Description

David Henry, 1887 (central section and north block on The Links); 1891-92 (front block on Pilmour Links); John Milne, 1901 (part on Pilmour Links elevation; 1911 (further additions by David Henry). Large hotel building in Free Northern European Renaissance style, on double feu stretching from Pilmour Links to The Links. Tall 4-storey, attic and basement. Ashlar facades with stugged and squared rubble flanks. Deep channelled base course (over basement), moulded dividing courses and eaves cornice with blocking course and ball-finialled dies. Segmental-headed, keystoned openings to porch; architraved openings to principal elevation; bracketed cills to 1st and 3rd floors, scalloped aprons to 2nd floor windows; stone transoms and mullions.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 7 bays (3 centre bays slightly recessed). Tall ground floor with dominant porch to centre bay with deep plinths supporting paired, Corinthian-capitalled pilasters flanking 2-leaf timber door below segmental fanlight and 3-light arcaded window; frieze with applied letters 'RUSACKS HOTEL' and cavetto cornice giving way to small stone balustrade: tall window to each return with all other detail as above. 2-light transomed windows abutting porch in flanking bays, and broad 6-light transomed and mullioned windows to outer bays. Regular fenestration, diminishing in height, to each floor above. 3-bay attic floor with broad, pilastered tripartite across centre bays with deep pilastered frieze, carved cartouche dated '1892' and initialled 'WR', and blind pediment above: pedimented, bipartite stone dormer windows to outer bays, all linked by deep, corniced blocking course.

N ( THE LINKS) ELEVATION: 3-storey with attic and basement, 5-bay elevation. 3 centre ground floor bays with later conservatory canted out over projecting basement, 3 windows to each floor above; full-height canted outer bays with tripartite window to each floor (diminishing in size). Attic floor with 3 pedimented windows breaking eaves to centre, tripartite windows and ironwork balustrades to outer bays below dominant shaped gables each with pedimented bipartite window below further segmental pediment.

W ELEVATION: largely symmetrical elevation of 5 distinct blocks; elements include broad flat-roofed sun-room with arcaded glazing to ground centre and left with part-blocked stair window to left of recessed face over; outer right block (fronting Pilmour Links) with canted window and decorative ironwork to 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of left angle, delicate brattishing above.

All porch glazing and stair window decoratively-astragalled with coloured glass; plate glass glazing in casement and timber sash and case windows elsewhere, some with small-paned upper sashes. Grey slates. Coped ashlar and squared rubble stacks, some with cans. Coped skews. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers.

INTERIOR: some decorative plasterwork cornicing and panelled soffits. Ground floor with 'marbled' columns, stylised 'Ionic' pilasters, carved timber fire surround with marble slips and engaged columns with heavily decorated consoles. Scale and platt staircase with decorative cast-iron balusters and timber handrail. Largely modernised elsewhere but some cast iron fireplaces retained in bedrooms.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND PIERS: rubble boundary walls to E with Corinthian-capitalled columnar ashlar piers.

Statement of Interest

'Rusack's Marine Hotel' was built by Johann Wilhelm Rusack (1848-1916) from Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony. Rusack opened a succession of hotels in St Andrews. The Marine Hotel opened in 1887.The sun room on the west elevation appears to have been reconstructed from components of the large winter garden which extended from the west elevation until around 1920. The building was used as a barracks during the Second World War, and when the interior was refurbished in 1986, plaster with drawings of aeroplanes was removed to nearby RAF Leuchars.

Part of a B Group comprising Forgan House in The Links and Pilmour Links, the Rusack's Hotel in Pilmour Links, 2-4 Golf Place with 1 Pilmour Links, 12-24 Golf Place with 1 Pilmour Links, 12-24 Golf Place (Even Nos), 3, 6, 7, 16-18A, and 19 Pilmour Links and 7-8, 12, 13, 15-16, 18 The Links.

Listed building record revised in 2020.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Rusacks Hotel at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17804284

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.

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