Town Hall, 21-29 New Bridge Street, Ayr

Town Hall, 21-29 New Bridge Street, Ayr

This Grade A listed building is a major work of Scottish civic architecture, developed over three quarters of a century. Thomas Hamilton designed the principal structure between 1827 and 1832. James Sellars, working as part of Campbell Douglas and Sellars, extended the building into High Street between 1878 and 1881. J Kennedy Hunter undertook interior reconstruction from 1901 to 1903 following a fire.

The building comprises 9 bays of 2- and 3-storey Town Buildings topped by a striking 225-foot, 5-stage steeple. The exterior is constructed in ashlar, with the ground floor entrance porch featuring channelled stonework. A base course runs across the facade, with ground floor frieze and cornice, banded frieze and dentilled cornice above, and a balustraded parapet with dies at the top. Pilasters delineate the bays, while the 1st floor windows (except those in the steeple) are pilastered with round arches.

The north-west (entrance) elevation presents a composition grouped 2-1-3-3. The centrepiece is an advanced pedimented entrance at the 1st stage of the steeple, containing a 2-leaf timber door with a lantern beneath the pediment. Above this, giant pilasters frame the 2nd and 3rd stages. The 2nd stage has a round-arched window with an apron, while the 3rd stage displays a cill course and a central roundel decorated with anthemion and palmette motifs, with a triglyph consoled frieze below.

The 4th stage features an octagonal belfry with coupled Doric columns to the splayed sides and arched belfry openings over clock faces. Swagged bases link seated gryphons bearing torches at the corner angles. The 5th stage contains small square-headed belfry openings flanked by distyle columns with Corinthian capitals; blind splayed sides are topped with urns, and cornices bearing scrolls clasping the obelisk spire base. A slim obelisk spire with a weathervane crowns the composition, with a carved palmette ornament over a roundel at its base.

The entrance elevation's ground floor contains two display windows in recessed bays to the outer left, with regular fenestration at 1st floor level. The central section features three recessed bays with a central 2-leaf timber glazed door flanked by display windows and regular 1st floor fenestration. To the outer right, an advanced dentilled pedimented bay contains three pairs of bipartite windows at ground floor with panelled aprons below the regular 1st floor fenestration.

The north-east (High Street) elevation is an 11-bay composition grouped 3-5-3. The slightly advanced central five bays feature a 2-leaf glazed timber door with letterbox fanlight to the right, and four display windows to the left. At 1st floor level, an Ionic colonnade spans this section, with double pilasters flanking. Windows feature consoled keystones and swags. The 2nd floor windows are deeply recessed, with double pilasters delineating the bays and iron balustrades; cartouches ornament the outer bays.

The left section of three bays contains a recessed entrance with a 2-leaf glazed timber door and letter fanlight to the outer left, with two display windows at ground to the right and regular 1st floor fenestration. The right section of three bays holds a ground floor shop entrance with glazed timber door and flanking display windows, with regular 1st floor fenestration above.

Across both elevations, the ground floor is predominantly occupied by display windows. The 1st floor features round-arched small-pane timber sash and case windows. The High Street elevation displays a grey slate piended roof with corniced wallhead stacks and circular cans (the remainder of the roof is not visible).

The interior, comprising work by both Thomas Hamilton (1827-32) and J Kennedy Hunter (1901), includes an entrance hall with tiled floor and timber-handrailed stairs leading to the main assembly room. The assembly room features decorative gilding to cornices, a coffered ceiling, decorative iron radiator grilles, and stained glasswork to doors and windows. The room itself contains timber panelling, timber floor, and timber organ casing. Deeply recessed openings flank a bowed gallery, which features a mutuled cornice and displays the Burgh Arms on its central panel.