Town Hall, High Street, Crieff, Crieff, Perth and Kinross

Entry Name: Town Hall, High Street, Crieff

Listing Name: High Street, Tourist Information Centre, Former Town Hall

Listing Date: 5 October 1971

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 359245

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB23484

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Crieff, High Street, Town Hall

ID on this website: 200359245

Location: Crieff

County: Perth and Kinross

Town: Crieff

Electoral Ward: Strathearn

Traditional County: Perthshire

Tagged with: Tollbooth Tolbooth

Description

1850. 2-storey and basement, 4-bay, crowstepped hall with tall 2-stage tower sited on ground falling steeply to S. Squared and snecked red sandstone rock-faced rubble with sandstone ashlar dressings. Base and moulded eaves courses. Pointed- and shoulder-arched windows; relieving arches. Chamfered reveals.

N (HIGH STREET) ELEVATION: crowstepped gable with tall window to centre and dominant round gablehead stack on gabletted base.

W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: tower (see below) projecting in bay to left of centre and narrow blank bay to outer left; bays to right of centre each with square-headed window below relieving arch at ground and pointed-arch window at 1st floor breaking eaves into crowstepped gablet. Slightly set-back, low lean-to crowstepped bay beyond to right with door and rounded outer right angle corbelled to square at eaves.

TOWER: engaged 1st stage with broad 2-leaf timber door below carved panel bearing Crieff coat-of-arms and moulded dividing course at eaves course height giving way to single window at base of largely blank 2nd stage with clock face high-up in carved stone Gothic-detailed surround to each elevation, all surmounted by moulded cornice broken by gabletted louvered openings and pyramidal spire with decorative cast-iron weathervane.

S (CORNTON PLACE) ELEVATION: variety of elements to lower elevation including projecting crowstepped gable with dominant gablehead stack and chamfered left angle corbelled to square at low eaves; higher recessed face of hall with window in crowstepped gable.

Decoratively-astragalled margined glazing pattern to pointed arch windows except that to S with 8-pane glazing pattern; 4-pane and plate glass glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows elsewhere. Grey slates. Coped and shouldered ashlar stacks. Ashlar-coped skews with moulded skewputts.

INTERIOR: winding stone stair leading to 1st floor Council Chamber with groin-vaulted. Marble panel dated 1838, commemorating Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre, founder of 'Strathearn Agricultural Society'.

Statement of Interest

Located within the building are the 10th century Cross of Crieff, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and the 17th century Cross of the Burgh of Regality of Drummond which is listed separately. The Town Hall was erected on the site of the 1685 tolbooth (demolished 1842) and converted to the Tourist Information Centre in 1988. The basement rooms, now housing the above-mentioned crosses, were formerly used as prison cells. The earlier Tolbooth boasted a spire containing town clock and bell, "gifted in 1725, as its Latin inscription bears, by Lord John Drummond, uncle of James the third Duke of Perth" (Statistical Account).

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.