Dumfries and Galloway
The Old Town Hall was built in 1814, to replace the older tolbooth in the middle of Whithorn’s George Street. It was the heart of civic life, until the “New Town Hall” was built in the 1880’s, and was the seat of the burgh Council and even contains the town gaol and a large civic room, once used for balls. It has a tall clock tower, with balustraded parapet and topped by a sandstone cone and weathervane. In the 1960’s, various alterations were made including replacing the parapet in concrete and rendering the frontage with dry dash cement render.
In 2011, it was sold for conversion to a domestic dwelling, which was not completed. It has now been acquired by Building Futures Galloway, a youth employability charity training young people in heritage skills. The building’s history provides an opportunity to explore how ideas about conservation and heating have change, the challenges posed by retrofitting historic buildings and the methods which can be used to bring thermal performance close to modern standards. It is also a case study in the journey the building has taken from being a civic centre to local authority disposal, and back to the future as a skills centre training young people in heritage skills.
For Doors Open Days we will be giving descriptive tours of the building and its history, with a discussion of the methods used so far to retrofit it using compatible insulation and removal of inappropriate modern materials. Plans for redevelopment as our charity’s base will be on hand.
Facilities
Additional Access Information
There are toilet facilites and refreshments available at the Whithorn Trust, 45-47 George Street.
Gallery
