Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Ochil House was built 1806 as a 2-storey (3-storey at rear), 3-bay, rectangular plan, plain, classical style former inn. In 1844 it became the county offices and court house and 1882 the offices for the adjacent drill hall (now demolished). The building was altered by Colin Machin in 1993. The principal (north) elevation is droved ashlar with a base course, cill course, moulded eaves course and blocking course. The side elevations are squared and snecked rubble and rough rubble to the rear elevation.

The principal elevation has an advanced central entrance bay with a pediment containing a sculptured plough and with a coped chimney stack at the apex. Steps lead up to the entrance which is deeply recessed in a cavetto splayed doorway.

The windows have a 12-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case frames. The roof is pitched with grey slates and there are wide corniced end stacks with short yellow clay cans.

To the west is a boundary wall with a droved ashlar semi-elliptical arch, possibly dating from the 1840s, surmounted by a stone inscribed '1st C & KRV Drill Hall 1882' and an early 19th century rubble boundary wall beyond.

The interior, seen in July 2015, is largely 20th century in detail with interior walls rearranged although the early 19th century U-plan stair at the rear of the building remains in place.

Statement of Special Interest

Ochil House was built in 1806 and opened for business as the Tontine Inn in 1807. It is designed in a simple classical style with an advanced central pediment and moulded doorcase. Although the building has had a variety of different uses the external appearance of the building is largely unaltered and map evidence confirms that the footprint of the main part of the building remains unchanged. It is situated on a prominent site in central Alloa on what was originally the main road between Fife and Stirling.

In 1807 a newspaper advertisement records that Malcolm Wright, who was probably the first proprietor of the Tontine Inn, 'begs leave to solicit the favour of the public' and that the inn is 'very commodious and well fitted up in every respect'. The date is confirmed by the fact that when the building was sold by public roup in 1829, it was stated that it was built 'upwards of twenty years ago'. The Tontine Inn was almost certainly reconstructed from an earlier inn called the Plough Inn, hence the sculpted plough in the pediment. Early descriptions of the Tontine Inn show that the accommodation consisted of a spacious dining room and large travellers' room on the ground floor, a dining parlour on the first floor and seven bedrooms on the second floor with a kitchen and laundry and other service rooms in the basement. A separate stable block and other offices were located against the perimeter wall to the west while there was a bowling green and garden to the south.

In 1844 the building became the county offices and court house with a series of prison cells in an extension to the west. The large dining room on the ground floor became the courtroom. The archway in the perimeter wall may date from this time. When the new courthouse was erected nearby on Mar Street in 1863-65 (LB20970), the building continued to function as a prison with direct access to the court below Mar Street. In 1882 the building was acquired as offices for the 1st Clackmannan and Kinross Rifle Volunteers at which time a large drill hall was erected at the southwest and the initials of this regiment appeared above the archway to the west of the building. The prison cells were demolished at this time although it would seem that the old stable block, situated against the north perimeter wall, remained into the 20th century. By 1914 the building was the drill station for 'B' Squadron of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and a base for 'E' and 'H' Companies, 7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. During the later 20th century, the building variously served as offices for the social work department in the 1970s, premises for small businesses and since the 1993 the offices of Ochil View Housing Association. During the 1990s the drill hall was demolished.

A number of Tontine Inns were built in Scotland in the late 18th and early 19th century. The Tontine Inn in Greenock dates from 1802 while that in Peebles dates from 1808. By their very nature (with subscribers investing sums of money for their establishment and obtaining an annuity from the profits), Tontines were middle and upper class in character. They provided good quality accommodation and food for travellers which was not always readily available in Scotland at this period. Only a handful of Tontines survive.

Listing building record (non-statutory information) revised in 2016 as part of the Drill Halls Listing Review 2015-16.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images