Clubhouse, Murrayfield Golf Club, 43 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh

Description

Ernest Arthur Oliphant Auldjo Jamieson, 1912 with 1980s additions. 2-storey piend-roofed golf clubhouse in Arts and Crafts style, comprising H-plan principal block with 2-storey wing to SE corner and modern additions to SW corner and N elevation. 1st floor of entrance bay tile-hung. White painted harl with blue engineering brick base course and door quoins. Eaves course.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 2 piend-roofed bays flanking recessed centre; wing to outer left. Advanced porch to centre with swept piended roof; round-arched entrance with brick dressings; 3 pairs of bipartite windows at 1st floor. Advanced bays regularly fenestrated with tripartite windows at both floors. Fairly regular fenestration to wing.

S ELEVATION: blind wall to right with advanced stack breaking eaves; recess with bipartite window in roof and single window at ground floor; 1980s addition to left with glazed shop entrance at ground and timber canted bay at 1st floor.

W ELEVATION: regularly fenestrated 5-bay central section with elliptical balcony between advanced piend-roofed bays with 2-storey bow windows; 1980s addition to right. Central round-arched doorway with brick dressings below balcony. Balcony supported on brick (formerly cast-iron) columns. 3-light bow windows to outer bays; one window with 1994 stained glass pane depicting 2 lady golfers by Patricia Savin.

N ELEVATION: later central extension. 2-storey slight projection to left; bipartite windows at ground and 1st floor; boat dormer above; boat dormer flanking to left. Right of extension: 2 slim lights at ground and 1st floor; chimney in centre; 3-centred arched entrance at ground to right; single window above.

INTERIOR: (seen 2013). Open plan entrance with timber fixtures and fittings. Deep coved plain cornice to principal rooms.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; some modern glazing. Tall tapered stacks with rendered bases and engineering brick tops; some red clay cans. Graded grey slate. Cast-iron down-pipes with some decorative hoppers.

BOUNDARY WALL AND GATEPIERS: coped rubble wall and gatepiers.

Statement of Interest

Murrayfield Golf Club clubhouse is good example of an early 20th century golf clubhouse in an Arts and Crafts style. Ernest Auldjo Jamieson was a member of the golf club, and in 1911 had taken over the practice of the eminent architect Sydney Mitchell on the latter's retirement. Buildings of Scotland erroneously attributes the building to the architectural practice of Rowand Anderson Paul, and dates it 1934. The attribution to Auldjo Jamieson comes from Bryden's book, which is based on the club minutes.

The Murrayfield Golf Club was founded in 1896, at a period when the suburb of Murrayfield was starting to expand. The original clubhouse was situated on the other side of Murrayfield Road, and was converted to a house when it was sold in 1912.

Scotland is intrinsically linked with the sport of golf and it was the birthplace of the modern game played over 18 holes. So popular was golf in medieval Scotland that it was a dangerous distraction from maintaining military skills in archery and James II prohibited the playing of 'gowf' and football in 1457.

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.

Murrayfield Golf Club was formed in 1896 and a 12-hole course was laid out to the east of Murrayfield Road. In 1904 the course was wholly laid out on the Ravelston Estate west of Murrayfield Road. It was this layout that Harry Vardon and James Braid famously played in their exhibition match on 30th July 1904, attracting many thousands to the course. The present clubhouse was opened in 1912 and replaced the original clubhouse which had been built in 1897 and lay to the east of Murrayfield Road.

In 1988 a major extension and renovation of the original building was completed, however, principal rooms still intact.

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

External Links

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