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Summary

Description

James Davidson Cairns, dated 1922, and 1929 with mid 20th century additions. Irregular-plan purpose-built Arts and Crafts golf club house with 17th century Scots detailing. 2-storey hipped and gabled main entrance block with steeply sloping slate roofs and flat parapet roofed single storey courtyard service wing to W. Lying to the edge of the village overlooking the sea side golf course, built on raised terrace areas with steps down to greens. Prominent squared lookout with ogee slated roof to the centre overlooking course, corner ball finials to service wing. Segmental arched entrance door with dated keystone and radial fanlight under plain parapet. Round window to E gable. Eaves and parapet string courses to flat roofed section. Rubble stonework with reclaimed rusticated ashlar quoins (see Notes) and smooth projecting window margins. Circa 1930s part rendered 1st floor addition to SE corner housing steward's accommodation and starters box to W elevation with metal windows.

Timber 5-panelled entrance door with boarded doors to service wing. Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Small slates to roof with swept eaves and weathervane, shouldered and corniced stone wallhead stacks with plain clay cans, cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: timber panelled entrance hall with timber and glazed doors. Main lounge with combed ceiling, arches over inglenook and box bay window, paired timber fire surrounds with marble inserts and carved honours board over. Timber boarded attics, bell box. Some mid 19th century detailing to interior.

Statement of Special Interest

Longniddry Golf Club house is a fine example of a purpose-built golf club house from the earlier 20th century in Arts and Crafts style, surviving largely in its original plan form of a main block with reception areas and clubrooms and an enclosed single storey flat roofed courtyard service wing to the rear (E). The club was built in two phases. Began in 1922 first with the flat roofed service wing was added 7 years later in 1929. The clubhouse has and demonstrates unusual 17th century Jacobean Scots detailing of a high quality.

The architect James Davidson Cairns (1866 ' 1947) served his apprenticeship with Rowand Anderson, later becoming chief assistant to Hippolyte Jean Blanc for 14 years before starting in independent practice in 1908 with Crail United Free Church his first independent design. His body of work was across all building types including churches, hotels, housing restaurants and schools. He was advisory architect to the Scottish Education Department from 1925 until he retired in 1944.

The golf club was built using some salvaged rusticated quoins and other stoneworks from Amisfield House, east of Haddington, designed by Isaac Ware in 1755 which was demolished in 1928. The style of the building has elements of Arts and Crafts detailing in the Scottish East Coast idiom, such as in the work of Robert Lorimer (1864-1929) and Rowand Anderson (1834-1921). The buildings has some picturesque elements in its detailing such as in the roof pitches and ogee roof, and the reuse of older dressed stone adds to its historical character.

Longniddry was a small village at the end of WWI at which time it was identified as a place for expansion and construction by the Scottish Veteran's Garden City Association. The Earl of Wemyss gifted land to create a planned garden city development which began in 1918. The resulting major expansion of the existing village in the years that followed created a need for recreational facilities and the Longniddry Golf Club was established in 1921 with the clubhouse built a year later. Mr Harry Colt, one of the foremost golf course architects of the day, designed the seaside course.

The 'Articles and Laws in Playing Golf', a set of rules whose principles still underpin the game's current regulations, were penned in 1744 by the Company of Gentlemen Golfers (now The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers). Improved transport links and increased leisure time as well as a rise in the middle classes from the mid 19th century onwards increased the popularity of the sport with another peak taking place in the early 1900s.

The sociable aspect of the game encouraged the building of distinctive clubhouses with bar and restaurant facilities. Purpose-built clubhouses date from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, previously clubs had used villas or rooms in an inn near to the course. Earlier clubhouses were typically enlarged in stages as the popularity of the game increased throughout the 19th and 20th century. The sport has grown further in popularity in recent years, especially overseas in places such as USA and Canada.

At the time of writing (2013), the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland, the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), reported around 550 golf courses in Scotland, representing a total membership of approximately 236,000 golf club members. Interestingly, 7 of the 14 venues where the Open Championship is held are in Scotland. Scotland has produced a number of famous golf sporting personalities ' historically, Old Tom Morris (1821-1908) and James Braid (1870-1950) were the pioneers of their time.

Listed as part of the sporting buildings thematic study (2012-13).

References

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