Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith
Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith
LocationBuccleuch Street, Dalkeith
Coordinates55°53′35″N 3°04′20″W / 55.8930°N 3.0721°W / 55.8930; -3.0721
Built1882
ArchitectJames Pearson Alison
Architectural style(s)Scottish baronial style
Listed Building – Category B
Official nameMunicipal Buildings, 2-8 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith
Designated30 June 1983
Reference no.LB24334
Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith is located in Midlothian
Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith
Shown in Midlothian

The Municipal Buildings are based in Buccleuch Street in Dalkeith, Scotland. The structure, which served as the meeting place of Dalkeith Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building.[1]

History

The old tolbooth in the High Street

The first municipal building in the town was a tolbooth in the High Street which was completed in the mid-17th century.[2] It incorporated prison cells in the basement, a weigh house on the ground floor and a courtroom on the first floor.[3] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Dalkeith as a market town, the area became a police burgh in 1878.[4] In this context, the new burgh commissioners decided to procure a purpose-built municipal structure: the site they selected was occupied by a local reservoir.[5] The old reservoir was demolished and replaced by a water tower in Cemetery Road.[6]

The new building was designed by James Alison (1862-1932) in the Scottish baronial style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £592 and was used for the first time on 9 October 1882.[1][7] The design involved a symmetrical rounded frontage at the junction of Buccleuch Street and Eskbank Road; it featured a doorway in a concave moulding with a coat of arms above all surrounded by a stone carving in the form of a rope, and there was a corbelled turret with a conical roof on the first floor. The design for the Eskbank Road elevation involved three bays; the centre bay, which slightly projected on the first floor, featured a three-light window on that floor surmounted by a stepped gable containing a clock.[8] The design for the Buccleuch Street elevation also involved three bays; the left hand bay featured a round headed window on the ground floor, the centre bay was fenestrated with two-light sash windows on both floors and the other bays contained single light sash windows.[1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber.[5]

The fire service started to store a fire hose in the municipal buildings in order to protect that part of the town in 1885,[9] and the structure was extended by five extra bays along Buccleuch Street to a design by Charles Henry Greig at a cost of £2,000 in 1908.[1][10] The municipal buildings continued to serve as the headquarters of the burgh council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be local seat of government after the enlarged Midlothian District Council was formed at new offices in White Hart Street in 1975.[11] The complex was subsequently used as the local registration office[12] and also as the local Citizens Advice office.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic Environment Scotland. "Municipal Buildings, 2-8 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith (LB24334)". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  2. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "176-180 (even numbers) High Street, Dalkeith Tolbooth (LB24417)". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dalkeith, 176 - 180 High Street, Market Place, Tolbooth (53476)". Canmore. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Dalkeith Borough". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Municipal Buildings" (PDF). Dalkeith Town Trail. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  6. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dalkeith, Cemetery Road, Water Tower (114867)". Canmore. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Burgh Chamber". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dalkeith House and Park Conservation Area" (PDF). Midlothian Council. p. 36. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "History of Dalkeith Fire Brigade". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  10. ↑ Contracts. The Builder. 26 January 1907. p. 103.
  11. ↑ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Registration Of Births,deaths & Marriages, Dalkeith". UK Document Services. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "Dalkeith and District". Citizens Advice. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
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