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

COLDINGHAM, COLDINGHAM PUBLIC HALLLB46601

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
C
Date Added
26/01/2000
Supplementary Information Updated
24/05/2016
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
Planning Authority
Scottish Borders
Parish
Coldingham
NGR
NT 90297 65958
Coordinates
390297, 665958

Description

William Gray (Junior), 1872 with later additions and alterations. Single storey, rectangular-plan, gabled hall with later 4-bay entrance front to west and single storey additions at rear.

The west (entrance) elevation is a 3 bay gable with additional bay to right. It is built of coursed and tooled sandstone with ashlar dressings. There is a segmental-arched, stop-chamfered entrance with a 2-leaf boarded timber door and decorative iron hinges, a 2-pane, plate glass fanlight and plaque above inscribed 'Public Hall'. The entrance is flanked by narrow round-arched windows. A clock face is centred in the gable apex and a palmette finial at the gablehead. The timber doors have decorative iron hinges. There is a 2-pane plate glass fanlight and a plaque above inscribed 'Public Hall'. A single storey addition to the right has a round-arched window. A continuous hoodmould with moulded stops link all four openings.

The north elevation is and has stugged and droved sandstone dressings with chamfered quoins and cills. The gabled bay to the right has a bipartite window with a louvred roundel above and a palmette finial at the gablehead. Gablet dormerhead windows to the left have round-arched openings in the dividing bays.

The building has louvred ridge vents, stone-coped skews and gabletted skewputts. There is 6 and 8 pane glazing to timber sash and case windows, a grey slate roof and cast-iron rainwater goods.

The interior, seen in 2000, has a boarded timber floor, timber panelled doors, a balcony to the west end and a stage to the east end. The hammerbeam ceiling has decorative springers and carved pendants.

Statement of Special Interest

A well-detailed public and drill hall, particularly notable for its distinctively ecclesiastical character and prominently set in the centre of Coldingham. With its dressed stonework and round-arched openings, the entrance front may have been a later addition, although both its stylised, palmette finials and small blind opening echo details elsewhere.

The drill hall was built for the 1st Berwickshire Artillery Volunteers. The first sod of earth was cut for the foundations in February 1872 (Berwickshire News and General Advertiser, 27 February 1872) and the foundations stone was laid on the 2 July of that year by Captain Craig, who was in command of the volunteers at that time. An article in the Berwickshire News and General Advertiser of 9 July 1872, that records the laying of the foundation stone, notes that the hall was designed by the architect, William Gray (Junior) of Berwick on Tweed, and the hall was to be 60 feet by 25 feet, with an open timber roof and was to include an orderly room and armoury. The estimated cost of the hall was £400. This article noted that the hall was due to be completed later that year and a bazaar to raise funds for the building was to occur at the opening. Whilst no accounts of the opening have been found a bazaar to be held in the hall was organised for 15 November 1872 (Berwickshire News and General Advertiser, 12 November 1872).

In the late 1850s there was concern in the British Government about the Army's ability to defend both the home nation as well as the Empire. Britain's military defences were stretched and resources to defend Britain needed to be found. One solution was to create 'Volunteer Forces', a reserve of men who volunteered for part-time military training similar to that of the regular army and who could therefore help to defend Britain if the need arose.

In 1859 the Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed and the Volunteer Act of 1863 provided more regulation on how the volunteer forces were run and it set out the standards for drills and a requirement for annual inspections. Most purpose-built drill halls constructed at this time were paid for by a major local landowner, the subscriptions of volunteers, local fundraising efforts or a combination of all three. The Regulations of the Forces Act 1871 (known as the Cardwell Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell) gave forces the legal right to acquire land to build a drill hall and more purpose-built drill halls began to be constructed after this date. The largest period of drill hall construction, aided by government grants, took place between 1880 and 1910. The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (known as the Haldane Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane) came into force in 1908 and the various Volunteer Units were consolidated to form the Territorial Force. The construction of drill halls largely ceased during the First World War and in 1920 the Territorial Force became the Territorial Army. In the 20th century changes in warfare and weaponry made many of the earlier drill halls redundant and subject to demolition or change to a new use.

Around 344 drill halls are believed to have been built in Scotland of which 182 are thought to survive today, although few remain in military use. Drill halls are part of our social and military history, telling us much about the development of warfare and the history of defending our country. Unusually for a nationwide building programme, designs were not standardised and local architects were often employed, using a variety of styles.

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

References

Bibliography

Canmore: http://canmore.org.uk/ CANMORE ID: 94858

Maps

Ordnance Survey (surveyed 1897, published 1898) Selkirkshire 008.02 (includes: Galashiels; Melrose). 2nd Edition. 25 inches to the mile. London: Ordnance Survey.

Printed Sources

Berwickshire News and General Advertiser (27 February 1872) The New Volunteer Drill Hall. p.3.

Berwickshire News and General Advertiser (09 July 1872) The New Volunteer Hall in Coldingham. p.5.

Berwickshire News and General Advertiser (12 November 1872) Bazaar - 2nd Berwickshire Artillery Volunteers, Coldingham'. p.1.

Cruft, K. Dunbar, J and Fawcett, R. (2006) The Buildings of Scotland: Borders. Yale University Press: London. p.182.

Historic Environment Scotland (2016) Scotland's Drill Halls Preliminary Report. Unpublished.

Online Sources

Dictionary of Scottish Architects. William Gray (Junior) at http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=204579 [accessed 24/05/2016].

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.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 19:46