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Summary

Description

James Miller, 1932. Neo-Georgian town hall with municipal offices to front; concert hall at rear. Symmetrical 2-storey with attic and basement, 9-bay principal elevation grouped 3-3-3 (advanced at centre); 13-bay elevation to NW; single and 2-storey extension to S (Noad & Wallace, circa 1960). Red brick; ashlar dressings (Blaxter sandstone); red tile roof. Sandstone plinth; dentilled cornice to entablature advanced at centre; balustraded parapet; moulded eaves course to remainder; overhanging eaves. Giant order fluted, Composite pilasters dividing central bays; pilastered surrounds to ground floor windows with architraved, round-arched uppers; square headed windows at basement and 1st floors; projecting sandstone cills. Columnar porch to front; balustraded balconies to N.

NE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: steps to entrance centred at ground; wrought-iron outer doors; 2-leaf 10-pane vestibule doors within; projecting porch comprising flanking pilasters, advanced Doric columns, full entablature with dentilled cornice beneath balustraded balcony; French windows aligned at 1st floor. Squat basement window in bay to right; ramp obscuring bay to left; round-arched windows at ground; square-headed windows at 1st floor; surmounting balustraded parapet. Squat basement windows in remaining bays recessed to right; regularly fenestrated at ground and 1st floors; 2 tripartite dormers aligned above. Ramp obscuring basement in remaining bays recessed to outer left; regularly fenestrated at ground and 1st floors; 2 tripartite dormers aligned above.

NW (SIDE) ELEVATION: 13-bay; advanced in penultimate bay to outer right. Near-symmetrical 11-bay elevation to left comprising steps to canopied concert hall entrance centred at ground; balustraded balcony to French doors aligned at 1st floor. Squat basement windows in remaining bays to left; regularly fenestrated at ground and 1st floors (French doors at 1st floor in penultimate bay to outer left; balustraded balcony to front). Squat basement opening in bay to right of entrance; steps to 2-leaf basement door in subsequent bay to right; regularly fenestrated above. Regularly fenestrated at ground and 1st floors in 3 bays to right (French doors at 1st floor in penultimate bay to outer right; balustraded balcony to front). Full-height single bay projection in penultimate bay to outer right with steps to 2-leaf, part glazed boarded timber door at ground; ashlar surround comprising stylised pilasters, architraved, round-arched pediment; single window at 1st floor. Part-glazed boarded timber door at ground in bay recessed to outer right.

SE (SIDE) ELEVATION: regularly fenestrated at ground and 1st floors in 3-bay projection to outer right; bipartite dormers aligned above. Single windows at 1st floor in bays recessed to left; later single and 2-storey extension projecting to front.

SW (REAR) ELEVATION: 9-bay, grouped 1-7-1; advanced at centre; fluted giant order pilasters dividing 5 central bays. 2-leaf boarded timber door centred at ground; architraved surround; heavy, panelled parapet; square-headed windows at ground in 3 bays to left and right respectively (breaking plinth); 5 double-height windows set between pilasters above. Round-arched single windows at ground in bays recessed to outer left and right. Later addition adjoined to right.

Small-pane metal glazing throughout. Red tile piended and platformed roof slightly swept at eaves; cast-iron rainwater goods. Sandstone cornices to red brick ridge stacks; circular cans.

INTERIOR: 2-leaf 10-pane vestibule doors; pilastered doorpieces with full entablatures to 2-leaf glazed timber doors off hall (council offices). Raised skirting boards; simple cornices. Half-turn hall stair to 1st floor with stone treads; barley-sugar balusters. Original floor covering to rear vestibule linking hall; 2-leaf small-pane doors; timber panelled kiosk; half-turn stair with stone treads, straight and barley-sugar balusters. Shallow-vaulted, double-height hall with ventilator strips between raised braces; architraved timber surrounds to 2-leaf doors; timber panelled dado; 3-sided, timber-fronted gallery (tiered seats to NE). Lugged, segmental-arched opening framing stage; balustraded stairs flanking sides.

LAMP STANDARDS: decorative lamp standards to front flanking entrance comprising fluted plinths; anthemion detailing to shaft bases; surmounting lamps with painted coats-of-arms; tapering finials.

Statement of Special Interest

Built on a site gifted by Sir Alexander Walker - a client for whom Miller had already worked in Troon (see separate list entry, No 137 Bentinck Drive, Rowallan). The first designs date back to 1915 with a similar scheme on a larger scale. This was postponed due to the war. The final, executed scheme continued the original theme, with round-arched ground floor openings, columnar doorpieces, square-headed 1st floor openings and a piended, platformed roof. Here, Miller made clear his ability to design simply on a large scale, accommodating function within an appropriate frame. Despite a later extension, the original building remains virtually unchanged. A significant example of Miller's Neo-Georgian work, this is also one of Troon's most prominent buildings.

References

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