Argyll Street is the main street of

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Scotland. It runs for about , from Pier Esplanade (the A815) in the south to Bencorum Brae in the north. The road, which is one-way northbound from Pier Esplanade to John Street, forms part of the A885 from John Street to Bencorum Brae, at which point the A885 becomes the Sandbank Road. The road crosses Milton Burn between McArthur Street and Queen Street.

History

In the early 19th century, Argyll Street stopped at Moir Street. Instead of continuing to

Dunoon Pier Dunoon Pier is a Victorian era, Victorian pier in Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is owned by Argyll and Bute Council, and was completed in its current form in 1898. Reaching out into the Firth of Clyde, the earliest parts of the pier date ...

, it turned right at today's Sinbad's Bar. Before

Dunoon Burgh Hall Dunoon Burgh Hall is a municipal building in Argyll Street, Dunoon, Argyll Street, Dunoon, Scotland. The structure, which is used as an events venue, is Category B listed building, listed. History Following significant population growth, largel ...

was built, beginning in 1873, the land was an open field, owned by James McArthur Moir, leading to an area known as the Gallowhill. There were no streets and houses between Argyll Street and Edward Street. Argyll Street, roughly as it is seen today, was completed by 1870. Moir donated some of his land for the building of the Burgh Hall, but he did not get to see its completion; he died by suicide in 1872.

Notable locations

Two buildings on Argyll Street are

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

: Argyll Hotel and Burgh Hall. Other notable locations along the street include: ; From south to north *

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

* Milton Burn Gardens *

Dunoon Stadium Dunoon Stadium is a single-tier grandstand and natural environ in Dunoon, Scotland. A cinder track surrounds a central grassed area, overlooked from the south by the grandstand. Today, the stadium is the focal point of the Cowal Highland Ga ...

* Cowal Community Hospital St Cuthbert's Church stood at today's 191 Argyll Street between 1874 and 1994, when it was demolished to make way for a block of flats.

Junctions

; From south to north * Pier Esplanade * Kirk Brae (west side) * Ferry Brae (west side) * Moir Street (east side) * Church Street (east side) * Hanover Street (east side) * John Street (cross street) * Alfred Street (west side) * McArthur Street (west side) * Queen Street (east side) * Argyll Road (east side) * Hamilton Street (west side) * Bogleha Green (west side) * Bogleha Road (west side) * Bencorum Brae (east side)

In popular culture

Dunoon was the inspiration behind

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

's song " The Selfish Giant" on his 2014 solo album ''

Everyday Robots ''Everyday Robots'' is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur (band), Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell ...

''. It includes the line "Walking down Argyll Street when the evening colours call". Albarn revealed that the inspiration for the song came from Blur's visit to Dunoon in 1995 and a view he had of the

Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...

. "It was a beautiful misty evening. There was a single

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

in the loch – why it was there I don't know. I had a very strong image of the loch and submarines and walking down the main drag in Dunoon after the gig, going to someone's house for a party, and a song came out of it.""Damon Albarn on how Dunoon inspired debut album"
– ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), 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 ...

'', 26 April 2014 Albarn also stated: "Now every time I sing 'The Selfish Giant' I go back to that night in Dunoon, which was a really great night, a fantastic night." When asked if he would consider playing solo in Scotland, he replied: "I’d love to. Maybe Dunoon? Then I can walk down Argyll Street again."

References

{{reflist Transport in Dunoon Tourist attractions in Dunoon Streets in Scotland Cowal