The Girvan Steeple is a steeple and the site of a former townhouse in

Girvan Girvan (, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ayr, and north of St ...

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

, Scotland. Its popular name, "Stumpy Tower", "Stumpy Jail" or "Auld Stumpy", is derived from the Gaelic , meaning "Great Circle of Justice". (The name of Knockcushan Street, upon which the tower sits, means "Hill r Knollof Justice".) It 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

An earlier tower was erected on the corner of Knockcushan Street and Dalrymple Street in 1787. However, by the mid-1820s it was very dilapidated and on 14 January 1825, it was agreed by a meeting of the burgesses to "rebuild the two houses on the Town's property adjoining the King's Arms and erect, another house on the front leading to the shore, and also a Gaol and Steeple adjoining the present market house to complete the square". The construction of the new townhouse and steeple, as well as the three new houses, was undertaken by local builders, Denham, Davidson and McWhinnie, at a cost £1,633 and was completed in 1827. The design involved a two-storey townhouse and adjacent four-stage steeple facing onto Knockcushan Street. The steeple was steeply battered and incorporated bands between the stages; it was surmounted by a smaller clock stage, an

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al belfy, 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 ...

. Internally, the principal rooms in the townhouse were the prison on the ground floor and a meeting room for the burgh council on the first floor. The bell for the belfry was cast by Stephen Miller & Co of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and the clock was presented by Sir John Hamilton-Dalrymple, 5th Baronet. The building was a prominent landmark, the tower being tall. The prison was inspected in 1835 by the prisons inspector who reported that "a marked improvement in the peace of the town is said to have followed the building of this prison". In 1908, the townhouse demolished to make way for the McMaster Hall, of which construction began in 1909 and took two years to complete, before it opened on 17 August 1911. The McMaster Hall was a gift to the town from John McMaster, a local banker who came from Kirkoswald but who was residing in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. The McMaster Hall was primarily a town hall, accommodating burgh council meetings and also serving as a dance hall. In 1939 the McMaster Hall was destroyed by fire, leaving only the tower still standing. The burgh council was subsequently based at 17 Dalrymple Street (now occupied by a

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

Branch).

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1827 Category B listed buildings in South Ayrshire Girvan City chambers and town halls in Scotland

History

See also

References