Clydebank Town Hall is a municipal building in Dumbarton Road,

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

, Scotland. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Clydebank Burgh Council, is a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the shipbuilding industry, the area became a burgh in November 1886. Civic leaders initially held their meetings in a shop in Glasgow Road but, after finding this arrangement inadequate, they decided to procure a dedicated town hall: the site they selected was open land on the southwest side of Dumbarton Road. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the member of parliament for Kilmarnock Burghs, Colonel

John Denny John Allen Denny (born November 8, 1952) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds, from ...

, on 23 June 1900. It was designed by James Miller in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone and was officially opened by the

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

, Andrew Stewart, on 4 April 1902. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto Dumbarton Road with the end bays projected forward and topped with segmental open pediments containing carved figures in the tympanums; the central bay, which was also projected forward, featured a doorway with a

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 ...

grill flanked by

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

columns supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

which was decorated with an elaborate carved

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. On the first floor there was a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

with a French door flanked by two pairs of Ionic order columns supporting an arch containing more carved figures. Above the arch was a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

flanked by two

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

s. Set back on the right hand side was a tall clock tower with a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. Internally, the principal rooms were the main hall and the council chamber. Shortly after she was elected secretary of the local branch of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

in 1913, the political activist, Jane Rae, hosted a talk by the suffragette,

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, in the town hall. A war memorial to commemorate the lives of service personnel who had died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was sculpted by

Walter Gilbert Walter Gilbert (born March 21, 1932) is an American biochemist, physicist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate. Education and early life Walter Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932, into a Jewish family, the so ...

, installed on the Hall Street elevation at the foot of the tower and unveiled by the

Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire. Before the twentieth century, the county was spelled Dumbartonshire. *John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone (17 March 1794 – 19 August 1799) *John Elphinstone, ...

, Sir Iain Colquhoun, on 8 June 1931. Despite the close proximity to the shipyard of

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

, the town hall only suffered minor damage in the

Clydebank Blitz The Clydebank Blitz was a pair of air raids conducted by the ''Luftwaffe'' on the shipbuilding and munition-making town of Clydebank in Scotland. The bombings took place in March 1941. The air raids were part of a bombing program known today ...

in March 1941 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A figure of an angel, also referred to as "Mercury", sculpted by Albert Hodge, which had originally been installed on top of the cupola was relocated to the main vestibule after being damaged in a hurricane in 1968. The town hall continued to serve as the headquarters of Clydebank Burgh Council for much of the 20th century and initially remained the meeting place of the enlarged Clydebank District Council after it was formed in 1975. However, most of the council's officers and departments relocated to new council offices in Rosebery Place in 1980. Instead, the Clydebank Museum, which was established to exhibit aspects of local history, was opened in the town hall in 1980. A

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ with three manuals, which had originally been installed in the Ritz cinema in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

was transferred to the town hall in September 1998, but after having been repeatedly damaged by flooding from the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, it was removed for its own protection and was transferred to

Pollokshaws Burgh Hall The Pollokshaws Burgh Hall is a municipal building at the edge of Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, Scotland. The burgh hall, which was briefly the headquarters of Pollokshaws Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building. History The building w ...

in 2007. Following an extensive programme of refurbishment works costing £3.7 million, Clydebank Town Hall reopened as a venue for marriages and civil partnership ceremonies in 2013.

References

{{Reflist Government buildings completed in 1902

Clydebank Category B listed buildings in West Dunbartonshire 1902 establishments in Scotland Clock towers in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References