Alternative Names Formerly School And Schoolhouse; Village Hall
Site type HALL (19TH CENTURY), SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY), WAR MEMORIAL (20TH CENTURY)
Canmore ID 188037
Site Number NS31NW 57
NGR NS 33483 18546
Council SOUTH AYRSHIRE
Parish AYR
Former Region STRATHCLYDE
Former District KYLE AND CARRICK
Former County AYRSHIRE

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Architectural Notes

NS31NW 57 33483 18546

NMRS REFERENCE

Architect: Robert Lorimer
Plans: RCAHMS

Alloway Public Hall is situated on the E side of Monument Road about 38m S of Burns Cottage (NS31NW 31).
It is a single storey sandstone building with slated roof and attached to the former shoolmasters house (1 Doonholm Road).
It was orginally built (by Clarke & Bell, 1848) as a 'school' and 'post office' (1st edition of the OS 25-inch map [Ayrshire, 1858]), enlarged in 1881 then converted to Halls in 1896-7, following the publication of the 2nd edtion OS 25-inch map, which annotates the building as a 'school' (ibid 1896).
Reconstruction was undertaken by Lorimer & Matthew during 1929, when the building was known as the Alloway Burns Institute. The reconstruction was one of the last commissions undertaken by Sir Robert Lorimer before his death. The interior has a plaque reading "This building was enlarged and reconstructed by Thomas 2nd Baron Glentanar in memory of his father late owner of Belleisle Estate who inaugurated the original hall on 8th February 1897. It was reopened by Grethe Baroness Glentanar on 18th January 1930.", and the plasterwork panels are by Pilkington Jackson.
On the W elevation the centrally positioned war memorial of 1920 is by James A Morris, to the fallen of the First World War. An additional small square stone memorial set at the ground level is to those who fell in the 1939 -1945 war.
Information from RCAHMS (DE), October 2008

Close, R (1992) Ayrshire and Arran: an illustrated architectural guide, R I A S / Landmark Trust series {s.l.} (Edinburgh)
Page(s): 155 Held at RCAHMS D.5.AYR

Groome, F H (ed.) (1882-5) Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland: a survey of Scottish topography, statistical, biographical and historical, 6v Edinburgh
Page(s): 44 Held at RCAHMS B.2.GRO

Savage, P (1980) Lorimer and the Edinburgh craft designers, London; Edinburgh
Page(s): 178 Held at RCAHMS H.2.LOR