Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

CHURCH STREET, DUMFRIES MUSEUM OBSERVATORYLB26135

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
11/07/1961
Local Authority
Dumfries And Galloway
Planning Authority
Dumfries And Galloway
Burgh
Dumfries
NGR
NX 96987 75713
Coordinates
296987, 575713

Description

Walter Newall, 1835-6, remodelling (?late) 18th century

windmill to form observatory, camera obscura installed

1836. Modern museum extension to S. Greek revival

aedicules with ramped architraves; 3 storeys below

bracketted deep parapet. Whitewashed; original battered

tower rubble-built with some roughly droved dressings;

Newall's alterations all ashlar. Small-paned sash windows,

some with iron bars. Door at N approached by steps with

coped monolithic parapets with corniced, battered piers;

3rd floor openings with boldly bracketted balconies.

Concealed roof, camera obscura viewer above.

Statement of Special Interest

Establishment of Observatory timed to coincide with arrival

of Halley's comet; opened 1.8.1836. Unexecuted scheme by Ady

of Edinburgh, 1835, for conversion to observatory held at

Museum. Windmill was in existence by 1796 - mentioned in

Grierson Diaries 28th Sept. 1796 (originals in Dumfries

museum; copies in Ewart Library).

References

Bibliography

Astronomical society records held in Museum. H Colvin,

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS 1600-1840, 1978.

p.588. W Dickie, GUIDE TO DUMFRIES, n.d. (3rd ed.) p. 118.

J M Crook, THE GREEK REVIVAL, 1972. Plate 195.

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.

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Printed: 19/04/2024 03:35