Hepburn House, 89 East Claremont Street, Edinburgh, Leith Walk, Edinburgh

Description

Hepburn House was designed by Thomas Duncan Rhind and built 1911-12, with the drill hall extended in the early 1940s and the whole building refurbished in 2002. It is a 2-storey and basement, 11-bay, roughly rectangular plan, Free Renaissance style former drill hall. In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the former hall at the rear.

Hepburn House is built of irregular squared sandstone ashlar with polished ashlar margins and details including a base course, cill course and eaves course. The central 5-bays are stepped forward with full height plain pilasters between each bay. There is a frieze with chunky squared off stonework and a triangular pediment above. There is 3-light canted bay at each end. The first floor windows rise above the eaves course and are corniced.

The windows are 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames. There is a slated mansard roof with coped ridge and end chimney stacks.

The interior, which was seen in 2015, has a number of plain cornices, timber and glazed doors leading from the hallway into the larger rooms and a simple timber chimneypiece in the original officers' room on the ground floor. The original lecture room (now divided into several smaller spaces) on the first floor, has a mutuled cornice.

Statement of Interest

The former East Claremont Street drill hall administration offices were built in the wake of the 1907 Territorial and Reserve Forces Act. It was designed by the Edinburgh architect Thomas Duncan Rhind who practised in Edinburgh before the First World War and was an enthusiastic volunteer himself, his later years mainly devoted to military administration work. The exterior has not been significantly altered since it was built in 1912 and it uses good quality materials and unusual neo Renaissance details such as the pilaster capitals. It is a prominent presence in the streetscape in an area on the edge of Edinburgh's New Town. In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the former hall at the rear.

The building was constructed in 1912 with the plans submitted to the Dean of Guild court in January of that year. A miniature rifle range running across the back of the building was added during or just after construction because the plans were submitted in July 1912. The cost of the building, which was the headquarters of the 9th Battalion of the Royal Scots (Highlanders), was between £6,000 and the original estimate of £7,000, around double the amount allowed by the Ministry of Defence through the Associations. Half the money was donated by the late commanding officer of the 9th Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel James Clark, CBE.

Map evidence in conjunction with the drawings submitted to the Dean of Guild confirms that the building was originally U-plan with the drill hall in the north arm of the U and a wagon store in the south. It remained this way until the 1930s when it was altered and became rectangular in plan. A comparison of the Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1931 and The Ordnance Survey National Grid map surveyed in 1944 supports this. Another subterranean rifle range is still evident in the garden and may have been added at this time.

The architect Thomas Duncan Rhind (1871-1927) received his early training as a sculptor with his father, John Rhind and older brother William Birnie Rhind but went on to study architecture. Rhind was an enthusiastic member of the volunteer forces, becoming a major in The Royal Scots and receiving the Territorial Distinction. On the outbreak of the First World War he was appointed Commandant of Redford Barracks while German prisoners of war were held there and served as provost marshal for a time after which he became Brigade Major in the Lothian Brigade and was appointed CBE in January 1916. He then joined the staff of Sir Andrew Geddes, Director of Recruiting, at the War Office in London and was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, undertaking the organisation of the statistical branch of the Recruiting Department. He was promoted Brevet Lieutenant Colonel in 1917 and appointed Assistant Adjutant General. On the transfer of the recruiting to civil administration he was appointed Controller of Statistics under the Ministry of National Service and was knighted in 1918. Latterly he was chief recorder at the Ministry. During his time in London he was attached to the London Scottish. Because the latter part of his career was largely working in administration, Rhind's output was relatively small. This hall is therefore significant as an example of his work.

From his connection with the Territorial Forces, in particular the Royal Scots, he would seem an obvious choice for designing drill halls in the Edinburgh area. He is known to have also designed McDonald Road drill hall (see separate listing), which is a short distance east of this site

In the late 1850s there was concern in the British Government about the Army's ability to defend both the home nation as well as the Empire. Britain's military defences were stretched and resources to defend Britain needed to be found. One solution was to create 'Volunteer Forces', a reserve of men who volunteered for part-time military training similar to that of the regular army and who could therefore help to defend Britain if the need arose.

In 1859 the Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed and the Volunteer Act of 1863 provided more regulation on how the volunteer forces were run and it set out the standards for drills and a requirement for annual inspections. Most purpose-built drill halls constructed at this time were paid for by a major local landowner, the subscriptions of volunteers, local fundraising efforts or a combination of all three. The Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 (known as the Cardwell Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell) gave forces the legal right to acquire land to build a drill hall and more purpose-built drill halls began to be constructed after this date. The largest period of drill hall construction, aided by government grants, took place between 1880 and 1910. The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (known as the Haldane Reforms after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane) came into force in 1908 and the various Volunteer Units were consolidated to form the Territorial Force. The construction of drill halls largely ceased during the First World War and in 1920 the Territorial Force became the Territorial Army.

In the 20th century changes in warfare and weaponry made many of the earlier drill halls redundant and subject to demolition or change to a new use. Around 344 drill halls are believed to have been built in Scotland of which 182 are thought to survive today, although few remain in their original use. Drill halls are an important part of our social and military history. They tell us much about the development of warfare and the history of defending our country. They also, unusually for a nationwide building programme, were not standardised and were often designed by local architects in a variety of styles and they also have a part to play in the history of our communities.

The requirements for drill halls were basic – a large covered open space to train and drill as well as a place for the secure storage of weapons. The vast majority of drill halls were modest utilitarian structures. Most drill halls conformed to the pattern of an administrative block containing offices and the armoury to store weapons along with a caretaker or drill instructors accommodation, usually facing the street. To the rear would be the drill hall itself. Occasionally more extensive accommodation was required, such as for battalion headquarters where interior rifle ranges, libraries, billiards rooms, lecture theatres and bars could all be included.

Listed in 2016 as part of the Drill Halls Listing Review 2015-16.

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.