Milnathort Town Hall is a municipal building in New Road,

Milnathort Milnathort is a small town in the parish of Orwell in the county of Kinross-shire, Scotland and since 1996, the local council area of Perth and Kinross. The smaller neighbour of nearby Kinross, Milnathort has a population of around 2,000 people. ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

, Scotland. The structure, which is currently used as community events venue, is a Category B listed building.

History

The building was commissioned by Orwell Parish Council as a cattle exchange for local farmers and as a market house for the parishioners. The site that the parish council chose for the building, on the north side of New Road, straddled a stream, the "Back Burn". The architectural historian, John Gifford, has suggested that "its 17th century-style steeple and its dominant central position" were indicative of the parish council's desire for Milnathort "to be thought a burgh". The building was designed by a Mr Watt of

Kinross Kinross (, ) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth, Scotland, Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinro ...

, built in

rubble masonry Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...

and was completed in 1855. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto Wester Loan. The building, which was laid out as rectangular block, was fenestrated with

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s on both floors with a pediment over the central three bays. The block was accessed from the south end. Internally, the principal room was the main assembly hall which occupied much of the building and was described as "large and lofty". A police station, to accommodate the office of the local police constable as well as two cells for prisoners, was established at the rear of the building. The building was extended, by the addition of a three-stage tower at the south end, shortly after it was built and certainly by 1877. The tower, which was designed in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

, involved an arched doorway with a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...

and

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 in the first stage, an arched window with

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

and voussoirs in the second stage, and a louvred opening with voussoirs as well as a set of clock faces in the third stage. The tower was surmounted by a

balustraded A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

, a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

and a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. An elaborate

rinceau In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smal ...

decoration scheme was introduced as part of the celebrations for the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

in 1887. The building continued to serve as a community events venue throughout the remainder of the 19th century, the whole of the 20th century and into the 21st century: in addition to

cèilidh A ( , ) or () is a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves Dance (event), dancing and playing Gaelic music, Gaelic folk music, eithe ...

s and other local social events, the building was used for book launches and other public meetings. By the early 21st century had become dilapidated. The local authority,

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 ...

, agreed to lease the building to a local management committee. An extensive programme of refurbishment works costing £200,000 started on site in summer 2015. The works, which were financed by a group of local charities including Arthur & Margaret Thompson's Charitable Trust, the Gannochy Trust, and the Kinross-shire Fund, involved the installation of under-floor heating and the replacement of the fittings in the kitchen and were completed in March 2016. The refurbishment also enabled an offshoot of the management committee, Milnathort Filmhouse, to resume showing films in the main assembly hall.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1853 City chambers and town halls in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross

History

See also

References