Knox Institute, 23 Main Street, Kilbirnie is a Grade B listed building in the North Ayrshire local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 2 December 1980. 2 related planning applications.

Knox Institute, 23 Main Street, Kilbirnie

WRENN ID
peeling-eave-swallow
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
North Ayrshire
Constituency
North Ayrshire and Arran MP: Irene Campbell (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
2 December 1980
Address
Knox Institute, 23 Main Street, Kilbirnie, KA25 7BX
OS grid reference
NS 315 545
Coordinates
55.75532, -4.68536
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Knox Institute, at 23 Main Street, Kilbirnie, is a 3-storey building dating from 1892. It occupies a corner location with a street frontage of 4 bays to the west and 5 bays to the north, plus an angle bay. The building is constructed of stugged ashlar stone with polished dressings. A doorway is set within the angle, above which is a round-headed aedicular window. A corbelled angle turret rises at the second floor, featuring three narrow, pilastered round-headed windows, a panelled drum, and a parapet above. Narrow pilaster strips connect the ground floor openings. The north elevation has two doorways and two large shop windows, the doorway to the left featuring a fanlight. A continuous cornice runs above the ground floor. The first floor features an off-centre Venetian window flanked by round-headed aedicular windows, with a round-headed window with an apron panel to the left. Panelled pilasters flank the end and angle bays, supporting a frieze and dentilled cornice on both the first and second floors. The second floor has a galleried design with broad, round-headed, pilastered windows, and a small round-headed window to the outer bay, topped by a balustraded parapet. The elevation onto Main Street is similarly detailed, with two large shop windows on the ground floor, two Venetian windows on the first floor, and two pairs of broad, round-headed windows on the second floor, all below a parapet. The roof is piended, covered with slate, and features end stacks.

Local climate

Knox Institute, 23 Main Street, Kilbirnie sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,380 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 41 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 21 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 2 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Knox Institute, 21 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade B 7 m
  2. Strathclyde Regional Offices, 37, 39 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade B 32 m
  3. Monument To William Walker, Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade B 48 m
  4. 49 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade B 59 m
  5. Royal Bank Of Scotland, 50, 52 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade C 61 m
  6. 3, 5 Bridge Street, Kilbirnie Grade C 66 m
  7. 54, 56, 58 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade C 70 m
  8. 55, 57 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade C 72 m
  9. Radio Cinema, Bridgend, Kilbirnie Grade C 86 m
  10. Hotel, 63 Main Street, Kilbirnie Grade C 88 m