A LISTED building rescued by a Scots community for £1 has been transformed into a thriving arts and cultural centre.
The 148-year-old Dunoon Burgh Hall had been built through enthusiastic public subscription of £4000 to mark the town achieving the status of a burgh but was allowed to fall into such disrepair it was scheduled for demolition.
Opened at a time of male-only social and political infrastructure, the building was designed by Glasgow architect Robert Alexander Bryden, a member of the Walter Scott Society whose interest in Scottish romanticism clearly inspired his work. He designed the new burgh hall in the Scottish Baronial tradition, incorporating turrets, crenellations, gables and rough stone to capture the look of a medieval Scottish castle.
Constructed from local green schist stone with stained glass windows, the hall towered over the growing town, which was fast becoming popular as a seaside resort “doon the watter” from Glasgow.
The only purpose-built theatre in Argyll at the time, it was used as a venue for performances, public lectures, exhibitions, bazaars, auctions, dancing classes, dances, court sessions, elections and much more.
A letter recovered from files found in the hall records is a formal complaint made to the council’s sanitary inspector based in the hall. The letter details an unfortunate incident in Liptons, a tearoom, where a girl serving in the shop mishandled some ham.
“Instead of cutting the slices of ham with a knife to obtain the correct weight, [she] tore it apart with her fingers,” was the outraged complaint.
During the First World War, the hall hosted fundraising sales, knitting bees for troop “comforts” and first aid training. During the Second World War, more than a thousand evacuee children arrived from Glasgow and their billets were organised from the hall offices.
For many years Dunoon Burgh Hall was central to the community, and a long rescue campaign began in the 1990s to bring it back into public use.
Thanks to a determined effort by the local people, working with architect John McAslan who hails from Dunoon, the building was saved and refurbished to become a fully accessible venue for exhibitions, performances, gatherings, community meetings and events.
“People here wanted to pull together and create something wonderful, and our vision is to bring the unexpected to Dunoon,” said Holly McAllister, Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust development manager.
As well as providing space for the community, the aim is to attract visitors to the area with niche events which will stimulate and encourage local talent and expand the tourism offering in the Cowal peninsula.
Now in its first full season since the pandemic, the venue has already welcomed singer-songwriter Callum Beattie, and acclaimed rock-pop project Honeyblood (above) will be on stage this Saturday.
Also lined up are the multi-award-winning Brian Molley Quartet, who will be joined by renowned percussionist and film soundtrack composer- musician Krishna Kishor from Chennai in India. There is also a jazz festival in September, and trad bands like Shooglenifty due to appear throughout the year.
While the venue had a “wee bit of a bad start” because of the Covid pandemic, according to McAllister, it quickly segued into a community kitchen to help vulnerable people during the lockdowns.
THE team is now working hard to improve mental wellbeing by providing access to the arts through a year-long programme of free exhibitions, theatre and events.
Alongside this, there are education programmes for children and young people, artist talks for the community and dance and drama opportunities from professional theatre companies. The team also delivers workshops in design, film, visual arts and literature.
Trying to keep prices affordable is a key aim.
“Cowal is quite a disadvantaged area, so it is more affordable to come and see things locally rather than go to Glasgow, which is maybe out of reach for some people,” explained McAllister.
Some of the forthcoming acts are part of the Scottish Government funded Scotland on Tour initiative, which aims to deliver new concerts across Scotland in 2022 in response to the pandemic.
Beattie was part of the initiative, attracting fans from as far away as Vancouver to the 350-capacity venue.
“He spent an hour signing autographs, and you wouldn’t maybe get that in a bigger venue,” McAllister said.
Honeyblood singer, songwriter and guitarist Stina Tweeddale is also part of Scotland on Tour, as is Glasgow’s Brian Molley Quartet, on August 21 when they will perform their genre-bending mix of jazz and world music which blends influences from Scottish and Indian folk traditions.
Dunoon Burgh Hall is forging ahead with ambitious exhibitions, having opened with one on Andy Warhol and currently running former Buzzcocks drummer John Maher’s photography show.
A Richard Demarco show opens on Friday, showcasing work by a number of artists living and working on the Cowal peninsula and drawing inspiration from Benmore botanical garden and, in particular, the avenue of Sequoia trees.
Visit www.dunoonburghhall.org.uk for more information.
