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Summary

Description

The former municipal buildings (Burgh offices) and police station, at nos. 122 Shore Street and 3 and 5 Kempock Place is dated 1923. The adjacent building, at nos. 116 and 118 Shore Street, is dated 1924. The complex was designed by the architectural firm of Stewart, Tough and Alexander of Greenock. The former municipal buildings are designed in a Scottish 17^th century style and are two-storey and attic in height, forming an asymmetrical corner block with an octagonal corner turret. The former police station is along Kempock Place (to the west) and the building comprising nos. 116 and 118 Shore Street is slightly lower in height and attached to the south elevation of the municipal buildings.

The complex is constructed in squared and snecked, rough-faced red sandstone rubble with polished ashlar dressings, and cream rubble and red brick to the rear elevation.

Former municipal buildings (122 Shore Street and corner to Kempock Place): five-bays wide with a round-arched doorway to the centre with chamfered reveals, two-leaf panelled door, basket-arched cavetto surround with floral billets, carved heraldic panel with motto framed by moulded panels and finials above. There is a window at first floor level with stepped eaves bearing '1923' datestone and finial. The bays to the right are breaking the roof eaves in small gableheads, those to the left are under a broad gable with a small bipartite window to gablehead. There are large round-arched windows to the ground floor with rounded reveals, and transomed and mullioned bipartite windows at the first floor. The chamfered corner turret has a canted and corbelled oriel above ground floor level with crenellated parapet and finialled pyramidal roof.

There are three-bays along Kempock Place on falling ground. There is a plain doorway flanked by small tripartite window to the centre bay. The first floor window breaks the roof eaves in the gablehead and there is a broad gabled bay to the right with paired windows at ground and first floor levels, and a blank panel to the gablehead. The left bay has a window at ground floor and a tall wallhead chimneystack with tall diagonal flues.

Former Police Station (3 and 5 Kempock Place): A single-storey gabled linking bay to the right of the municipal buildings connects the former police station to the rest of the block. There is an off-centre doorway with chamfered reveals and a window with a carved frieze stating 'Police Station' above. A three-bay, two-storey block to the right with single windows breaks the roof eaves at first floor in semi-circular dormerheads to the left and centre bay. The gabled bay to the right has bipartite windows. There is a gabled return elevation to the right with single windows, a secondary doorway and apex chimneystacks.

116 and 118 Shore Street: Five-bay block to the left of the former municipal buildings with two shop units at ground floor level framing a common stair doorway, dated 1924, to centre. There are bipartite and single windows to the flats at first floor and two, shouldered wallhead chimneystacks.

There are a mixture of window designs throughout, including small-pane metal windows over metal casements, timber sash and case windows with small upper sashes and plate glass or two-pane lower sashes to flanking buildings. The roofs are covered in green slate with zinc dressings and a mix of apex and mutual chimneystacks and three wallhead stacks. There are cast iron rainwater goods throughout with ornamental embossed gutterheads.

The interior of the former municipal buildings includes tiled vestibule walls, an open timber stair, laurel wreath motifs to stained glass stair windows and as plaster decoration to walls and a council chamber with ornamental plaster ceiling around oval-coved ceiling.

Historical background

The contract for the design of the former municipal buildings complex in Gourock was decided by competition. Design proposals were submitted by architects, including James Salmon and A N Paterson, as early as 1914, however the First World War likely delayed the conclusion of the competition (Dictionary of Scottish Architects). The local architectural firm of Stewart, Tough and Alexander won the contract (Close et al, p.543) and the foundation stone of the municipal buildings was laid on 20 November 1922 (Dundee Evening Telegraph). Shortly after building commenced, it was announced that a new police station was to be built adjoining the municipal buildings (Dundee Evening Telegraph, 24 November 1922).

The municipal buildings and police station are first shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1939, occupying a prominent position close to Gourock Station (terminus) and pier. Later Ordnance Survey mapping of 1964 shows the rear of the police station was extended to create a U-shaped footprint and the five-bay block along Shore Street (which is slightly lower in height) had minor extensions added to its rear (west) elevation. Photographs (taken in 1975) show the complex of municipal buildings largely survives today (2023) as they did at the time of listing.

Inverclyde Council moved out of the municipal buildings sometime in the 2010s. These were renovated in 2016 and the former council offices opened as rentable office spaces (Richard Robb Architects). The police station was vacated around the same time. The properties at nos. 116 and 118 Shore Street continue to have commercial businesses operating at ground floor level and residential flats above.

Statement of Special Interest

The former Municipal Buildings and Police Station in Gourock (nos. 116, 118 and 122 Shore Street and 3 and 5 Kempock Place) meets the criteria of special architectural or histori interest for the following reasons:

• The building group demonstrates architectural and material quality and includes some well-detailed architectural features, such as decorative gables, pedimented skewputts and an octagonal corner bay.
• Refurbished in the late 2010s, this group of municipal buildings still largely retains its historic character.
• The buildings are prominently sited in the streetscape at the junction of a square and make a significant contribution to the conservation area.
• These buildings form an important grouping of regional civic buildings and survive largely as built externally.
• These buildings are representative of the early modern expansion of the town of Gourock in the early 20^th century.

Architectural interest

The rough-faced, red sandstone construction is of good quality and the principal elevations along Shore Street and Kempock Place include well-detailed architectural features, such as façade gables, the octagonal corner bay, pedimented skewputts, semi-circular pediments to the dormer windows and the burgh coat-of-arms. Its decorative design is indicative of the continuation of the classical style of civic architecture into the first half of the 20th century (Close et al, p.84).

There have been some additions to the rear elevations of the former police station and to 116 and 118 Shore Street, however these types of changes are not uncommon for buildings which have largely remained in public use for much of the 20th and early-21st century. The footprint of this complex of buildings largely survives as it was built in 1923-4.

As public buildings, council offices usually had a degree of decorative work on the exterior. Located within the Kempock Street/Shore Street Conservation Area (CA664), the former municipal complex remains visually prominent in the streetscape, particularly its bold and stylish entrances along Shore Street and Kempock Place.

Overall, this complex of inter-war civic buildings is a good, representative example of civic architecture of the early-20th century, and their design and material quality are of interest in listing terms.

Historic interest

By the earlier decades of the 20th century most Scottish towns already had purpose-built dedicated municipal buildings or adapted existing buildings. This was to address an increase in the separation of civic, administrative and penal functions from the late-19th century onwards.

The municipal buildings and police station were built in 1923-4 because Gourock had expanded dramatically from a small fishing village to a sizeable town which required appropriate civic buildings (as shown on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1856, 1896, 1912 and 1939). The development of Gourock markedly increased after 1889 following the arrival of the railway and the subsequent building of the branch line from Greenock to Gourock. The station terminus carried rail passengers directly to the pier for the Clyde steamers. The increase in size of the town's population subsequently meant more adequate civic provision was required.

Municipal buildings are a common building type and they are not rare, however this complex of buildings at Gourock is indicative of the continued use of the classical style in civic architecture design into the early decades of the 20th century. While they are no longer used for their designed purpose, the overall lack of significant later alteration to the exterior elevations and footprint means their former function continues to be readable in the streetscape.

Statutory address revised in 2016. Previously listed as 'Shore Street, Municipal Buildings, Police Station and Nos 116, 117 and 118 Shore Street'.

The supplementary information in the listed building record was revised in 2023.

References

Bibliography

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