Denny Town House
Denny Town House
LocationGlasgow Road, Denny
Coordinates56°01′15″N 3°54′25″W / 56.0209°N 3.9069°W / 56.0209; -3.9069
Built1931
ArchitectRobert Wilson
Architectural style(s)Scottish baronial style
Denny Town House is located in Falkirk
Denny Town House
Shown in Falkirk

Denny Town House is a municipal building in Glasgow Road, Denny, Falkirk, Scotland. The structure is used by Falkirk Council for the provision of local services.

History

The first municipal building in the town was a public hall in Glasgow Road which was commissioned by a local businessman, David Anderson, in 1889.[1] It was leased to the burgh council for municipal use in 1903.[2] However, in the late 1920s, burgh leaders decided to commission a purpose-built town house and the public hall was let out as a cinema.[3]

The new building was designed by Robert Wilson of local architects, Strang & Wilson, in the Scottish baronial style, built in rubble masonry and was completed in 1931.[4][5][6]

The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto Glasgow Road. The first section of two bays, which was slightly projected forward, was fenestrated by two sash windows on the ground floor and a bi-partite mullioned window on the first floor with a stepped gable above. The second section was fenestrated by two sash windows on the ground floor and a tri-partite mullioned window on the first floor. The third section of just one bay, which also slightly projected forward, took the form of a three-stage tower; the tower featured a doorway with a hood mould and a keystone in the first stage, a small sash window in the second stage and a lancet window in the third stage with a castellated parapet and a stepped gable above. The fourth section was fenestrated by sash windows on the ground floor and an oriel window on the first floor with a stepped gable above. Internally, the principal rooms were the burgh chambers and the offices of the burgh officials.[7] A stained-glass window depicting the seal of the burgh of Denny and Dunipace was installed in a first-floor window on the south side of the building.[8]

The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the burgh council for much of the 20th century,[9] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Falkirk District Council was formed in 1975.[10][11] It was subsequently used by Falkirk Council as a base for the delivery of social services.[12] However, in May 2021, the council announced that, as a result of a strategic property review, the building would close.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Denny Town Hall". Falkirk Local History Society. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Denny and Dunipace Burgh Finding Aid" (PDF). Falkirk Archives. p. 61. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Denny Town Hall". Falkirk Local History Society. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ↑ Jaques, Richard (2001). Falkirk and District An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Rutland Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1873190081. Town House, 1931, James Strang & Wilson, anachronistic Scots Baronial, in grey rubble with dressed margins
  5. ↑ "Town House". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Gifford, John; Walker, Frank Arneil (2002). Stirling and Central Scotland (Buildings of Scotland Series). Yale University Press. p. 360. ISBN 978-0300095944.
  7. ↑ "Walk, ride and cycle in and around Denny" (PDF). Visit Falkirk. p. 6. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Denny Town House Windows". Falkirk Local History Society. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "No. 18406". The Edinburgh Gazette. 26 November 1965. p. 798.
  10. ↑ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Denny and Dunipace Burgh". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Falkirk district buildings which aren't quite what they seem". Falkirk Herald. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Falkirk Council: Building closures & transfers confirmed along with new £6m hubs". Falkirk Herald. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
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