Hamilton's Auction Mart, Tytler Street, Forres

Hamilton's Auction Mart

Hamilton's Auction Mart was designed by the architectural practice A and W Reid in 1867 as an agricultural hall for the Forres and Northern Fat Cattle Club. The building that survives today is the two-storey, three-bay entrance front facing Tytler Street, with single bay returns to either side. It is built in Lombardic style with gabled and corbelled features.

The structure is constructed in stugged and coursed stone with polished ashlar dressings. It features a base course, square quoins, a moulded band course between the ground and first floor, and a corbelled eaves course. At ground floor level, a pair of round-headed entrances with timber doors are set beneath a large hoodmould decorated with carved stone heads of a bull, a sheep and a sheaf of corn alongside a potato and turnip. These carved ornaments were designed and executed by Arthur Goodwillie. The entrances are flanked by tall round arched windows. The first floor contains three round arched windows, each with moulded hoodmoulds and square hoodstops. A blind roundel sits in the apex of the gable. The single bay returns on either side have narrow round arched openings at both ground and first floor levels. Each return is topped by tall chimneystacks. The eastern return retains its original pair of decorative chimneystacks with an arched cope, while the western return's stacks have been replaced with only the stone base surviving. Fragments of slate roofing remain visible. The window and door openings have been boarded up and the condition of the original timber frames and doors is unknown.

Historical Development

In February 1867, the Forres and Northern Fat Cattle Club applied to the town's Feuing Committee for ground to build a hall. By March, the club had established the Agricultural Hall Company Ltd and acquired the Tytler Street site. The plans were drawn up by the Elgin-based practice A and W Reid.

The hall was designed to house the club's annual show, which had been established in 1865 and previously held on Market Green off Bridge Street. The committee wanted a permanent building to ensure the December show could proceed regardless of weather. Beyond its primary agricultural purpose, the building was intended for use by local groups for concerts, shows, a drill hall and storage.

The building was completed in time for the 1867 show. A detailed newspaper account in the Forres, Elgin and Nairn Gazette, Northern Review and Advertiser of 20 November 1867 described the completed structure. The front part accommodated the Club Secretary's room on the west and a staircase on the east.

The rectangular-plan hall at the rear, measuring 135 by 52 feet, contained moveable iron cattle cribs in the centre and along the sides. A U-shaped gallery was designed for displaying seed, grains and farm implements. This gallery was supported on columns that extended upward to support the king post roof. The roof incorporated full-length strip windows to provide natural light and ventilation.

The agricultural hall appears on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (surveyed 1868, published 1895), positioned adjacent to a railway siding to facilitate transport for the show. By the late 19th century, the building continued to be known as the Forres Agricultural Hall. A newspaper advertisement of 1891 offering the hall for sale noted its use as a cattle market.

The building's footprint remained largely unchanged from its original construction until 2016, when the hall and side wings of the front block were demolished. The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map (revised 1904, published 1905) shows that an octagonal sales ring had been constructed immediately to the east of the hall, with a rectangular plan building to the south, both shown with pens. Both of these structures were also demolished in 2016.

By the 1930s, the building was operating as Hamilton's Auction Mart, a name it retained through at least 1966 as shown on that year's Ordnance Survey map. The date when it ceased operating for cattle sales is unknown, but by the early 21st century it was being used for furniture auctions. Newspaper advertisements from the early 20th century indicate that a furniture auction salesroom operated on Tytler Street, suggesting the building may have served this purpose for some considerable time.