The Municipal Buildings are based on the north side of Buccleuch Street,

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of Dumfries Burgh Council, is a Category C

listed building 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, Hi ...

History

The first municipal building in the town was a

tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...

in the High Street which dated back to the 15th century. It was demolished and replaced by a townhouse, known as the Midsteeple, which was completed in 1707. After deciding that the Midsteeple was inadequate for their needs, civic leaders acquired the old courthouse on the north side of Buccleuch Street in 1866. The old courthouse was then converted for municipal use as a town hall, to a design by John Johnstone, but it was badly damaged in a fire on 29 November 1908. Losses in the fire included fine portraits of

King William King William may refer to: People Bimbia * William I of Bimbia * William II of Bimbia () Britain and Ireland * William of England (disambiguation), multiple kings * William I, King of Scots (–1214), also known as William the Lion German Empir ...

and Queen Mary painted by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

which had been presented to the town by the former local member of parliament, John Johnstone. However, a silver gun which had been presented by

King James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

to the Seven Incorporated Trades of Dumfries in 1598 survived the fire. In the 1920s civic leaders decided to demolish the old building in Buccleuch Street and to replace it with a new structure on the same site. The new building was designed by James Carruthers of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in the Edwardian Baroque style, built in red

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone extracted from a quarry at Locharbriggs and was officially opened by the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

on 20 September 1932. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto the Buccleuch Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway flanked by square

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

columns supporting a curved

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The other bays on the ground floor as well as the bays on the first floor featured

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s flanked by full-height

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. There were smaller sash windows on the second floor. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which was decorated to a design by Wylie and Lochhead with panelling which had originally been intended for the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

''RMS Queen Mary'' whose construction and internal fit-out had been delayed because of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. A stained glass window was recovered from the previous building on the site and installed in a room on the ground floor at the rear of the building. The building continued to serve as the headquarters of Dumfries Burgh Council for much of the 20th century and became the meeting place of the enlarged Nithsdale District Council after it was formed in 1975. However, it ceased to be the local seat of government when

Dumfries and Galloway Council Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the ...

became the new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

for the area, with its offices at County Buildings in English Street, in 1996. The municipal buildings instead became the local

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

's office and also the local registration office.

Notes

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1932

Buildings and structures in Dumfries 1932 establishments in Scotland Category C listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway Listed government buildings in Scotland Edwardian architecture in the United Kingdom Nithsdale

History

See also

Notes

References