Municipal building in Rutherglen, Scotland
Rutherglen Town Hall is a municipal facility on the north side of Main Street in Rutherglen, Scotland. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Rutherglen Burgh Council, is a Category A listed building.[1]
History
The current building was commissioned to replace an earlier town hall, known latterly as "the old jail", which had been completed in 1766.[2] After significant population expansion associated with the growth in the mining industry, civic leaders decided to procure a new town hall although the two structures coexisted almost alongside each other until 1900.[2]
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by with full masonic honours by Sir Archibald Alison on 16 July 1861.[2] It was designed by Charles Wilson in the Scottish baronial style and completed in 1862.[1] The design involved an asymmetrical frontage of five bays facing Main Street; the left hand section of four bays featured four round-headed windows on the ground floor and a large oriel window on the first floor with a gable above; the right hand bay featured a doorway with a gable head and a prominent 110 feet (34 m) four-sided asymmetric clock tower with corner bartizans.[1] On either side of the oriel window carved panels were erected, one with "circa David I 1126" and the other with "circa William I 1189", as reminders of the dates when ancient privileges were awarded to the town.[2] The building was extended to the east by an extra eight bays to the designs of Robert Dalgleish and John Thomson in 1877[3] and an iron canopy was erected outside the doorway in 1902.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the council chambers, a courtroom and a public hall.[2]
The town hall was the seat of government of Rutherglen Burgh Council until it was gutted during a conversion to offices in 1967,[3] and became surplus to requirements after the town was absorbed into Glasgow District under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 in May 1975.[4] It was then closed to the public in the 1980s and fell into a state of disrepair.[5] The building was refurbished and extended with the addition of a twin-level glass atrium to the rear at a cost of £12 million (supported by Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund for Scotland) in 2004.[6][7] It continues to be used as a venue for weddings, theatrical performances and exhibitions,[8][9] while still providing some local services such as the Licensing and Registration Office.[10]
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Elevated view of Main Street from the east with the tower of the town hall prominent
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Exterior detail of the original Grand Hall
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View from south showing 1877 east extension
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View of the clock tower
Rutherglen's other Category A listed buildings are located very near to the town hall: a medieval clock tower and churchyard [de] is situated immediately to the west, while St Columbkille's RC Church [de] (completed in 1940) is directly opposite on the other side of Main Street. There are also several Category B structures in close proximity (library, Old Parish Church, statue of Dr Gorman, tenement adjoining the town hall's east wing).[7][11]
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