County Buildings, Dumfries

County Buildings, Dumfries
County Buildings, Dumfries
Location	English Street, Dumfries
Coordinates	55.0698°N 3.6067°W / 55.0698; -3.6067
Built	1914
Architect	John Dick Peddie and James Forbes Smith
Architectural style(s)	Renaissance Revival style
Listed Building – Category B
Official name	Dumfries County Buildings, 113 English Street, Dumfries
Designated	21 August 1987
Reference no.	LB26174
Shown in Dumfries and Galloway

County Buildings is a municipal structure in English Street, Dumfries, Scotland. The structure, which is the headquarters of Dumfries and Galloway Council, is a Category B listed building.[1]

History

Following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, which established county councils in every county, the new county leaders decided to commission offices for Dumfriesshire County Council.[2] The site they selected formed the storehouse for the local militia barracks.[3] The main part of the old militia barracks, which was on an adjacent site to the southwest, was retained and incorporated into the new complex as additional office space.[4]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid in September 1912.[5][6] It was designed by John Dick Peddie and James Forbes Smith in the Renaissance Revival style, built in red ashlar stone at a cost of £21,000[7] and was completed in 1914.[1] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto English Street with the end bays projected forward to form wings; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway flanked by brackets supporting a pediment. On the first floor there was a balustrade and a three-light window flanked by pilasters, and, at attic level, there was a gable containing a Diocletian window and a blind panel. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber at the rear of the building.[1]

Following the abolition of Dumfriesshire County Council, the complex became the headquarters of Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council in 1975,[8][9] and then, after the introduction of unitary authorities, it became the headquarters of Dumfries and Galloway Council in 1996.[10]

The Queensberry Monument, which was designed by Robert Adam in memory of Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry, was originally erected in Queensberry Square in 1780.[11] It was moved to the forecourt of the County Buildings in 1934 but then returned to Queensberry Square as part of a project to pedestrianise the area in 1990.[12]

See also

• List of listed buildings in Dumfries

References

1. Historic Environment Scotland. "Dumfries County Buildings, 113 English Street, Dumfries (LB26174)". Retrieved 16 August 2021.
2. Shennan, Hay (1892). Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland: as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889. Edinburgh: William Green & Sons – via Internet Archive.
3. "Ordnance Survey Map". 1894. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
4. Smith, Mary; Kirk, Keith (2019). A-Z of Dumfries: Places-People-History. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445664729.
5. "Dumfries County Buildings". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
6. "Dumfries Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan" (PDF). Dumfries and Galloway Council. 1 May 2020. p. 10. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
7. "County Buildings". The Buildings News and Engineering Journal. 1911. p. 635.
8. "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
9. "Leslie Carnegie". The Herald. 11 July 1998. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
10. "Local government facts and figures: Scotland". Local Government Information Unit. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
11. Historic Environment Scotland. "Queensberry Monument (LB26173)". Retrieved 16 August 2021.
12. "Queensberry Monument". Scotland Starts Here. Retrieved 16 August 2021.