Conservation Areas are: Rothesay Conservation Area “...areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.” Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Area) (Scotland) Act 1997 Section 61 The designation of a conservation area is not intended to prevent change but to ensure the special character or appearance of the area is protected and enhanced. Special rules apply to conservation areas, for example, demolition of any building or structure requires Conservation Area Consent, and certain Permitted Development rights are removed. Argyll and Bute Council is committed to preserving and enhancing the conservation areas in its care. Conservation Area Appraisals set out the factors which contribute to the special character of the area in order to provide a sound basis for effective conservation area management. This short guide summarises the special qualities of the Town Centre Character Area of the Rothesay Conservation Area to raise awareness and understanding. It is produced with the support of Heritage Lottery Fund and in association with proposed Townscape Heritage Initiative. The full Appraisal is available from Argyll & Bute Council and Rothesay Library. Further information What is a Conservation Area? What is a Conservation Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Area) (Scotland) Act 1997 SSP: Planning and the Historic Environment SHEP: Scottish Historic Environment Policy PAN 71: Conservation Area Management Argyll & Bute Planning Department Town Centre Character Area a short guide Rothesay Conservation Area is one of Scotland's most Buildings of the Georgian Period extensive, stretching five miles along the east coast of the Isle of are characterised by Classical Bute from Port Bannatyne to Ascog. It encompasses the town refinement: splayed corner details, centre and esplanade; the early industrial area; extensive seafront raised stone surrounds, projecting suburbs and two villages It was designated in 1971, extended in lintels and cills and banding courses 1980 and 1984 and given outstanding status in 1985. elaborate plain buildings. Wallhead chimney stacks, sometimes dated This conservation area is divided into 9 character areas each and often quite decorative, feature with its own special architectural and historic interest. on a number of buildings. Dormers Introduction Rothesay Town Centre Character Area is highly were not typical of this period but significant for three reasons: many have been added in the Victorian period or later. a medieval castle, heart of the Royal Burgh a historic commercial centre an iconic seaside resort Victorian era buildings are more elaborate with ornamental features such as pavilion roofs (Victoria Hotel; Duncan Halls) and carved stonework (Post Office). Decorative ironwork appears and the bay window is introduced, articulating building façades and improving light and views. Dormer windows similarly punctuate the roof space and provide extensive sea views. © Crown Townscape Detail Townscape Rothesay Conservation Area’s 9 character areas 1 18 Building scale, its height and breadth has a fundamental Rothesay is the only influence of the townscape. Height often reflects when a building town and principle port was constructed and this is true in Rothesay: on the Island of Bute. Earliest buildings are 1 or 2-storey Early 19th century properties are 3-storey The town lies at the Victorian & Edwardian buildings rise to 4- or more storeys. head of the wide, sheltering bay on the island’s east coast. Building scale works best where it considers neighbouring buildings and the streetscape. Building widths vary, with a few being as narrow as 2-bays, but most tending to be 4 or 5-bays. This variety of width articulates the horizontality of the seafront It faces across the Firth of Clyde with the coast of North Ayrshire and returns a verticality which is traditional in Scottish and Inverclyde a distant backdrop. To the north, the Cowal architecture, emphasised by vertically proportioned windows. Peninsula provides views of enticing mountain scenery. Arriving by sea the wide curving seafront is lined with elegant buildings Townscape Detail Townscape Rothesay displays a rich backed by wooded hills and open farmland. The cliffside in the east of the town centre offers panoramic views over the bay. variety of architectural detail from the modest Classical detailing of the Georgian period through more elaborate Victorian era to the 20th century Art Nouveau and Moderne periods. Location 17 2 Rothesay Castle was built around 1230 above the natural Building materials harbour to defend Scotland’s western frontier. The castle is make a unique associated with the royal family of Stewart (later Stuart), kings of contribution to the Scotland from 1371 to 1714, and remained a royal residence and character and strategic location until the later 16th century. The castle ruins appearance of an Origins were consolidated in the late 19th century and it is now in the care area. In the town of Historic Scotland. centre buildings are predominantly built using traditional stone Rothesay was erected