Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

W T Oldrieve, 1907. 3-storey, 5-bay by 8-bay corner block Post Office with Renaissance details and canted corner. Coursed red Ballochmyle sandstone ashlar. Base course, main mutule cornice and low parapet. Architraved window surrounds. Triangular pediments to 2nd floor bays flanking corner.

E (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: modern polished granite post office frontage in 3 left bays, architraved window to 4th bay; 4 identically treated bays to 1st floor; mutule cornice with 4 windows to 2nd floor, low parapet surmounting. 5th bay leading to canted corner: wide, slightly advanced triangular pedimented bay, Venetian window with column mullions and broken base pediment to ground floor; tripartite window with columned mullions to 1st floor; mutule cornice leading to recessed swagged oculi with projecting keystone, within broken base triangular pediment. Canted angle bay: architraved bipartite window to ground floor, shorter bipartite window to 1st floor with open segmental pediment with broken base; aedicule window to 2nd floor with carved E R with crown between, raised and decorated parapet surmounting.

N ELEVATION: 1st bay adjoining canted corner to left: wide, slightly advanced triangular pedimented bay, Venetian window with column mullions and broken base pediment to ground floor; tripartite window with columned mullions to 1st floor; mutule cornice leading to recessed swagged oculi with projecting keystone, within broken base triangular pediment. Former tripartite entrance to 2nd & 3rd bays: outer door bays now in-filled to form windows, original window between, 3 smaller windows above each, architraved window to bays 4 & 5, door with rectangular fanlight to 6th bay, architraved window to bays 7 & 8. Architraved windows to each bay of 1st floor, tripartite window to 4th bay. Mutule cornice leading to 2nd floor, regularly placed smaller windows to each bay, parapet surmounting.

S ELEVATION: adjoining George Tannahill & Sons, 75 & 77 John Finnie Street (listed separately)

W (REAR) ELEVATION: adjoining much later 2-storey Nelson Street sorting office.

12 & 8-pane timber sash and case windows. 16-pane timber fixed oculus windows to pedimented bays; fixed single pane arched windows to ground floor tripartite windows. Piended grey slate roof. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods; concealed gutters and partially concealed downpipes.

INTERIOR: ground floor remodelled to provide modern entrance and shop interior; administration offices / sorting offices not seen, 2001.

Statement of Special Interest

Part of John Finnie Street A-Group. John Finnie Street is nearly ? mile long and was built around 1864. It provided a grand thoroughfare for the town with the focal point to the north being the railway station. Business and commerce spread to this street and rows of high quality, 3-storey or more, red sandstone buildings were constructed. The ground floors were given over to retail, offices and accommodation were above. The street dominated the lower, narrower streets in Kilmarnock that were filled with traditional buildings. The street's architect was William Railton, who went on to design the Kilmarnock Infirmary (now demolished) and the surveyor was Robert Blackwood. Not long after the street was built, Archibald Adamson noted the number of handsome buildings. This building was designed specifically to be a Post Office. The architect, William Thomas Oldrieve FSI FSAScot (1853 - 1922), was the Principal Architect and Surveyor for Scotland. He had been appointed Architect for all Provincial Post Offices in 1898. Previously he had been with the Office of Works in Edinburgh (1881); Chief Architect's Office, London Office of Works; in charge of Manchester District Office of Works and Chief Assistant to the Principal Architect to the Department of Works in England. The building is still in use as Kilmarnock's main Post Office.

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.