Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

TOWN HALL STEEPLELB15754

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
17/10/1973
Local Authority
Fife
Planning Authority
Fife
Parish
Strathmiglo
NGR
NO 21491 10241
Coordinates
321491, 710241

Description

Dated 1734. Slightly tapered, square plan, 5-stage tower with partly convex octagonal ashlar broach spire and corbelled balustraded parapet on the traditional 16th/17th century Fife pattern. Prominently sited projecting forward from the street line at the heart of the historic burgh with wrap around stone forestair at first floor leading to side entrance door to tower. Rubble stonework with strip margined quoins and horizontal band courses framing each of 5 stages. Ground floor arched doorway with bi-fold timber doorway, quadrangle pyramidal capped sundial and armorial panel to 2nd stage. Small window to 3rd stage, clocks to 4th stage and paired lancet gothic windows at belfry stage.

Statement of Special Interest

Strathmiglo Tower is a important survival of an outstanding 18th century stone tower with fine stone detailing surviving in good and near original condition and providing a strong focal point to the historic market town.

Strathmiglo is an ancient burgh, the Burgh of Barony given to Sir William Scott of Balwearie in 1509, although the first feus were not granted until 1600 and it ceased to be a Burgh in 1748. The town developed from this date and by the early 19th century is was a centre for weaving. The tower was an addition to an earlier building used as the Town Hall which was demolished and rebuilt in the mid 19th century (now converted to private dwelling).The later hall is linked to the tower by a crowstepped gable and the forestair. A skewputt within the gable which is the carving of a head is of an earlier date to the hall.

The armorial panel is dated 1734 and holds the name and arms of the Honourable Margaret Balfour of Burleigh, the superior of the burgh. The sundial is supported by a short section of semicircular shaft and is said to be a remnant of the burgh's market cross. The belfry houses a bell bearing the motto Tempus Fugit, cast for the burgh in 1766 by Lester and Pack of London. Originally the ground floor of the tower housed the town's cell with a slit window to the W. The clocks apparently had stone dials prior to 1921 when they were altered to be as they are today.

It is possible that the tower may be built from the stones of Strathmiglo or Cairney Flappet Castle. It is built on the traditional Fife pattern which is a subtly battered section and a partly convex section to the broached spire. The tower is similar in profile to the nearby B-listed Auchtermuchty Town Hall Tower which is now incased in a later 19th century hall.

Descheduled 2013. List description updated 2013.

References

Bibliography

J Gifford, Buildings of Scotland, Fife (1988) p414. Leighton, Fife v 2 p183. 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1893). G L Pride, The Kingdom of Fife, An Illustrated Architectural Guide (RIAS)(1990) p98. RCAHMS, Tolbooths and Town Houses, Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833.(1996) p193.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 10:24