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Summary

Description

William Kerr, 1924-6. 2-storey and attic, 4-bay centre flanked by advanced 2 bays, roughly H-plan, symmetrical sports pavilion, adjacent to recreation ground, including bowling green. Octagonal stair towers with ogee roof to side elevations. Rendered; cill course at 1st floor to front and rear elevations. 1st floor openings set close to overhanging eaves. Central 3-stage square timber lantern with clock to 2nd stage; glazed to 3rd stage. Segmental-arched dormers.

NW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: steps leading to multi-pane glazed veranda full-width of recessed centre with bays separated by square pilasters; timber bargeboard; 2-leaf glazed entrance doors to left. Ground floor window to centre of advanced bays with blocked semicircular fanlight.

NE ELEVATION: recessed at centre with balcony at 1st floor supported on paired cast-iron Tuscan columns; plain iron balustrade to balcony. Stairtower to right of balcony; chamfered ashlar copes to wallhead and recessed glazed clearstorey above; blocked openings below wallhead.

SE ELEVATION: 2-bay centre flanked by advanced 2 bays. Entrance to centre and returns of advanced bays. Rectangular brick stack to SE pitch of advanced bays to right.

SW ELEVATION: mirror of NE elevation.

Predominantly multi-pane glazing to timber casement windows. Pantiled, piended roof with bell cast overhanging eaves; pitched felt roof to veranda. Ogee copper roof to stairtowers and clock lantern. Flag pole to stairtowers. Square ridge ventilators.

INTERIOR (seen 2012): remodelled later 20th century; large hall at 1st floor with timber to dado rail and timber floor. Some panelled with upper part glazed timber doors. Dog-leg staircase in octagonal towers, with iron balustrades and timber handrail.

Statement of Special Interest

This is a good example of a well-detailed earlier 20th century sports pavilion by a local architect and funded by local philanthropic mill owners. The building retains many good original architectural details such as the segmental arched dormers, timber clock lantern and the octagonal stair towers. The pavilion and recreation ground was provided for the use of employees of Patons and Baldwins, with the wider local community being able to pay for using the facilities and therefore is an important surviving example of Alloa's social history and its interest in sport.

The Paton family founded their wealth in the spinning and drying of wool. Commencing as John Paton's cottage industry the company was to become the largest wool spinning company in Great Britain, with its principal mill, Kilncraigs, in Alloa (see separate listing). After amalgamation in 1920, the company was known as Patons and Baldwins. Both family companies showed concern for their employees and local community. The Paton family supported The Temperance Movement and became generous benefactors to Alloa. John Thomson Paton funded the Town Hall and the public baths, Alexander Paton funded Old Paton's Mill School and David Paton of Tillicoulty funded the Greenside Mission Chapel (see separate listings).

William Kerr was a senior partner in the Alloa architectural practice of John Melvin and Sons, and undertook a number of commissions for firm's principal patron, the Paton family. Kerr had been recommended to the Patons by his previous employer, Thomas Graham Abercrombie, through family and client connections with the Coats family, relatives of the Patons. His work for the Patons included both commercial, domestic and recreation buildings, such as the new office block at Kilncaigs Works and Gean House (see separate listings).

The recreation ground originally included tennis courts, hockey and football pitches and lawn bowls; however only the bowling green exists today. Lawn bowls is a hugely popular sport in Scotland and it has a long and distinguished history with the earliest reference to the game in Scotland appearing in 1469 when James IV played a variation of the game referred to as 'lang bowlis' at St Andrews in Fife. The first public bowling green in Scotland was laid out in 1669 at Haddington, near Edinburgh, however it was not until 1864 that the rules of the modern game were committed to writing by William Mitchell of Glasgow in his Manual of Bowl-Playing. Machine manufactured standard bowls were invented by Thomas Taylor Ltd, also of Glasgow, in 1871 and the Scottish Bowling Association was formed in 1892. The advent of indoor bowling also began in Scotland around 1879. Today there are around 900 clubs in Scotland with an estimated 90,000 active lawn bowls players.

Category changed from C to B on 18 January 1990.

List description updated as part of the sporting buildings thematic study (2012-13).

References

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