George McGillivray
16:16
0
A planning application has been lodged
to Aberdeenshire Council for a significant expansion of the Tolbooth Museum on Stonehaven Harbour.
The Stonehaven Tolbooth Association (STA) which runs the facility hope the plans will cement it as an “iconic” building.
The Stonehaven Tolbooth Association (STA) which runs the facility hope the plans will cement it as an “iconic” building.
The
16th-century site is currently home to a local history museum on the ground
floor and The Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant on the first floor.
The proposals
are for a two-storey extension to the Tolbooth, which will allow it to house
further exhibition space, a function room or cafe – or a combination of all
three.
Last night the
STA said it hopes the application for planning permission and listed building
consent would allow them to tackle the “serious issue” of overcrowding facing
the museum.
The extension to the Tolbooth would be
built into the courtyard section of the site.
Under the plans
the ground floor will be reconfigured to give access through a different
doorway.
A new reception
and information area would be formed, along with a staff canteen and public
toilets. The current display areas would also be realigned.
Last night a
spokesman for the STA said visitor numbers had surged from 9,000 a year prior
to 2011 to 22,000 in the past two years.
He added it
“has been the most frequented free attraction operating under Aberdeenshire
Council’s museum service umbrella”.
He also said
the proposals “would enable the museum to expand but at the same time retain
the ambiance of the community hub which we have fostered over the last five
years”.
The spokesman
added: “This success, whilst welcome, has come with a price and given the
current size of the museum and the high footfall, the visitor experience has,
on many occasions, been less than satisfactory as overcrowding has become a
serious issue.
“The architects reviewed the existing
footprint of the Tolbooth complex and by utilising underused space on the
ground floor the plans permit the doubling of the size of the museum at this
level.
“The addition
of a glass walled upper floor creates an area that will provide panoramic views
of the harbour and coast and be able to operate as a café, a function room,
further museum space or any combination of all three.
“The design is
a blend of the old and modern and will become an iconic building that is sure
to attract locals and tourists alike”
A brief history: The Tolbooth
The Tolbooth,
constructed in the late 1500s, is believed to be the oldest building in
Stonehaven.
It was built as
a storage facility by George Keith, the 5th Earl Marischal and founder of
Aberdeen’s iconic Marischal College, as he began work on an extension of the
neighbouring Dunnottar Castle.
When Stonehaven
was named the county town in 1600, it began its life as the local tolbooth,
courthouse and prison.
The ground
floor was the site of the prison and an exercise yard, and the first floor was
home to the court.
When new
facilities were opened in 1767 to fulfil these functions, the Tolbooth entered
a new era as a storage facility for grain, coal and lime until the mid-1900s.
In dire need of
repair, it was rebuilt in 1963 into a cafe and museum.
The STA was
formed after the building was closed down by its owners, Aberdeenshire Council,
in 2011 and revived it as a free entry community facility.
The local
heritage museum is home to relics dating back to the Iron Age, as well as items
from the history of the building itself.
Article Source: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/1111102/plans-lodged-to-expand-stonehavens-most-historic-building/
