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

ABERDOUR, HIGH STREET, THE WOODSIDE HOTELLB3560

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
12/07/1985
Local Authority
Fife
Planning Authority
Fife
Parish
Aberdour (Fife)
NGR
NT 18879 85246
Coordinates
318879, 685246

Description

1872. 3-storey, 3-bay rectangular-plan hotel with central entrance tower flanked by single storey and attic and 2 storey and attic wings to west and east respectively. Tooled, coursed ashlar to principal block, base course, raised chamfered window margins, polished ashlar long and short quoins to arises, eaves course to tower. Red sandstone ashlar to ground floor and margins of east wing with harled upper floor; harled walls with sandstone ashlar margins and details to west wing and Doune Hall.

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: slightly advanced entrance tower breaking eaves at centre; carved mask to keystone of round-arched entrance door, framed by pilastered doorpiece with decorative consoles supporting entablature. Modern window at ground in bay to left, pair of windows in bay to right. 1st floor window of entrance tower margined with strapwork pediment incorporating date inscription of 1872, bipartite window in bay to left, 3-light canted stone oriel corbelled out in bay to right. Margined window at 2nd floor of entrance tower, bipartite windows in gabled stone dormerheads breaking eaves in flanking bays.

WEST WING: asymmetrical 4-bay principal elevation, regular fenestration in bays to right of centre, pedimented doorpiece to doorway at outer right; stone base to flat-roofed canted bay window in bay to left of centre; doorway in bay to outer left. Tripartite window in large stone dormerhead breaking eaves in bays to left of centre; semicircular and triangular stone dormerheads to dormers breaking eaves in bays to right of centre.

EAST WING: asymmetrical 3-bay elevation with high base course; architraved door at centre with bipartite window to right; 3-light canted stone oriel at centred above at 1st floor, regular fenestration in bays at left.

DOUNE HALL: near-symmetrical 3-bay elevation; stop-chamfered margins to windows grouped at centre; bipartite windows centred at ground and 1st floors, arrowslit to nepus gable breaking eaves at centre. Window at ground in bay to left of centre, corniced overdoor to entrance in bay to right of centre, regular fenestration in outer bays at 1st floor.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: modern extension advanced at ground floor of principal block; pavilion-roofed stair tower advanced at centre with louvers to paired windows at 1st floor and single window centred above; regular fenestration at 1st floor in flanking bays; piend-roofed dormers breaking eaves at 2nd floor. Gabled rectangular-plan annexe projecting to rear of west wing; 3 bulls-eye clerestorey windows in north gable, segmental-arched clerestorey windows to side elevations. Irregular fenestration to rear of east wing and Doune Hall.

Panelled 2-leaf timber principal entrance door, multi-pane timber windows at ground floor, 4-pane timber sash and case windows to upper floors; multi-pane upper sashes and single-pane lower sashes to windows of west wing and east wing; various multi-paned timber windows to Doune Hall. French-pavilion roof entrance tower; with bell-cast eaves, fish-scale slating and brattishing surmounted by weathervane. Grey slates and saw-toothed ashlar skews to roof of principal block; grey slate roof with red ridge tiles to west wing; red plain tiles to Doune Hall and dormered mansard roof of east wing, coped gable apex stacks with circular clay cans to principal block and wings.

INTERIOR: largely modernised to principal areas of Hotel. Elaborate timberwork to upper part of annexe. Continuous heavy timber cornice below arcaded segmental-arched clerestorey window recesses to all sides enclosing panelled aprons with elaborately-carved projecting shelves; continuous dentilled cornice above; barrel-vaulted ceiling in decorative stained glass; segmental gable ends enclosing carved Coats of Arms of Australia and Great Britain to north and south respectively. 9-pane fixed-lights to circular clerestorey windows with freeform foliate carving to surrounds.

Statement of Special Interest

NOTES: The hotel dominates the upper E end of the High Street. The 1873 hotel stands at the centre flanked to the left by a wing which predates it (however it has been altered in the 20th century). The wing to the left was built as Doune Hall and gifted to the village as a recreation hall when the Earl of Moray's son Lord Doune, became of age in 1913, sometime after this the hotel acquired it and converted it to domestic use. There is a strong maritme connection at the Woodside, the hotel was built for the Greig brothers, it is acknowledged that there great grandfather Samuel Greig was the founder of the russian navy. Set within the keystone to the principal entrance is the half bust of 1 of the brothers. However the real maritime connection can only be appreciated by entering the hotel. To the rear of the West Wing is a rectangular-plan room surmounted by the upper section of the smoking room of the steam ship Orontes. The Orontes was built by the Fairfield Ship building Co, Glasgow, sailing her maiden voyage on 24th of October 1902. She was intended to carry mail and passengers to Australia and was run by the Orient Line . In 1916 she became a troopship and resumed her Australia service in 1919. She was sold in 1922 for conversion into an exhibition ship and was renamed the British Ship. At the end of 1922 she was repossessed by the Orient Line and reverted back to the name Orontes. In 1926 she was scrapped at Inverkeithing and the ceiling of her smoking room was salvaged and reassembled at the Woodside. The ceiling is a fine example of early 20th century interior design made up of expertly turned wooden carving and a stylised stain-glass ceiling.

References

Bibliography

REFERENCES: 2nd edition (Fife) Ordnance Survey map (1895-1896). Additional information courtesy of the owner, (2002).

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: 31/07/2025 10:04