Town Hall, The Square, Cullen

The Seafield Arms Hotel occupies a corner location in Cullen, built initially in 1822-23 and significantly altered between 1899-1900 by John Fowlie, with further repairs following a fire undertaken by George Legg between 1951-53. It comprises an L-shaped building with a prominent three-bay bowed corner, flanked by five-bay ranges facing both Seafield Street and The Square. A further two-storey, five-bay stable court fronts onto Seafield Street to the east, and a four-bay addition was made to the The Square elevation between 1899 and 1900. Certain rear extensions, originally built in 1822-23 and remodelled around 1972, and late 19th century portions also remodelled around 1972, are excluded from the listing.

The building is harled with ashlar dressings and margins. The corner angle is faced with ashlar and features three segmental-headed entrances on the ground floor, approached by a curved staircase, and round-headed recessed first-floor windows. The advanced bays have first-floor windows recessed similarly in shallow round-headed ashlar. A continuous band course runs between the ground and first floors, topped by a deep corniced eaves band and blocking course which steps up above the advanced bays, supporting the Seafield coat of arms at the corner. The blocking course was removed from the Seafield Street frontage to accommodate four mid-20th century piended dormers. A wide segmental-headed entrance is located centrally on the Seafield Street elevation, with a similar entrance on the original five-bay frontage facing The Square, although it is no longer centrally positioned due to later additions. The stable court features a tall, basket-arched entrance flanked by tripartite windows set into shallow recessed bays, and small oval first-floor windows (originally loft windows). A single-storey, dormered attic wing adjoins the north elevation of the stable court range.

The windows predominantly feature a 12-pane glazing pattern in timber frames. The building is roofed with slate, with projecting eaves that are bowed at the corner. The town hall section has a corrugated asbestos roof with a shallow pitch. Coped ridge stacks are present.

The interiors of the town hall largely date to the period after the 1951-53 fire, while the hotel’s interiors have been remodelled around 1972, although some 19th century decorative detailing remains. The council chamber, located in the bowed corner, contains curved, panelled doors in reeded doorpieces and a plaster ceiling rosette. This is accessed by an imperial staircase dating from 1951-53, incorporating a Greek key-pattern dado and top light banding, with a niche containing a marble statue of Venus. All other rooms in the town hall were redesigned in 1951-53. The hotel has a 19th-century dog-leg staircase with a decorative cast iron balustrade, and a southeast-facing lounge on the first floor with beaded panelled window shutters and moulded door cases.