176 High Street, Ayr

Thomas Hamilton, 1830-2 (tower), John Mercer, 1886 (shops). 4-stage Tudor-Gothic tower with 2-storey, 4-bay Tudor-Jacobean extension to High Street and 2-storey, 5-bay extension to Mill Street. Polished ashlar.

SW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION, TOWER (No 176): four-centred open battered arches to SW, SE and NW elevations, 2-leaf timber door to NE elevation at 1st stage. Deep-splayed 4-light windows above dividing band course at pilaster buttressed 2nd stage; deep-splayed 3-light tracery windows with label-mould to SE, NW and NE elevations; canopied niche containing statue of Wallace to SW elevation; dividing corbelled band course. Corbelled clock panels with stepped labelmoulds to all elevations at 3rd stage; octagonal angle buttresses carried up to crenellated finials. Octagonal 4th stage rising from corbelled, crenellated parapet with pointed merlons; long louvred belfry openings; quatrefoil panels; crenellated parapet.

SW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION (Nos 172 and 174): modern shopfronts at ground, entrances to outer left and right; modern glazed door and fanlight to shop to left, shop window to right; 2-leaf glazed modern door to shop to right, shop window to left. Flanking pilasters to gabled bay to outer left rising to octagonal crenellated pinnacles; canted 3-light window; pointed merlon crenellation; Ayr Burgh Arms roundel to gablehead. 3 single windows to right; cornice; blocking course. Tower to outer right (see above).

SE (MILL STREET) ELEVATION: 5-bay, with tower to outer left (see above). Canted bay to left; deep-splayed pointed arch 3-light window at ground; string course; Y-tracery leaded window at 1st floor; single pointed arch windows flanking to canted bays; corbelled cornice; quatrefoil roundel to gablet; octagonal crenellated pinnacles. 4 bays to modern shopfront at ground to right (3 sets of doors to bay to outer right); 4 Y-tracery windows at 1st floor rising to form gablets; octagonal crenellated pinnacles flanking to outer left and right.

Plate glass timber sash and case windows to High Street addition, plate glass to Y-tracery windows to Mill Street, leaded tracery windows to 2nd stage of tower. Grey slate roof.

INTERIOR: (Tower) timber handrail to staircase; castellated newel post; decorative ceiling to principle meeting room; rubble walls to tower; clock machinery.