Description

1857. 2-storey, 11-bay, rectangular-plan, symmetrical, piend-roofed former poorhouse with prominent, Classical architrave to central doorway. Random whinstone rubble with droved red sandstone ashlar dressings. Eaves course. Projecting cills. Door with semicircular fanlight and narrow side lights within corniced architrave to centre bay of principal (NW) elevation; tripartite, stone-mullioned window above; regular fenestration elsewhere, with alternate ground-floor windows converted to doorways; N corner chamfered at ground floor and corbelled out to angle above. Central pediment to rear (SE) elevation (see NOTES).

Lying-pane glazing, predominantly 8-pane, in timber sash and case windows. Grey slate roof with metal ridge.

Statement of Interest

A well-proportioned, mid-19th-century former poorhouse with good classical detailing to the principal doorway and a substantially unaltered profile.

Originally the Combination Poorhouse (or Workhouse) serving 11 parishes, the structure cost £4,000 to build, and could accommodate 133 inmates. It was used as an army hospital during the First World War, and in the 1930s was renamed Drumlanrig Poor Law Institution, serving only Roxburghshire. It has more recently served as a geriatric hospital, but closed down in 1994. It was being converted to sheltered housing at the time of resurvey (2007).

The rear elevation was not seen at resurvey as a result of the ongoing reconstruction works. It is understood that its central pediment with carved gable stone containing the Hawick coat of arms - sculpted by Thomas Beattie and taken from the Buccleuch Memorial (built in North Bridge Street in 1887) when the latter was demolished in 1971 - has been removed during these works for safekeeping, but is to be replaced on their completion. List description revised following resurvey (2008).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17834750

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings