Ardrossan Civic Centre is a municipal building in Glasgow Street in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

, a town in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

, Scotland. The building, which was previously the offices and meeting place of Ardrossan Burgh Council, is currently used as a masonic hall.

History

Following significant growth in population, largely associated with the status of Ardrossan as a seaport, and following extensive lobbying by

Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton Colonel Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, KT (5 November 1739 – 14 December 1819), styled Lord Montgomerie from 1769 to 1796, was a British politician, military officer and composer. Early life Montgomerie was born on 5 November 1739. ...

whose seat was at

Eglinton Castle Eglinton Castle was a large Gothic castellated mansion in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History The castle The ancient seat of the Earls of Eglinton, it is located just south of the town of Kilwinning. The original Eglinton Castle w ...

, the area became a burgh in 1846. In this context the new burgh leaders decided to commission a town hall: the site they selected was at the corner of Harbour Street and Princes Street. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the

factor Factor (Latin, ) may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, such a factor is a resource used ...

of the Eglinton Castle estate, George Johnstone Redburn, with full masonic honours, on 30 October 1858. The old town hall was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and completed in around 1859. The design involved an asymmetrical frontage extending for four bays along each of the two streets. The Princes Street elevation featured a round headed opening with a rusticated surround in the right hand bay. It was fenestrated with

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...

s on the ground floor and with

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 with alternating segmental and triangular pediments on the first floor and there was a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

above. A clock, with a stone surround and an

acroterion An acroterion, acroterium, (pl. akroteria) is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the ''acroter'' or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style. An acroterion placed ...

above, was presented by the then

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 ...

, John Hogarth, and unveiled at the corner of the building above the parapet in June 1887. In the 19th century, Justice of the Peace court hearings were typically held in the town hall. Meanwhile, a police station was subsequently established on the opposite side of Princes Street. The building continued to serve as the offices and meeting place for Ardrossan Burgh Council for most of the first half of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the council sold the old town hall to the local

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

, in an exchange of properties involving a building known as Castlecraigs, in August 1946. After being damaged in a storm, the mechanical clock on the old town hall was given an electric mechanism in November 1983, and the exterior of the building was cleaned, with financial support from the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland, in late 1997. The building continues to accommodate the offices and meeting place of the local masonic lodge.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1859 City chambers and town halls in Scotland Ardrossan−Saltcoats−Stevenston