Town Hall, South Beach, Troon

Town Hall, South Beach, Troon

This Neo-Georgian town hall was designed by James Miller in 1932 and comprises municipal offices to the front with a concert hall at the rear. The building is set on a sandstone plinth with a symmetrical 2-storey principal elevation plus attic and basement. The principal front elevation is 9 bays, grouped 3-3-3 with the central section advanced. The northwest elevation extends to 13 bays. A single and 2-storey extension was added to the south by Noad & Wallace around 1960.

The exterior is constructed of red brick with ashlar dressings in Blaxter sandstone. The roof is of red tile, laid in piended and platformed form with eaves slightly swept. A dentilled cornice runs to the entablature, advanced at centre, with a balustraded parapet above. Moulded eaves courses run to the remainder of the building, with overhanging eaves throughout.

The principal elevation features giant order fluted Composite pilasters dividing the central bays. Ground floor windows have pilastered surrounds with architraved round-arched openings above. Basement and first-floor windows are square-headed, with projecting sandstone cills. A columnar porch fronts the entrance, and balustraded balconies project to the north.

The northeast (entrance) elevation has steps leading to the entrance centred at ground level, with wrought-iron outer doors and a 2-leaf 10-pane vestibule door within. The projecting porch comprises flanking pilasters and advanced Doric columns supporting a full entablature with dentilled cornice, beneath which sits a balustraded balcony. French windows are aligned at first-floor level. Squat basement windows appear in various bays, with round-arched windows at ground floor and square-headed windows at first floor. Two tripartite dormers are aligned above. A ramp obscures portions of the basement fenestration.

The northwest (side) elevation spans 13 bays and is near-symmetrical across an 11-bay section to the left. A canopied concert hall entrance with steps is centred at ground level, with balustraded French doors at first-floor level above. Squat basement windows appear in the remaining bays to the left. The fenestration is regular at ground and first floors, with French doors at first floor in the penultimate bay to the outer left, fronted by a balustraded balcony. To the right of the entrance, a squat basement opening and steps to a 2-leaf basement door appear in subsequent bays, with regular fenestration above. A full-height single-bay projection rises in the penultimate bay to the outer right, containing steps to a 2-leaf part-glazed boarded timber door at ground level, with an ashlar surround comprising stylised pilasters and an architraved round-arched pediment. A single window sits at first-floor level. A part-glazed boarded timber door appears at ground floor in the bay recessed to the outer right.

The southeast (side) elevation features regular fenestration at ground and first floors in a 3-bay projection to the outer right, with bipartite dormers aligned above. Single windows appear at first-floor level in bays recessed to the left. A later single and 2-storey extension projects to the front.

The southwest (rear) elevation is 9 bays, grouped 1-7-1, with the central section advanced. Fluted giant order pilasters divide the five central bays. A 2-leaf boarded timber door is centred at ground level with an architraved surround. A heavy panelled parapet rises above. Square-headed windows appear at ground floor in three bays to the left and right (breaking the plinth), with five double-height windows set between pilasters above. Round-arched single windows appear at ground floor in bays recessed to the outer left and right. A later addition adjoins to the right.

Small-pane metal glazing is used throughout the building. Cast-iron rainwater goods run from sandstone cornices to red brick ridge stacks, which have circular cans.

Interior

The interior contains 2-leaf 10-pane vestibule doors with pilastered doorpieces topped by full entablatures leading to 2-leaf glazed timber doors serving council offices. Raised skirting boards and simple cornices are throughout. A half-turn hall stair with stone treads and barley-sugar balusters rises to the first floor. Original floor covering lines the rear vestibule, which links the hall and contains 2-leaf small-pane doors and a timber-panelled kiosk. A half-turn stair with stone treads and straight and barley-sugar balusters serves this area. The shallow-vaulted double-height hall features ventilator strips between raised braces, with architraved timber surrounds to 2-leaf doors and timber-panelled dado. A 3-sided timber-fronted gallery with tiered seats faces northeast. The stage is framed by a lugged segmental-arched opening, with balustraded stairs flanking either side.

Front Features

Decorative lamp standards flank the entrance, comprising fluted plinths with anthemion detailing to the shaft bases. Each supports a lamp crowned with a painted coat-of-arms and a tapering finial.