Description
This former drill hall was designed by George Sutherland in 1901-2, in a Free Renaissance style. The principal (northeast) elevation comprises an advanced 2-storey gable with a 3-stage, square tower to the left, a single bay to the right of the gable and a single storey porch to the far right. It is constructed in tooled, squared and coursed grey Avochie granite with long and short, pink Auchindoir ashlar, dressings. There is a battered base course and a string course between the ground and first floor, and the rear elevation is rendered. The tower and the porch elevation have crenelated parapets and the tower has a dentilled cornice.
The advanced gable has bipartite ground floor windows and round-arched, keystoned first floor windows. In the gable head is a plaque with the inscription 'A Company 4th VBGH' which is set under a decorative hoodmould with a thistle motif and the gable is topped with an ogee shaped stone. The first floor window of the single bay to the right of the gable extends above the eaves and has a gabletted dormer with a small carved shield in the dormerhead. The porch section has a single wide segmentally-arched opening while the southeast wall of the drill hall itself has shallow arched window openings.
The windows have been replaced and are predominantly multipane sashes over a single pane. The rainwater goods are predominantly metal with decorative hoppers. The roofs are pitched with grey slates, except the roof of the right section, including the porch, which has a corrugated sheeting roof. There are straight skews and coped wallhead chimney stacks with cylindrical cans.
The interior, seen in 2016, has been comprehensively refurbished and subdivided into offices and training rooms. The iron roof trusses of the hall are still evident in the attic rooms.
Statement of Special Interest
Huntly Family Centre was built in 1901-2 as a drill hall for the thriving A Company, 4th Volunteer Battalion Gordon Highlanders. The principal elevation has very good stonework and it is a distinctive building on this largely residential road. The castellated style of the landmark square tower and porch gives the building an appropriate military appearance in keeping with its function.
A Company, 4th Volunteer Battalion Gordon Highlanders was established around 1860, at the beginning of the volunteer forces movement. The company's former armoury and sergeant-instructors quarters were in a building on The Square in Huntly, and they rented the existing Stewarts Hall to practice. As the company continued to grow this arrangement became insufficient and a purpose built drill hall was required.
A plot of land on Deveron Road was provided by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, and the drill hall was officially opened in November 1902 by Colonel Jackson, the commanding officer of the battalion. The building was deliberately positioned to the northeast corner of the site in order to provide a large parade ground to the west. It cost £2000, £1025 of which was raised by a bazaar the previous year. At the opening ceremony the generosity of the local community in helping fund this drill hall was noted. The building is now owned by Aberdeenshire Council and has been converted to offices, meeting and training spaces for the Huntly Family Centre.
George Sutherland (1861-1927) designed a variety of buildings, primarily in Aberdeen and Banffshire, including churches and schools but most of his work was house designs. It is not known what connection Sutherland had with the volunteer forces but he designed at least two drill halls, with the other known example at Grattan Place, Fraserburgh, designed in 1901 and now used as a community church.
In the late 1850s there was concern in the British Government about the Army's ability to defend both the home nation as well as the Empire. Britain's military defences were stretched and resources to defend Britain needed to be found. One solution was to create 'Volunteer Forces', a reserve of men who volunteered for part-time military training similar to that of the regular army and who could therefore help to defend Britain if the need arose.
In 1859 the Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed and the Volunteer Act of 1863 provided more regulation on how the volunteer forces were run and it set out the standards for drills and a requirement for annual inspections. Most purpose-built drill halls constructed at this time were paid for by a major local landowner, the subscriptions of volunteers, local fundraising efforts or a combination of all three. The Regulations of the Forces Act 1871 (known as the Cardwell Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell) gave forces the legal right to acquire land to build a drill hall and more purpose-built drill halls began to be constructed after this date. The largest period of drill hall construction, aided by government grants, took place between 1880 and 1910. The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (known as the Haldane Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane) came into force in 1908 and the various Volunteer Units were consolidated to form the Territorial Force. The construction of drill halls largely ceased during the First World War and in 1920 the Territorial Force became the Territorial Army.
In the 20th century changes in warfare and weaponry made many of the earlier drill halls redundant and subject to demolition or change to a new use. Around 344 drill halls are believed to have been built in Scotland of which 182 are thought to survive today, although few remain in their original use. Drill halls are an important part of our social and military history. They tell us much about the development of warfare and the history of defending our country. They also, unusually for a nationwide building programme, were not standardised and were often designed by local architects in a variety of styles and they also have a part to play in the history of our communities.
The requirements for drill halls were basic – a large covered open space to train and drill as well as a place for the secure storage of weapons. The vast majority of drill halls were modest utilitarian structures. Most drill halls conformed to the pattern of an administrative block containing offices and the armoury to store weapons along with a caretaker or drill instructors accommodation, usually facing the street. To the rear would be the drill hall itself. Occasionally more extensive accommodation was required, such as for battalion headquarters where interior rifle ranges, libraries, billiards rooms, lecture theatres and bars could all be included.
Listed in 2016 as part of the Drill Halls Listing Review 2015-16.
References
Bibliography
TROVE ID: https://www.trove.scot TROVE ID 180056
Maps
Ordnance Survey (surveyed 1924, published 1926) Aberdeenshire 026.06 (includes: Drumblade; Huntly). 25 inches to the mile. 3rd Edition. Southampton: Ordnance Survey.
Printed Sources
Aberdeen Journal (18 October 1901) Military Bazaar at Huntly. p.7.
Aberdeen Journal (19 October 1901) Huntly Volunteer Bazaar. p.7.
Aberdeen Journal (19 November 1902) New Drill Hall at Huntly. p.7.
Aberdeen People's Journal (22 November 1902) Huntly Drill Hall Opened. p.6.
Historic Environment Scotland (2016) Scotland's Drill Halls Preliminary Report. Unpublished.
Osborne, M. (2006) Always ready: Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Force. p.280
Sharples, J., Walker, D.M. and Woodworth, M. (2015) The Buildings of Scotland: Aberdeenshire: South and Aberdeen. London: Yale University Press. p.531.
Shepherd, I A G. (2006) Aberdeenshire, Donside and Strathbogie: an illustrated architectural guide. Edinburgh. p. 24 and 29.
Online Sources
Dictionary of Scottish Architects. George Sutherland at http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200166 (accessed 15/03/2016).
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Printed: 14/05/2026 01:56