Younger Hall, North Street, St Andrews

Younger Hall, North Street, St Andrews

Younger Hall is a monumental classical University Graduation Hall designed by Paul Waterhouse between 1923 and 1929, and completed by Michael Waterhouse. The building employs a grand temple-front composition with Art Deco detailing. Side porches were infilled in 2000. The sculptural urns are by Alexander Carrick.

The building is constructed in polished and dressed ashlar with contrasting Portland stone and Cullalo stone. The principal architectural vocabulary includes a channelled, pilastered three-part porch with Art Deco-detailed frieze surmounted by four swagged urns; a four-storey temple centrepiece with giant order piers and a heavy pediment with acroteria at the apex and outer angles. An architect's mark appears at the south-east angle. A deep moulded base course, cill and band courses, and eaves cornice run throughout. Segmental-headed openings, keystones, and some architraved surrounds punctuate the elevations. Stone transoms and mullions are used throughout.

The south (principal) elevation presents an eleven-bay composition. At the centre is a broad, slightly advanced three-part single-storey porch with steps leading up to two-leaf panelled timber doors with decoratively-astragalled fanlights and small flanking outer lights. Above the doors sits a deep frieze bearing incised commemorative panels inscribed 'JC IRVINE PRINCIPAL', 'HAIG FM CHANCELLOR 4 NOV 1926' and 'F NANSEN RECTOR'. The recessed first and second floors each have three windows; those to the second floor are flanked and divided by piers that extend upward to form a colonnade with decorative ironwork railings and composite capitalled pilasters to the recessed face of the temple front. Low stair towers flank the centre, each with a full-height transomed window, panelled apron and bellflower-detailed hoodmould, with further stair windows on the inner returns bowed to meet the recessed face of the first floor. Set-back three-storey bays adjoin but are lower than the temple front, with windows to each floor. Flanking the temple are pantiled, pyramidally-roofed three-bay two-storey outer pavilions with regular fenestration. The centre bay of each pavilion features at ground level a decoratively consoled cornice and pediment; at first floor level, an architrave and Greek key detail to the blocking course above.

The west elevation presents a blocky, tiered composition. At the centre is an infilled porch of three keystoned segmental arches with decorative fanlights (the outer arches blocked) and dividing pilasters, giving way to a stone balustrade. A broad two-leaf panelled timber door sits within the porch, with further doors on the returns and a segmental-headed window on the outer left return. Three windows light the recessed face above. To the right of centre is a two-storey bay with a pedimented door below a window, followed by two recessed bays. The outer right section features a dominant two-storey three-bay block with regular fenestration. To the left of centre are two windows in bays below two tall windows above, with a further window to each floor of the bay beyond (all decoratively astragalled). A slightly advanced bay beyond to the left has a pedimented door below a window, and a tall light high up to the outer left. The taller recessed face of the 'temple' at the centre has five lunettes, and two lights light the advanced stair tower to the outer right. A square-section domed timber belfry with louvered roundels crowns the centre of the roof ridge.

The east elevation mirrors the west elevation.

The north elevation is three-storey with a raised basement. An advanced centre bay has three windows to each floor; the window at first floor level has a consoled cornice and pediment. Set-back flanking bays have windows to each floor, and further recessed, lower outer bays have windows to the basement and tall lights above.

Throughout the building, windows employ margined and decoratively-astragalled glazing patterns set in metal frames. The roof is covered in grey slates and pantiles. Ashlar stacks and ashlar-coped skews are coped; cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers are used throughout.

The interior features a porch with glazed decoratively-astragalled domes. A grey and green marble-lined vestibule has pilasters and is flanked by staircases with decorative ironwork railings and timber banisters. Upper floors have glazed ceramic dadoes. Rooms flanking the vestibule contain carved timber fire surrounds and classical plasterwork overmantels. The Harpsichord room and practice room opposite feature vaulted bowed ends and niches flanking segmental-headed windows. The first floor landing has a wide vaulted recess and fitted timber bench, with smaller flanking recesses. The principal galleried graduation hall features square piers to the ground floor supporting a first floor panelled gallery with Ionic columns and dentilled cornice below lunettes to the east and west, with a further upper gallery to the south. The stage is timber panelled with a pipe organ on the north wall and a basket-arched proscenium.