Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Essentially mid 19th century in present form, but not all one build and incorporating earlier fabric. Beside bridge at W approach to town. 2 adjoining 2-storey ranges with attics and basements, stable court to rear (N); piended 2-bay W flank and lengthened W wall of stables rise from river bank retaining walls. Built mainly of red sandstone; slate roofs.

W Range: polished ashlar 6-bay elevation to High Street with 2 doors, modern glazing at ground, single windows and bipartites at 1st floor, band course below 1st floor cill band; attic wallhead gable to right.

E Range: 2 storeys, 3 bays, central door with inserted bolection-moulded doorpiece breaking base course (basement roughly-coursed rubble); 6 and 9-pane sash windows; 3 dormers; straight skews; end stacks.

Stable Court: cobbled court enclosed at N and E by high walls (gate to Battery Street); stables (now part hotel accommodation) with timber-lintelled bays; loft (below eaves) built of brick with ashlar uprights dividing bays; boarded hatch central.

INTERIOR: central entrance corridor opening out to bar and open plan arrangement (formerly 2 rooms). Plain bar counter and gantry. Inter-war panelling to walls; pilasters. 2 timber chimneypieces with Delft tile insets. Intact Gents with tiling and Shanks Urinals (not seen, see Scotland's True Heritage Pubs).

Statement of Special Interest

a good 18th and 19th century public house and coaching inn occupying a very prominent position at the entrance to Annan.

According to the owner, the building was built in 1770 by William Stewart, a vinter from Lockerbie, who feued the land from the Marquis of Annandale. The building is clearly labeled as The Blue Bell on John Wood's plan of 1826, with the owner marked as Mr Hope. The lower section closest to the bridge was built in about 1840.

In 1917 all the pubs in Annan were taken into state ownership in order to control the consumption of alcohol by workers in the munitions factory in Gretna. Under this scheme the Blue Bell was refitted internally and the Delft tile fireplaces are probably from this period.

Hans Christian Anderson is said to have stayed here.

List description updated as part of thematic survey on heritage public houses.

References

Bibliography

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.