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Standing Building Recording

Date 7 March 2012 - 29 May 2012

Event ID 994050

Category Recording

Type Standing Building Recording

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/994050

NT 3332 6743 A programme of historic building recording and monitoring was undertaken, 7 March – 29 May 2012, during conservation work on Dalkeith Tolbooth. The work involved the removal of cement harl from the rear (SE) elevation and SW gable wall, its replacement with lime harl, and extensive repair by stone indenting of the ashlar-faced street frontage to the NW, the latter much patched with cement.

The work revealed significant new evidence for the former appearance of the tollbooth. The frontage in particular was significantly different in detail to its subsequent appearance. The work defined the extent of surviving original fabric and confirmed it to have been of one overall build, which did not incorporate the in situ remains of pre-existing structures. The various lifts visible on the rear and side elevations indicate that the build occurred in three principal stages. The rear elevation also revealed the presence of two original first floor windows and the probable site of an entrance at ground floor level.

The overall design of the building was of notable sophistication. The detailing and execution of the ashlar-faced street frontage was of superlative quality, with many finely nuanced constructional features and an assurance of composition (in spite of the asymmetry of some elements – a symptom of the functional nature of the building), which clearly suggests the hand of a significant architect. Elements of the original construction, such as the majority of the ground floor openings, including the principal entrance, a first floor centrepiece and the details of its roof-scape were evidently missing or considerably altered.

A number of secondary works were recorded. Of particular significance was an early recasting of the principal frontage where the main entrance, the ground and upper floor windows, and the panel above the entrance all saw significant modification. This work may have occurred in the mid- or later 18th century and may have been associated with the reordering of the building internally. Perhaps associated were modifications evident to the rear; these were principally associated with the addition of a shallow two-storey extension which may have contained a stair. A further lean-to construction had been added to the NE.

Archive: RCAHMS

Funder: Dalkeith Townscape Heritage Initiative

Kenneth Macfadyen and Tom Addyman, Addyman Archaeology, 2013

(Source: DES)

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