Aberfeldy Town Hall is a municipal building on Crieff Road in

Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross Aberfeldy () is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, on the River Tay. A small market town, Aberfeldy is located in Highland Perthshire. It was mentioned by Robert Burns in the poem ''The Birks of Aberfeldy'' and in the Ed Sheeran song "The H ...

, Scotland. The structure, which is used as an events venue, is Category B listed.

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the tourism industry, the area became a police burgh in 1887. In this context, the new police commissioners decided to procure a town hall: the site they selected was the former site of the Black House, the original home of the Menzies of Weem, who arrived from

Nithsdale Nithsdale (), also known as Strathnith, Stranith or Stranit, is the strath or dale (landform), dale of the River Nith in southern Scotland. Nithsdale was one of the medieval provinces of Scotland. The provinces gradually lost their administrat ...

around the 14th century. The site was donated to the town by

Gavin Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane Gavin Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane (9 April 1851 – 19 October 1922), styled as Lord Glenorchy between 1862 and 1871 and as the Earl of Breadalbane and Holland between 1871 and 1885, was a Scottish nobleman and Liberal politician. B ...

in 1887. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the local member of parliament, Sir Donald Currie, on 21 September 1889. It was designed in free style by

James MacLaren James Maclaren (March 19, 1818 – February 10, 1892) was an early settler and entrepreneur in western Quebec. Maclaren was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1818. He came to Richmond in Upper Canada with his family in 1822. The family then settl ...

, a London-based architect who was born in

Callander Callander (; ) is a small town in the council area of Stirling (district), Stirling in Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. De ...

; it was built in brick with a

harled Harling is a rough-cast wall finish consisting of lime and aggregate, known for its rough texture. Many castles and other buildings in Scotland and Ulster have walls finished with harling. It is also used on contemporary buildings, where it pr ...

finish and was officially opened on 5 December 1891. The structure incorporated elements of the old

Breadalbane Academy Breadalbane Academy is a 2–18 Mixed-sex education, mixed, State school, state all-through school in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross, Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It has a Gaelic medium education in Scotland, Gaelic Medium provision in t ...

, built circa 1840, at the rear. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with three bays facing onto Crieff Road; there was a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

with red brick

voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...

s and

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

gates on the ground floor and a five-part window on the first floor set into a stone panel and surrounded by a large gable. At roof level there was a large

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

. Internally, the principal rooms were the main hall and the lesser hall. The design was influenced by the American architect

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

: the architectural commentator, Nick Haynes, described it as an "exceptionally avant-garde piece of Free Style" although he regarded the turret as "oversized". The building was used as an events venue from an early stage and highlights included the premiere of ''The Provost's Chain'' by the playwright, Andrew P. Wilson, on 24 August 1931. The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the burgh council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Perth and Kinross District Council was formed in 1975. In 2014, Locus Breadalbane, a community organisation formed to manage the Locus Centre in Aberfeldy, acquired the town hall from

Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council () is the local authority for Perth and Kinross, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since 1999. It is based in Perth. History A district called Perth and Kinross was ...

. At the same time, the author

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

, who lives at

Killiechassie Killiechassie is a country estate and house near Weem, about northeast of Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The estate lies on the banks of the River Tay in some , about north of Edinburgh. It was owned by the Douglas family in the l ...

, made a sizeable donation to a fund to convert the town hall into a music and drama venue.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1891 1891 establishments in Scotland City chambers and town halls in Scotland

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross

History

See also

References