as the only island Royal Burgh in walls with pitched slate 1401, allowing free trade at home and abroad. Very little is roofs. certain of the early burgh buildings, but the settlement focused around the castle and extended along the High Street toward the Earlier buildings have rubble stone work (designed to be lime medieval parish church of St Mary. Buildings were constructed harled and limewashed but now often exposed) whilst later between New Vennel (Stuart Street) and Old Vennel (Russell buildings have regularly coursed dressed stone (ashlar). Street). Castle Street stretched toward the Serpentine route. The Originally locally quarried stone was used, then rail transport area of Watergate and Shore Lane possibly formed an early increased the use of ‘imported’ stone in the Victorian era. The harbour. result is a variety of building stones - grey, buff, red sandstones and dark whinstone. Window surrounds and quoins (corners) are often picked out in a contrasting stone. Some buildings, especially on the seafront, have been painted a light colour. Other traditional materials contribute to the townscape’s quality and detail including Scottish slate, timber windows and shopfronts, clay chimney cans, leadwork, cast iron rainwater goods, decorative ironwork. 7KH&DVWOH¶VFLUFXODUFXUWDLQZDOOLVXQLTXHLQ6FRWODQG Townscape Materials Townscape 3 16 Roy’s Survey (1747-55) shows the Royal Burgh shortly before its rapid growth in the second half of the 18C. Development was still restricted by the sea. Two shops in Tower Street have The first harbour is matching fronts with good mosaic clearly indicated. © NLS entrances and stall risers Rothesay has functioned for over two centuries as the island’s commercial centre, creating shops primarily at street level in Montague Street, along the seafront and in linking streets. Historic Shops Historic Shops The town centre contains a significant number of historic shops, the style and materials of which reflect the town’s Rothesay grew from the late 18th century, stimulated by economic and architectural history dating back to the late 19th increasing Irish trade and the success of cotton and fishing century. Historic shops contribute greatly to the character, industries. The population rose from about 400 in 1756, to over appearance and vitality of the town centre in a number of ways: 2500 in 1790. New streets were laid out on the foreshore, and the harbour was enlarged and extended. historically fashionable materials - chrome and Vitrolite Wood’s map glazed brick tiles and mosaics (1825) shows decorative console brackets many of the town’s streets established stained glass, curved glass including decorative ironwork and pilasters Montague Street, Watergate, Store Lane, Bishop Street, East and West Princes Streets, and the beginnings of Guildford Square on reclaimed land at the pier-head. © Caledonian Maps Georgian Development 15 4 During the Victorian Era Rothesay rapidly became an The 3 principle elements are important holiday resort. The harbour was reconstructed to serve connected by linking streets. pleasure steamers and the Esplanade Gardens and Promenade These vary from the earliest routes: were laid out. The town expanded with fine new buildings such as Store Lane, Watergate, Bishop the Duncan Halls and the Aquarium, and grand seafront hotels, Street; to the newest Dean Hood including the Glenburn, Scotland’s first Hydropathic Hotel. Behind Place. the seafront, tenement blocks in the Glasgow style towered over lower terraced cottages; mansions for industrialists, fine villas for The buildings reflect the town’s sea-captains, and welcoming seaside guest houses were built growth from late 18th into the 20th along the shores of Rothesay Bay extending from the fishing century. On Gallowgate there are village of Port Bannatyne to the rural village of Ascog. early 2-storey properties. In the east Bishop Street has imposing stone tenements next to single storey cottages. Glimpses of the seafront are offered Seaside Expansion by the linking streets. The linear form at Tower Street and Dean Hood Place create vistas closed by the Winter Gardens and a memorial fountain respectively. Splayed corners of buildings help to create a sense of space. 1896 © Crown In Castle Street the landmarks of the former County Buildings and Trinity Church define the extent of this early road. Rothesay’s heyday as a holiday resort arrived when the working classes could afford a trip to the seaside. Linking Streets 5 14 Seafront Strong continuity of the seafront’s building form, 3 and 4-storey, The Art Nouveau styled Winter Gardens with vast cast iron many painted in light colours to enhance the seaside atmosphere dome and decorative pagodas is a major landmark and iconic structure for the town. The long seafront road was reclaimed during the 19th century. The southern edge is defined by the tall wall of elegant stone buildings comprising East Princes Street, Albert Place, Rothesay’s popularity as a holiday destination continued well into Victoria Street and Argyle Street only broken by Guildford the middle of the 20th century.