive local and regional building methods and materials. Those that survive are important in helping us understand these traditional skills and an earlier way of life.

Listed building record revised in 2021 as part of the Thatched Buildings Listing Review.

References

Bibliography

Maps

Armstrong, A. (1775) A New Map of Ayrshire.

Printed Sources

Close, R. (1992) Ayrshire and Arran: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, p.144.

Groome, F.H. (1892) Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, Vol 6, p.428;

Prentice, R. (Ed) (1975) The National Trust for Scotland Guide, pp.225-6, 232-5;

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Scotland (2016) A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland. London: SPAB. pp.411-412.

Online Sources

Historic Environment Scotland (2018) Scotland's Thatched Buildings: Introductory Designations Report at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=8b3d1317-5a56-4416-905b-a8e800bf4c3c

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 19/03/2024 05:59