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

TOWNHALL STREET, TOWN HOUSELB35087

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
11/12/1972
Local Authority
Fife
Planning Authority
Fife
Burgh
Inverkeithing
NGR
NT 13040 82924
Coordinates
313040, 682924

Description

1754-1755 square-plan tower, John Monroe; 3-storey, 4-bay (to upper floors) main block of 1769-1770, George Monroe. Coursed sandstone ashlar to tower; caulked ashlar to main block; random rubble to N (rear). Deep base course; eaves course; stone cills; projecting quoins (main block); rusticated quoins (tower); pedimented tower with octagonal belfry and ogee roof. Crowstepped skew to NE; beaked skewputts.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: main block: central moulded and corniced doorpiece, dated "17 - 70"; flanked by keystoned doorway to left and keystoned window to right; round-arched and keystoned doorway (former pend leading to St Peter's churchyard) to far right; small square window to far left. 4 evenly spaced 1st floor windows (flagpole rising from centre). 4 square evenly spaced 2nd floor windows with iron bars (former debtors' prison) set close to eaves. Tower to left of main block: keystoned round-arched doorway with heavy pilasters to 1st stage; keystoned round-arched window to pedimented 2nd stage, bisected by string course, carved burgh coat of arms to pediment; corniced 3rd stage with raised, bracketed, blank square panel; octagonal belfry, keystoned round-arched openings with louvered panels to each face; octagonal ogee roof; wrought-iron weather vane finial. Stone forestair and rusticated round-arched doorway to left return of tower.

E ELEVATION: adjoins Nos 8 and 10 Townhall Street.

N ELEVATION: main block: 4 ground floor windows (that to far left set within former pend, evidence of rubble arch above). Single 1st floor window off centre right; large window to far right; bipartite window to left. 2 large cast-iron rooflights. Full-height flat roof extension to right (to rear of tower): small windows at ground and 1st floors. Large window at 2nd floor.

W ELEVATION: adjoins No 2 Townhall Street.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows; timber panelled and boarded doors. Pitched and ogival roofs; grey slates; straight stone skews (single crowstepped skew to NE); beaked skewputts; corniced ashlar gable apex stacks; circular clay cans.

INTERIOR: stone slab floor and risers to central stairwell leading to 1st floor. Former council chamber to E of plan at 1st floor with late 18th century Windsor armchair (original councillor's chair) and circa 1930s semi-circular councillors' tables and leather-padded armchairs; early document store off council chamber. Coved ceiling to former debtor's prison at 2nd floor; late 19th century cast-iron and tiled fire-surround to E wall.

Statement of Special Interest

This building is a very fine achievement for a small burgh and possibly the most distinguished building in Inverkeithing. The interest in the Town House (or Tolbooth) lies mostly in its exterior, however the layout of the rooms still follows roughly its 18th century outline. The Town House stands on the N side of Townhall Street, at the S edge of the medieval parish churchyard and overlooking the former market area at the N end of High Street, which is now occupied by an island block. The mercat cross (see separate listing), now removed to Bank Street (1974), once stood directly in front of the tolbooth (from 1799; previously at the N end of High Street). Provision was made for prison accommodation at ground floor level, with cells in the room immediately to the E of the staircase and the steeple. The 2nd floor was altered in 1777 to provide rooms for debtors. The Town House bell, of 1667 by Johannes Burgerhuys, has been removed and is located in Inverkeithing museum. Inverkeithing had a tolbooth as early as 1550, when rents were received from the booths on the ground floor; but in 1687 it was considered insufficiently secure to prevent the escape of prisoners. However, the present building may ascribe to two main building phases in the 18th century. The steeple was built in 1754-1755, under the supervision of John Monroe, to replace one which was in danger of collapse. In 1769 the town council, after considering the ruinous state of the remainder of the tolbooth, agreed that this should be taken down, widened and repaired. This work was completed in the following year, and payment was made to George Monroe, mason, for his trouble in drawing plans. Since the dissolution of the Burgh Council in 1975, the Town House is used mostly as community centre, providing accommodation for a number of organisations including Inverkeithing Community Council, the Local History Society and a nursery (2003). (Notes compiled mainly from RCAHMS, Tolbooths and Town-houses.)

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS INVENTORY: FIFE, KINROSS AND CLACKMANNAN (1933) Inv no 284, pp159. Rev W Stephen, THE STORY OF INVERKEITHING AND ROSYTH (1938) pp19-20. RCAHMS, TOLBOOTHS AND TOWN-HOUSES: CIVIC ARCHITECTURE IN SCOTLAND TO 1833 (1996) pp108-109. S Currie, "The New Tolbooth Steeple" in INVERKEITHING LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY JOURNAL, Issue 5 (May 1997), pp16-19.

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: 29/03/2024 07:21