The Smugglers Tavern, 53, 55 Eglinton Street, Beith

The Smugglers Tavern, 53 and 55 Main Street, Beith

A mid to late 18th-century building of 2 storeys and 6 bays, distinguished by a central 2-bay nepus gable with a corniced apex stack. The structure exemplifies an important building type found throughout Ayrshire.

The principal elevation features a mid-19th-century pub frontage at ground floor, comprising a central window flanked by doors with pilastered segmental-headed openings, recessed within a pilastered entablature with a consoled cornice. To the left are paired windows, and to the right a single window and door (a later alteration). The first floor has 6 windows. The nepus gable is treated with angle pilasters and contains 2 small square windows. Modern harling covers the original lime harl or limewash, with raised painted margins and a band course marking the division between the first and attic floors. The eaves course is moulded.

The rear (north) elevation contains a central stair tower and a later 2-storey flat-roofed brick addition to the right.

The roof is covered in grey slates laid in diminishing courses, with a straight skew to the right and a scrolled skewput; the cans are missing from the apex stack. The windows have been replaced with UPVC units, removing the original timber sash and case windows which likely had 4-pane glazing divided by glazing bars.

Interior details of the ground floor are not original. The first floor and attic were not inspected at the time of listing (2003).

Historical Context

Beith prospered in the mid to late 18th century from textile production and finishing, but also from a significant illicit trade in tea, tobacco and spirits. Smugglers used the town as a staging point en route from the coast to larger distribution centres at Paisley and Glasgow. Many buildings on Main Street are reputed to have cellars to the rear, where the ground falls away steeply, which may have been used to store contraband. This tavern may well have served as a refuge or meeting place for those engaged in this trade.

Architectural Significance

The nepus-gabled building occupies a prominent position at the centre of Beith. Viewed from the Strand at right angles to Main Street, it stands in close proximity to the historic Cross at the town's heart, near another well-preserved nepus-gabled building at Nos 24–28. Other comparable examples include 14–16 Main Street (less well preserved), 2–6 Reform Street, and 26–30 Main Street. Beith retains a good proportion of these distinctive buildings, which are common in Ayrshire and contribute significantly to the town's character. They represent an important survival of early building practice predating the more prevalent 3-bay 2-storey villa form of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Several such buildings have been lost through demolition or removal of the nepus gable; 19th-century dormers were commonly added to this building type and are themselves of interest for their use of traditional materials and appropriate scale.