Columba Hotel, North Pier And Corran Esplanade, Oban

Columba Hotel, North Pier and Corran Esplanade, Oban

The Columba Hotel comprises two distinct contrasting blocks of different dates, adjoined with principal elevations facing opposite directions.

The mid to later 19th-century building is a 3-storey and attic structure of rectangular plan, measuring 6 bays by 4 bays, with French-style detailing. The walls are constructed in bull-faced, squared and snecked grey granite with stugged margins.

The west principal elevation is an asymmetrical composition of 6 bays distinguished by wrought-iron balconies. The outer left bays are gabled as a return of the north elevation, containing four narrow closely-spaced windows at ground and first floor with a single window in the gablehead. A 4-storey and attic flanking tower stands to the right, featuring an arched doorway at its base flanked by polished granite columns with capitals, and a fanlight with keystone. Bipartite windows occupy the ground floor of bays 4, 5 and 6. The north elevation presents a symmetrical facade with a gable breaking the eaves at centre, featuring regular fenestration of 4 bays at ground and first floor, and 3 bays at second floor and in the gablehead. The east elevation mirrors the west in its asymmetrical arrangement, with two closely-spaced bays to the outer left containing stair windows, and two gabled bays to the outer right with four narrow closely-spaced windows at ground and first floors and a single window in the gablehead.

Windows throughout comprise timber casement windows with single sash above to first and second floor of the west elevation, and timber plate-glass sash and case windows elsewhere. The roof is grey slate with barge boards supported on small stone corbels. The tower features a bell-cast pyramidal roof with exposed rafter ends, a dormer to each face and brattishing. Slate-hung dormers with pointed-arch windows, decorative barge boards and iron finials are positioned across the structure. Decorative wrought and cast-iron balconies with brackets appear at first and second floors of the west and north elevations. Large metal lettering spelling "Columba Hotel" appears on each elevation. A tall coped wallhead stack with octagonal cans stands at the west elevation.

The 1902 building is a Queen Anne structure with Glasgow Style detailing, comprising a 3-storey and attic block of 3-bay square plan with centrepieces to each elevation flanked by blank bays. Circular corner towers occupy the southeast, southwest and northwest corners. The walls are constructed in red sandstone ashlar with shops at ground floor level. An arched architraved doorway at the southeast corner is flanked by pilasters with decorative capitals and keystone, supporting a tower corbel above.

The south elevation is symmetrical above the shopfronts, with a 3-bay centrepiece breaking the eaves and featuring a corniced wallhead. At first and second floors it is framed by pilasters; those at second floor are panelled, tapering and Ionic-capitalled. String courses occur at first and second floor cill levels and wallhead cornice, advanced at pilasters. A cartouche is superimposed on the frieze above each first-floor pilaster. A segmental pediment is centred over the wallhead cornice, surmounted by a large stack. The first-floor centre bay displays a cartouche dated 1902; the second-floor centre bay bears carved script reading "Columba Hotel". Circular towers at the outer corners are comprised of bowed corner bays breaking the eaves in drum towerheads, decorated at third floor with panelled and capitalled tapered pilasters, string courses and cornice at the eaves.

The west elevation follows the south elevation pattern but features a parapet broken by an open pediment over a cartouche containing carved script "Columba Hotel". Large stacks flank the centrepiece, each with an open pediment over a cartouche and corbel at base.

The east elevation mirrors the south elevation but with a corner tower at the south end only. A triangular pediment surmounts the wallhead cornice, crowned by a large stack. A bay to the left of the centrepiece features a projecting corbelled stack, with a matching stack at the north end of the elevation.

The north elevation is the gable end of the west elevation exposed west of the older building. A single bay to the left contains a fluted stack with pediment, superimposed with a cartouche over a corbel at base offset to the left of the apex. A modern timber entrance porch is flanked by bipartite windows.

First and second-floor windows are timber sash and case with meeting rail concealed behind transom, plate glass lower half and glazing bars above. Tripartite windows flank the south elevation centre bay; bipartite windows flank the centre bay of the west and east elevations. Tripartite windows occupy the right-hand bay of the east elevation; transomed windows appear in the centre bay of the west elevation. Corner towers contain three narrow closely-spaced windows at each floor. Box-dormers are timber and tile-hung with plate glass lower sashes and glazing bars above. The roof is red tiled with bell-cast tower domes topped by disc finials. Profiled gutters and cast-iron downpipes flank the towers, featuring semi-octagonal hoppers. Red sandstone ashlar stacks are corniced with terracotta cans, string course, vertical banding terminated by segmental and triangular pediments below.

A large, flat-roofed single-storey former Steam Packet office building is adjoined to the west elevation of the 1902 block.