Detail of tiling at shop front entrance to 39 Victoria Street, Rothesay, Bute

Description Detail of tiling at shop front entrance to 39 Victoria Street, Rothesay, Bute

Date 29/6/2011

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number DP 103629

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Rothesay grew up around the 13th-century circular Castle, becoming a royal burgh in 1400/1. The town expanded north along the High Street until two major phases of land reclamation in the 18th and 19th century. This shifted the main axis of the town along the shoreline, with the creation of Montague Street (mid- to late 18th century) and Victoria Street (1839-40). Subsequent development of the town took place along the shoreline, particularly as the town’s popularity as a tourist destination grew during the 19th century. The town centre has developed in a fairly ad hoc manner, as with so many historic towns. This has continued into the 21st century with redevelopment of historic buildings such as the Court House and other smaller infill. Victoria Street expanded quickly along the seafront in the mid-19th century, and has had some redevelopment during the 20th century. However, there are still some original Victorian, and later Edwardian, features such as this shop entrance at 39 Victoria Street. The lobby, seen here, has an ornate foliate Art Nouveau design in mosaic tiling. The design is echoed in the flanking stallrisers within the lobby. The shop windows, to left and right, have curved corner panes. There are many decorative features such as this throughout Rothesay. Several shop fronts retain their traditional frontages, with tiling and ornate ironwork. The 'Glasgow-style' red sandstone tenements in the town also have tiled closes and stairwells. The combination of decorative ironwork and stonework are all the result of the booming tourist trade when it was important for the town (and its residents and businesses) to appear cosmopolitan and keeping up with the latest trends.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1243786

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap