House And Post Office, 26 East Pier Street, Bo'Ness

This is a two-storey, seven-bay post office and office building dated 1911 and 1912, designed by James Thomson and prominently situated on a corner site. The building is constructed of ashlar stone, with some stugged and rock-faced rubble, channelled dividing pilasters at ground level, ashlar dressings, and harled sides and rear. It features a deep chamfered base course, ground and first floor cornices, a deep frieze and eaves cornice. Doors and first-floor windows are lugged and architraved, with moulded aprons, large stepped keystones, and stone mullions.

The principal elevation, facing the Waggon Road, has a slightly advanced, pilastered and keystoned central bay at ground level, containing a keystoned, roundheaded bipartite window above a fielded panel, with three windows to each flanking bay. The first floor showcases a dominant, decoratively pilastered central bay which rises into a stepped balustrade and incorporates a bipartite window with apron dated 'AD MCMXI' and a keystone with a crown above the initials 'GR', flanked by 'POST' 'OFFICE'. Two closely-aligned windows are located to the flanking bays.

The entrance elevation, facing East Pier Street, displays a window (formerly a door?) in the centre bay at ground level, flanked by full-height pilasters and windows, all over painted/altered panels. Further windows are present in the penultimate bays, with timber doors to the outer bays. The first-floor centre bay features a cartouche bearing a relief-carved galleon and a panel in the frieze dated ‘MCMXII’, which gives way to a semicircular stone pediment at the eaves, creating emphasis. Broad canted windows are positioned to the flanking bays, with a single window to the outer left. A single-bay north (Register Street) elevation contains a door at ground level and a window above.

Most first-floor windows have a two-pane lower sash with plate glass upper glazing, with plate glass glazing elsewhere, all within timber sash and case windows. The roof is piended, covered with green/grey slates and decorative terracotta ridge tiles. Coped ashlar stacks incorporate some cans, with ashlar-coped skews and cast-iron downpipes featuring decorative rainwater hoppers.

The interior includes stone staircases with decorative cast-iron balusters and dado rails, along with some panelled shutters. The site is enclosed by rock-faced boundary walls with ashlar quoins, and square-section gatepiers.