The Walker Memorial Hall is a municipal building in Main Street,

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...

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 structure is currently used as the offices for various local community groups as well as for the local

Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this natio ...

History

Following the death of the local doctor, William Walker, in 1885, a local friendly society, The Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners, decided to commission a statue in his honour. The statue, which was sculpted by

David Watson Stevenson David Watson Stephenson (25 March 1842 – 18 March 1904) was a Scottish sculptor, executing portraits and monuments in marble and bronze. Biography Stevenson was born in Ratho, Midlothian, Scotland, on 25 March 1842, the son of William Stev ...

, depicted a female figure of the Greek goddess,

Hygieia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology (more commonly spelled Hygeia, sometimes Hygiea; ; or , or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene". Hygieia devel ...

, on a plinth. On the west side of the plinth was a carved bust depicting Walker himself. The statue was unveiled outside Walker's home, Walkerstone House, in Main Street on 16 June 1894. In the early 20th century, Walker's son, who was also a doctor and named William, wrote to parish council from his home

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

enclosing a donation of £4,000 for the benefit of the people of Kilbirnie. The parish council decide to use the money to erect a complex containing council offices and a public hall on a site in Main Street. The new building was designed by Robert James Walker 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

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

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 at a cost of £5,200 and was officially opened in the presence of the chairman of the parish council, John Riddet, on 9 September 1916. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of four bays facing onto Main Street. The outer bays, which were slightly projected forward, featured doorways flanked by

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 and

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

supporting

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 ...

s surmounted by segmental

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s. The left-hand entablature was inscribed with the words "Council Offices" while the right-hand entablature was inscribed with the words "Public Hall". The outer bays were fenestrated by single

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 on the first floor, while the inner bays were fenestrated by pairs of sash windows on both floors. The outer bays were flanked by full-height pilasters supporting an entablature inscribed with the words "Walker Memorial Hall". At roof level, 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 ...

which was

balustraded 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 c ...

above the inner bays. Internally, the principal room was the main assembly hall. In 1931, the parish council acquired an adjacent building, the Imperial Hotel, creating additional kitchen facilities for the memorial hall as well as living accommodation for its caretaker. Alterations were also made to the main assembly hall to a design by James Houston at that time, and then to a design by Houston and his son, James Brodie Gilmour Houston, in 1964. These two sets of alterations substantially extended the main assembly hall enabling it to accommodate 820 people seated. In the 1960s, it was used a concert venue: notable performers at that time include

Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make ...

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

and

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

. Following the completion of an extensive refurbishment, which cost £100,000 and was financed by

North Ayrshire Council 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 ...

, the building re-opened as the offices for various local community groups and for the local

in February 2017.

Notes

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1916 City chambers and town halls in Scotland 1916 establishments in Scotland Kilbirnie Buildings and structures in North Ayrshire Neoclassical architecture in Scotland