Fountain, Monktonhall Golf Club House, Ferguson Drive, Musselburgh, Inveresk, East Lothian

Description

John Logan, 1937, with later additions and alterations. 1- and 2- storey, flat-roofed, butterfly-plan Modern Movement "Flagship style" golf club house on stepped and raised site overlooking the golf course. Near symmetrical NE elevation overlooking course; single storey paired wings with viewing roof terrace over and central pediment to 2nd floor section. White painted harling with horizontally styled metal glazing. Later 20th century hexagonal plan bay to N corner.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION:

E ELEVATION: flat-roofed single storey wings opening to E (N wing with basement) with viewing deck with horizontal railings above; wide door at centre (modern door), with short flight of steps;

bracketted segmental canopy porch; rounded corners to wings; angular black addition to N wing with square windows to basement below; S wing retaining original form, with window to entrance side and 3 to outer elevation, curved at corners, blank rear. 2-storey block to W with shallowly pitched wallhead behind entrance bay to E, 2 windows at centre and porch to deck; rounded corners to N and S elevations, each with curved window.

N ELEVATION: 2 advanced 2-storey bays, linked by single-storey infill; door to each outer bay with short flight of steps. Irregular fenestration, stair windows in outer right bay at left; single storey single bay changing room block at outer right.

S ELEVATION: door in 2-storey bays to right, by re-entrant with S wing, flanked by narrow windows; single storey bays to centre with 2-storey bays behind. Metal-framed casement windows with 1930s glazing pattern. Plain railings to viewing deck above wings; simple railings to flights of steps. Flagpole at centre of E elevation.

Predominantly metal windows with some replacements. Replacement entrance door with boarded timber doors to service areas.

FOUNTAIN: polished Peterhead granite memorial fountain; squat circular section form with sturdy base and basin and ball finial to centre pole bearing drinking cup and spout. Inscribed with "In memory of Bob Ferguson, Musselburgh, Open Championship Golfer (1880-1882), died 19 May 1915". Sited by E entrance, screened from golf course below by curved hedge.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: inverted quadrant, low, rendered and stone capped walls forming entrance gateway with bespoke designed railings in the shape of golf clubs.

INTERIOR: (Seen 2013) detailing to interior bar areas updated late 20th century with some original detailing to upper floor former offices and accommodation areas. Small cast-iron fireplace to former flat upstairs.

Statement of Interest

Musselburgh Golf Club House is a good and rare example of a Modernist sporting building surviving largely in its original plan form and sited in a prominent position overlooking the golf course. The only other known golf clubhouse of this era and style in Scotland is Cardross Golf Club in West Dumbartonshire (see separate listing). The club was formerly known as Monktonhall Golf Club.

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers moved from their clubhouse at 8 Balcarres Road in 1891 to a new 18 hole course at Muirfield in Gullane, taking with them the venue for the Open. Musselburgh Town Council planned to build an 18 hole championship golf course to reinstate Musselburgh's interest in golf, to replace the superseded 9-hole course at Musselburgh Links. Land did not become available however until the 1930s at which time the 5 times Open Champion James Braid was commissioned to design the new course at Monktonhall. Monktonhall was designed as an extensive championship standard course, 6725 yards in total. James Braid, Percy Alliss, Henry Cotton and Alf Padgham opened the course on 10th May 1938 with the first game to be played. Braid later became a renowned golf club architect.

John Logan was appointed Burgh Surveyor for Musselburgh in 1935 overtaking from John Barclay who had undertaken the nearby Stoneyhill Housing development. His only other known works are for housing near to the golf club on Monktonhall Terrace which he designed in 1935.

The 'Articles and Laws in Playing Golf', a set of rules whose principles still underpin the game's current regulations, were penned in 1744 by the Company of Gentlemen Golfers (now The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers). Improved transport links and increased leisure time as well as a rise in the middle classes from the mid 19th century onwards increased the popularity of the sport with another peak taking place in the early 1900s.

The sociable aspect of the game encouraged the building of distinctive clubhouses with bar and restaurant facilities. Purpose-built clubhouses date from the mid-nineteenth century onwards; previously clubs had used villas or rooms in an inn near to the course. Earlier clubhouses were typically enlarged in stages as the popularity of the game increased throughout the 19th and 20th century. The sport has grown further in popularity in recent years, especially overseas in places such as USA and Canada.

At the time of writing (2013), the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland, the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), reported around 550 golf courses in Scotland, representing a total membership of approximately 236,000 golf club members. Interestingly, 7 of the 14 venues where the Open Championship is held are in Scotland. Scotland has produced a number of famous golf sporting personalities ' historically, Old Tom Morris (1821-1908) and James Braid (1870-1950) were the pioneers of their time.

List description updated as part of the sporting buildings thematic study (2012-13).

External Links

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