Luke Moloney
At a meeting of Kirkcudbright History Society on November 13, Luke Moloney, an Architect in private practice in Dumfries, spoke about Buildings at risk in Dumfries and Galloway.
What emerged from his talk is that this is a matter of major concern in our region. Using a wide range of images he illustrated how over the past 40/50 years many buildings have been destroyed, allowed to deteriorate or been demolished in Dumfries and Galloway and many buildings are under threat today.
Clearly a number of these buildings have reached the end of their useful life. However Moloney argued that many buildings that had been destroyed could have been retained and adapted for future use with imaginative and creative approaches to our built environment.
In parts of Dumfries for example some of the old medieval street patterns have disappeared. Former Merchants houses and redundant College buildings are under threat. Buildings designed by the distinguished local architect, Walter Newall, whose painting is currently being exhibited in Dumfries Museum, have been destroyed.
In Kirkcudbright the future of the Johnston School has still to be determined. Although the building in its current form is much changed from the original Victorian design it still retains an attractive façade and Italianate tower designed by James Newlands who became the celebrated Borough Engineer of Liverpool.
In the past few weeks a number of Sheriffs Courts have been closed in Scotland and are to be sold off. These include the fine Court in Kirkcudbright designed by David Rhind in the 1860’s with the separately built, unique, historically interesting attached tower gaol which enhances the Kirkcudbright skyline.
An initial insight into scale of the problem and threat to buildings in the County is evident from a “buildings at risk register” which has been in operation since 1990.This is maintained by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland on behalf of Historic Scotland.
The register can be accessed online and currently contains images of over 80 buildings officially at risk in Dumfries and Galloway.
However Luke Moloney believes this may be an underestimate of the true situation in Dumfries and Galloway today and suggests there could be as many as 300 buildings at risk.
Maloney and others are concerned at the loss of buildings in and around Dumfries and potentially further afield from decay or depredation. They set up the Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust (DHBT) in 2011 to rescue and preserve historic buildings. It is a Building Preservation Trust (BPT) with charitable status. Such Trusts exist principally to save high risk, low return historic buildings in which nobody else is prepared to invest. There are many BPT’s across the country and they have saved many doomed buildings.
While there are no quick and easy solutions to the problem of redundant and under threat buildings the large number of members and visitors attending the meeting suggested that this is a subject of growing interest and concern.