Bonded Warehouse, Strand Street, Kilmarnock

Bonded Warehouse, Strand Street, Kilmarnock

Built between 1895 and 1897 by Gabriel Andrew, with extensions added in 1898 and 1907, this is a substantial bonded warehouse occupying a gushet site. The building ranges from two to three storeys in height and comprises multiple bays arranged with careful symmetry and renaissance architectural detail. It is constructed in yellow brick with ashlar dressings and features a rusticated ground floor. The composition is dominated by taller, pilastered pavilion sections that flank lower bays.

The North East elevation, facing Croft Street, presents a rusticated ground floor with paired central doors flanked by eight arched bays, with the first two bays to the left standing forward. A continuous cornice runs above this storey. The upper floors comprise 15 bays organised as 1-6-1-6-1, with single pavilion bays articulated by giant channelled pilasters. To the pavilion sections, the first-floor windows are stilted with segmental heads, while the second-floor windows have flat heads. The former attic bays are pilastered and arcaded, surmounted by triangular pediments. The remaining bays feature pilastered and arcaded windows with segmental heads on the first floor; on the second floor they have flat heads flanked by paired pilasters. A later third floor matches the second-floor arrangement. The storey is crowned by a main modillion cornice and blocking course.

The North elevation addresses the gushet and forms a three-storey, three-bay section linking Strand and Croft Street. The central bay contains a tower with giant channelled pilasters and pilaster strips forming panels. Paired arched windows to the rusticated ground floor serve this section, while the four upper bays remain blind. An escutcheon bearing the Kilmarnock coat of arms is positioned mid-level to both the second and third storeys. A bell-cast roof with a large flag pole surmounts the tower. The flanking arched bays have rusticated ground floors with three slit windows; above, the first, second and third floors each contain three regularly spaced small windows separated by full-height brick pilasters. A stone cornice with balustraded parapet crowns this elevation.

The South West and North West elevations along Strand Street form a long curving frontage divided into 1-6-1-6-1-8-1-8-1-8-1-8 bays. Most sections are three storeys, but the first eight bays and pavilion sections rise to four storeys. At ground level, most bays contain arched windows, though the second pavilion bay features a carriage pend with a large squared opening to the left and a restaurant door to the right. Modern shop fronts occupy the twenty-four southernmost bays. The upper floors follow a similar pattern to the north-east elevation: single pavilion bays with giant channelled pilasters, stilted segmental-headed windows on the first floor, flat-headed windows on the second, and pilastered, arcaded former attic bays topped by triangular pediments (though the third and seventh pavilions have bell-cast roofs instead). Flag poles crown the fifth and seventh pavilions. The remaining bays present pilastered and arcaded segmental-headed windows on the first floor, with flat-headed windows flanked by paired pilasters on the second. A later third floor matches the second-floor treatment for the first six bays. This elevation is finished with a main modillion cornice and blocking course. The rear elevation displays regular blind fenestration with projecting sills.

The South East elevation adjoins a red sandstone ashlar office building of comparable date and design, which is listed separately.

The building's fenestration reflects its original bonded warehouse function and subsequent adaptations. Historically, the design included no conventional windows, only high barred openings with plate glass behind, many of which are now partially bricked in. The arched bays on the north elevation retain iron-barred, glazed windows. Modern arched windows serve the ground-floor restaurant on Strand Street, and modern plate-glass shop windows have been introduced to the retail units south of the Strand Street elevation, with some replacement two-pane windows to the upper storeys. Glazed barred windows light the gushet section. The roof is covered in piended grey slate throughout, with tall bell-cast roofs to the tower bays. Ridging, flashing and valleys employ aluminium and lead. Cast-iron rainwater goods and gutters are concealed behind the cornice, while downpipes are attached between the tower end bays. There are no chimney stacks.

The interior has been converted into retail units along Strand Street with modern interiors, though some of the original iron girders supporting the building's structure remain visible.