Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

WEST LINTON, CLOCK TOWER AND PUBLIC WELLLB8359

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
23/02/1971
Last Date Amended
14/02/2024
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
Planning Authority
Scottish Borders
Parish
West Linton
NGR
NT 14996 51769
Coordinates
314996, 651769

Description

1861, with additions 1894. Octagonal-plan clock tower and public well with carved figure (see Notes). Dressed sandstone ashlar. Base course with square cut well head to E (street) elevation. Above well, copy of 1666 statue of wife of local stonemason James Gifford on decorated base, flanked by cast-iron lamps on scrolled brackets. Octagonal shaft corbelled out to squared upper clock-face stage with 2 circular clock faces to main street; 2 blank roundels to rear. Carved octagonal cap with weathervane finial at apex. Narrow timber access door to rear (W) elevation.

Statement of Special Interest

Prominently sited example of an ornamental Victorian stone clock tower and well on the site of an earlier market cross and public well. The earlier well dated to 1666 was gifted by celebrated local stonemason and laird James Gifford as a memorial to his wife and children, whose statues formally adorned the pedestal.

The cross was replaced in 1861 and heightened in 1894 to form a clock tower with good quality stonework and detailing and continued to incorporate the carved figure of Gifford's wife, which is dated 1666 on the skirt. The statue was removed as a conservative measure in 1996 and, in 2001, was replaced by a cast by Graciela Ainsworth Associates of Edinburgh. The original is now in the Graham Institute building in the lane behind the clock tower.

West Linton has a long-established tradition of stonecarving due to the supply of good quality local stone. Further examples of 17th century stonework by Gifford are at nearby Spitalhaugh and Paulswell (see separate listings). Other fragments of carved stones in West Linton likely to be by Gifford are described in more detail in the RCAHMS Inventory (see References).

List description updated at resurvey (2010).

Statutory address revised to correct spelling mistake in 2024. Previously listed as 'WEST LINTON, CLOCK TOWER AND PUBLIC BELL'.

References

Bibliography

1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1855). 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1896). RCAHMS INVENTORY, Peeblesshire Vol II, (1967) No 652, pp339-40. Charles A Strang, Borders and Berwick, An Illustrated Architectural Guide (1994) p258. Kitty Cruft, John Dunbar and Richard Fawcett, The Buildings of Scotland - Borders (2002) p751.

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.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 15:00