Town House, Main Street, Campbeltown

Town House, Main Street, Campbeltown

Built between 1758 and 1760, with a spire added in 1778 by John Brown, and substantially remodelled in 1865–66 by Campbell Douglas, this is a two-storey classical town hall with an attic storey across four bays. The building comprises a three-bay earlier section with a Gibbsian tower projecting at the centre.

The principal south elevation is finished in painted ashlar, while the north-east gable is cement rendered and lined, and the rear elevation is roughcast. The base course is partially exposed, with a string course at ground floor level, a band course, and an eaves cornice. Rusticated quoins frame the south elevation at the early building section and at the left of the later bay, with margins at corners to the rear. All windows are architraved round-arched openings with imposts and keystones on the south elevation, margined at the gable and rear, each with projecting cills.

The principal south-east front features the tower, which has an engaged octagonal first stage with a round-arched entrance door at ground level set within a Gibbsian surround and keystone, and round-arched windows to the flanking faces. The first floor contains round-arched windows, each with an architraved oculus above. An eaves cornice marks the first stage, above which sits a moulded octagonal base to the second stage, embellished with blind panels to each face featuring lugged architraves and a cornice above. The third stage displays segmental-arched recesses with keystones and projecting cills to each face, with three faces incised to accommodate a clock face and a cornice above. A moulded octagonal base to the steeple bears three tiers of incised circular decoration alternated with round-arched louvered lucarnes to the lowest tier, surmounted by a ball finial and weathercock at the apex.

Round-arched windows occupy the ground and first floors in the bays flanking the tower. The later bay at the outer left is distinguished by a projecting portico at ground floor level, comprising Tuscan columns supporting an entablature. Corresponding pilasters flank a round-arched entrance door with a carved mask keystone. Small round-arched windows flank this entrance, and the first floor features a round-arched window with a carved keystone and an infill to the arch-head displaying a coat of arms.

The north-east elevation is a three-bay gable end with segmental-arched windows at ground floor and round-arched windows to the outer bays at first floor level. The north-west rear elevation contains four bays with round-arched windows at first floor.

The windows are a mixture of plate glass and multi-pane timber sashes. Six-pane timber sash and case windows sit over the entrance door and at ground floor of the north-east elevation. The main entrance to the tower comprises a 16-panel two-leaf door and a two-leaf panelled entrance door, both with a plate glass semi-circular fanlight above. The roof is grey slate with a stone dormer at the eaves dated 1866, featuring lead sides and a slated roof. A stone pedimented dormerhead with a lugged architrave surrounds the dormer window.

The interior features a decorative scheme predominantly from the 1866 refurbishment. The entrance vestibule and stair hall are lined with a grey and white marble dado, granolithic flooring and steps, and a coved ceiling over the stair with a dentilled cornice and an eight-pane rectangular cupola at the centre.

The tower entrance porch has a grey and white marble dado and dentilled cornice at ceiling level, with panelled two-leaf inner doors featuring glazed uppers and horizontal brass handles, and a plate glass round-arched fanlight above.

The Council Chamber has panelled walls with fluted upper panels and a decorative cornice, with six-panel doors featuring matching upper panels set within lugged architraves and cornices with a heavy keystone at the centre.

The Committee room contains a timber floor and six-panel doors, with a chimneypiece dating to circa 1900 featuring pilasters with fluted uppers, a boldly corniced shelf, and a segmental panelled and corniced overmantle. A segmental-arched recess with an architraved opening and keystone at the centre is set into the north wall, flanked by six-panel doors.

A kitchen on the north side of the first floor stair has a plain ceiling cornice, a curved six-panel door to the north, and a stone spiral stair beyond accessing a caretaker's flat in the attic comprising two rooms with plain fireplaces, one containing a cast-iron range. A room to the south of the stair at first floor features a pilastered chimneypiece and plain cornice.

The hall has a timber floor and boarded dado with round-arched windows featuring fluted architraves, panelled reveals and aprons. The principal entrance comprises a two-leaf twelve-panel door set within a fluted architrave flanked by pilasters and scrolled brackets supporting a segmental pediment with shield and foliage carving in the tympanum. Flanking doors, narrower at six panels each, feature cornices only. The ceiling is vaulted plaster with planted mouldings creating a panelled effect, large circular ventilators and light fittings centring the larger panels. An apsidal recess set into the tower at the south wall has a round-arched opening with a coffered soffit, keystone and scrolled brackets at the springers.

Decorative cast-iron lamp standards for Provost's lamps (lanterns now removed) stand nearby, featuring fluted and floriate decoration to the shafts and bases.