Younger Hall, Shore Road, Kilmun

Younger Hall in Kilmun was built around 1910 by architect Angus Cameron and serves as a good example of an early 20th century Arts and Crafts village hall. It is a unique and striking building, notable for its quirky details and the survival of many original features, situated along the shore. The hall is a single-storey, roughly L-shaped building with a prominent, squat, square-plan tower above the central entrance and a circular window bay to the right. To the left (west), a large, prominent advanced gabled bay features a large segmental-arched mullioned and transomed window set within a red sandstone surround. The squat central tower has curved crenellations and cruciform arrow-loops, reminiscent of early Baronial buildings in the area. The circular bay to the right has a conical tiled roof and timber glazing, with multi-paned upper lights and curved plate glass below. The projecting gable is half-timbered to the apex and contains a large window which is timber mullioned and contains decorative leaded glass. The hall was built by the Younger family of Benmore and subsequently given to the people of Kilmun as a trust. Since its construction, the hall has undergone alterations, primarily the addition of a flat-roofed extension to the rear and modifications to the entrance hall to improve access. Inside, the main hall features a boarded ceiling and a segmental-arched stage with a leaded window behind. The library contains fine built-in bookshelves and a lugged fireplace. Internal doors are glazed with leaded and stained glass, complemented by timber panelling to dado height. The building’s exterior is characterised by a red sandstone base course and harled walls above, topped by a rosemary-tiled roof. Windows are a mix of timber sash and case and leaded casement styles. Boundary walls are constructed with rubble stone to the sides and rear. A low ashlar sandstone wall with wrought iron railings defines the front boundary, with the thistle-motif wrought iron railings and gates being of particular interest.