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

48 AND 50 SHIPROW (INCLUDING FORMER HOUSE OF PROVOST ROSS)LB20484

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
12/01/1967
Local Authority
Aberdeen
Planning Authority
Aberdeen
Burgh
Aberdeen
NGR
NJ 94364 6204
Coordinates
394364, 806204

Description

George Johnstone, dated 1593 with later additions to W (see notes); restored and internally linked by Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie, 1954 and now part of the Aberdeen Maritime Museum complex (1996). Pair of rare and early 3-storey townhouses occupying prominent position overlooking harbour on sloping site. Roughly squared and snecked rubble; attic and first floor cill course at No 48; irregular fenestration.

Principal doorway to No 48 with roll-moulded surround in right re-entrant angle of advanced 3-storey and attic gable; armorial plaque above; chamfered quoins; corbelled out and gabled attic level breaking eaves; stone pedimented dormer breaks eaves to left. Coped ashlar curtain wall to central bays encloses small forecourt. Double arched arcade to No 50 with moulded central capital and cast iron gates; recess behind. Full height, piended roof outshot to rear elevation.

Predominantly multi-paned timber sash and case windows. Grey slate; stepped roof. Broad stack to right gable; ridge stacks elsewhere; coped ashlar skews and skewputs. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: Restoration in 1954 followed original mutli-level floor plan. Wide flat-arched fireplaces with chamfered surrounds remain in four rooms, two presently (2006) obscured by museum display. Exposed beam ceilings to E rooms. Some chamferred door surrounds to secondary spaces and spiral stair outshot to rear - stair no longer in situ. Stone vaulting to former kitchen at ground floor. Some internal window shutters remaining at room to NE rear.

Statement of Special Interest

Number 48 Shiprow, commonly known as Provost Ross's House, was constructed under the direction of master-mason Andrew Jamieson. It is the second oldest dwelling in Aberdeen (1593) and is the only survivor of a clean sweep of the area in the 1950's and 1960's. Previously listed separately but now merged with its neighbour at number 50, the two buildings reflect the highest standards of living among rich merchants and civic leaders in sixteenth century Aberdeen.. Its prominent orientation in Shiprow ' one of the principal thoroughfares of Medieval Aberdeen ' gives a clear idea of the original layout of the street. Each floor of the main block would have comprised two main rooms on each side of a central spiral-stair that was housed in the outshot to the rear. No 50 Shiprow is stepped downslope from Provost Ross's House on a slightly curved alignment, a rare example of terracing from such an early date. According to Geoffrey Stell, writing in Aberdeen Before 1800 - A New History, the building is probably of seventeenth century origin, refaced and remodelled in 1710 as part of a design incorporating ground floor arcaded shops.

Provost John Ross of Arnage became resident at Number 48 in 1702 and may also have occupied part of the adjoining house at No 50. By the mid 20th century, the two houses had deteriorated to dereliction and were threatened with demolition. They were acquired at the eleventh hour by the National Trust for Scotland and restored with support from the Trust's members, the City of Aberdeen and the Associated British Picture Corporation. Re-opened by the Secretary of State for Scotland in 1954, the buildings are presently leased by the Trust to the Aberdeen Maritime Museum of Scotland. Access to the 1996 glass-fronted museum building is achieved via two openings at the W gable of No 50 at ground and first floor levels. The glass 'gap site' building links the Provost Ross House to the former Trinity Congregational Church, which has also been converted as part of the Maritime Museum.

References

Bibliography

Chapman and Riley, 'The City and Royal Burgh of Aberdeen - Survey and Plan (1949) p.149; W A Brogden, Aberdeen, An Illustrated Architectural Guide (1986) p.21. Ranald MacInnes, The Aberdeen Guide (1992) p.156. Ian Sheppard - Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Aberdeen and North East Scotland - RCAHMS (1996). Aberdeen before 1800 - A New History, E. P Dennison et al Ed (2000); Further information and photographic evidence courtesy of the curator.

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: 29/03/2024 11:07