Bute Museum, Stuart Street, Rothesay, Bute

The Bute Museum, located on Stuart Street in Rothesay, Bute, was designed by A M McKinlay and built between 1925 and 1926. This symmetrical, two-storey building features seven bays in a Palladian style, with single-storey pavilions on either side of a central, recessed entrance that is topped with a pediment. The exterior is predominantly harled, accented with grey sandstone ashlar dressings. Notable architectural details include a raised base course, a raised cill course, and corniced eaves that are corbelled to the pediment. The building also showcases prominent quoins, architraved surrounds to openings, and a pedimented doorpiece.

On the north elevation, which serves as the entrance, there is a two-leaf timber panelled door at the centre, topped by a round-arched Georgianesque fanlight. The doorpiece is flanked by pilasters, with six-light sidelights and narrow pilasters on the outer left and right, all topped with a full entablature and a central pediment featuring a plain tympanum. There are single windows on the ground floor flanking the entrance, and a Venetian window at the apex of the first floor, which includes a corbelled cill, a decorative round-arched fanlight, and a raised architraved keystone. Additional single windows are located in the advanced bays to the outer left and right.

The building features 10-, 12-, 18-, and 20-pane timber sash and case windows. The central block has a grey slate pitched roof, while the side pavilions have grey slate piended roofs.

Inside, there is a two-leaf small-paned timber vestibule door with a round-arched fanlight above, and single windows set at angles to the right and left. The interior includes boarded timber dado panelling, original timber panelled doors, and a staircase with a mahogany handrail, cast-iron uprights, square-plan timber newels, and carved ogee finials. Exhibition areas are located in the pavilions flanking the central hall, which features metal struts supporting combed ceilings.