Bo'ness Town Hall is a municipal building in Stewart Avenue, Bo'ness, Scotland. The structure, which was the meeting place of Bo'ness Burgh Council, is a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The first town hall was a building with a clock tower in North Street which was completed in around 1780. It became structurally unstable as a result of mine workings, located just 15 meters below the surface, and partially collapsed in 1885. In the 1890s, in the context of continuing concerns about the structural integrity of the old town hall, the burgh commissioners decided to procure a new building. The site they selected for the proposed new building and surrounding park was occupied by a mansion known as The Manse which was the residence of the

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

at Bo'ness Old Kirk. A design completion was held and a tender by George Washington Browne was accepted in October 1902. The

Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish people, Scottish Americans are cl ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

, offered to pay for the cost of a public library in the building and his contribution was supplemented by a donation from the Common Good Fund. The new building was designed in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone at a cost of £12,000 and was officially opened by the Edinburgh City Librarian, Hew Morrison, on 14 September 1904. The ceremony involved the burial of glass jar, which contained copies of

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

, The Bo'ness Journal and The Linlithgow Gazette, as well as a list of councillors and a copy of the council minutes: a memorial stone was laid on top of the jar to identify where it had been laid. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto Stewart Avenue; the central section of three bays, which was recessed, featured a doorway in the left hand bay and

Diocletian window Diocletian windows, also called thermal windows, are large semicircular windows characteristic of the enormous public baths (''thermae'') of Ancient Rome. They have been revived on a limited basis by some classical revivalist architects in more m ...

s on the first floor. The left hand section curved round to the rear of the building which faced the park and, at roof level, in addition to a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

, there were two small clock towers at the east end and a

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

at the west end.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, accompanied by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

, visited the town hall during a royal tour of Scotland in July 1955. The town hall 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 Falkirk District Council was formed in 1975. The public library relocated to an early 18th century building, previously known as the West Pier Tavern, on Scotland Street in 1980, and the town hall subsequently functioned mainly as a local events venue, becoming an approved venue for wedding and civil partnership ceremonies.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1904 City chambers and town halls in Scotland Bo'ness Category B listed buildings in Falkirk (council area)

History

See also

References