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

21-29 COWGATE, COUNTY BINGO, FORMER KING'S THEATRELB25201

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
30/06/1989
Local Authority
Dundee
Planning Authority
Dundee
Burgh
Dundee
NGR
NO 40480 30585
Coordinates
340480, 730585

Description

Frank Thomson, 1908. Large red ashlar theatre, 3-storey front, E elevation stepped and treated in American manner. Encircling ground floor band course. Auditorium altered internally but some good plasterwork survives.

Elevation to Cowgate: 3-storey, 11-bay. Ground floor channelled ashlar to foyer and shops, fronts altered. Canopy altered circa 1950. Square mezzanine windows over. Large 1st floor chamfered windows with aprons arranged singly and in 3s. Mutule cornice and parapet. Recessed chamfered angle with ground floor segmental arched door, wrought-iron balcony over, windows similar to N elevation.

Elevation to St Andrews Street: 2 bays in similar style; long blank area of walling to left, ground floor plain ashlar with suspended canopy for queues. Semi-domed open metal neon-light fitting. Cornice and parapet, raised block at centre. 3 bays at left stepped up as ground falls. Channelled ashlar below band course, banded ashlar above. 4 tiers of tripartites over, flanked by bipartites, 1st and 2nd floors linked by vertical recesses. Band course over 3rd floor 4th floor low shouldered windows. Mutule cornice.

S elevation rubble-built, W elevation brick-built.

Windows to Cowgate: casement at mezzanine, 12-pane glazing pattern. 2nd floor sash and case windows, 18-pane glazing pattern. Small fixed-pane windows at S. Piended slate roofs.

Interior: foyer and auditorium stalls and proscenium completely altered. 2 balconies. Domed plaster ceiling suspended from steel roof with fine plasterwork by Mr Ward, now concealed by false ceiling. Original stair to circle with good stained glass and plaster ceiling. Well preserved section underneath stalls: marble flight of steps and terrazzo floors leading to former cafe/bar with Tuscan columns. Corridor lined with Ionic pilasters and intricate plaster festoons and swags. Scroll pedimented sopraporte with female heads.

Continental Ballroom/King's Billiard Room (entered from No 21 Cowgate) has similar plasterwork to barrel-vaulted top-lit ceiling.

Statement of Special Interest

Built as the King's Theatre and Hippodrome, the auditorium was converted to a cinema in 1928. The name was changed to 'Gaumont' in 1950 and again to 'Odeon' in 1973. Closed as a cinema in 1982, the building was subsequently run as a bingo hall and now (2008) it is a nightclub.

References and Notes updated as part of the Cinemas Thematic Study 2007-08.

During a recent (2010) fire risk inspection by the local authority, a fine cast iron kitchen range was discovered in the basement of No 23 Cowgate. The large range incorporates ovens, hotplates and warming cupboards. Information from Dundee City Council.

References

Bibliography

McKean and Walker (1984) p 37. Further information courtesy of Cinema Theatre Association: www.scottishcinemas.org.uk (accessed 12.02.08).

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 14:55