A. K. Bell Library

Quick facts

Date

Former infirmary built 1834–1838; adapted and extended as a public library in the 1990s

Architect / designer

William Macdonald Mackenzie; library work by Perth and Kinross Architectural Services Department

Type

Classical former hospital adapted and extended as a public library

Designation

Listed building, Category A (LB39323)

OS grid reference

NO 11354 23454

Architecture and continuing use

William Macdonald Mackenzie’s former infirmary is a two-storey, eleven-bay ashlar building raised prominently above York Place. The taller central three bays project around a round-arched porte-cochère: a practical shelter for patients arriving in bad weather, but also the ceremonial focus of the classical front. Channelled masonry strengthens the ground floor, while band courses, wreath ornament, a dentilled cornice and parapet carry a measured decorative rhythm across the elevation. The taller end bays have pedimented upper windows; twelve-pane timber sash-and-case windows and grey slated roofs retain the nineteenth-century character.

Inside the historic core, the entrance hall preserves a plaster-vaulted ceiling and tiled floor. Much of the remainder was comprehensively modernised for library use. Large east, west and south ranges designed by Perth and Kinross Architectural Services Department in 1992–1994 and completed during the mid-1990s extend the building in a deliberately sympathetic classical language, repeating features such as ground-floor channelling, wreaths and dentils without disguising their later date. The low coped and channelled ashlar boundary wall to York Place is included in the listing.

Its story

Mackenzie, Perth’s city architect for three decades, designed the building as Perth County and City Infirmary between 1834 and 1838. A new hospital superseded it in 1914, but it returned briefly to medical use for wounded servicemen in 1915. Perthshire Education Authority acquired it in 1920, and from 1930 it served as headquarters for Perth and Kinross Joint District Council.

After the council left in 1985, the former infirmary was selected for a new civic life. The adaptation and substantial additions created the A. K. Bell Library, which opened to the public in 1994. The building therefore links three strands of public service—healthcare, local administration and learning—while allowing the nineteenth-century frontage and principal entrance to remain legible.

Why it is included

The library is a prominent classical landmark on an elevated site overlooking a principal road. Its ordered façade, fine ornament and protective porte-cochère show how classical architecture was used to suggest stability and care in a nineteenth-century hospital. The sympathetic modern additions also make the building a useful example of a major new public use being accommodated without reducing the historic core to a detached façade.

What to notice

• The round-arched porte-cochère and central niche above it.
• Wreath ornament, dentilled cornice, pedimented end bays and twelve-pane sash windows.
• The vaulted and tiled entrance hall within the historic core.
• The transition from Mackenzie’s infirmary to the lower classical library wings.
• The low channelled-ashlar boundary wall along York Place.

Visiting and access

The A. K. Bell is the main public library for Perth and Kinross, offering lending and reference services, local and family history resources, a children’s library, free Wi-Fi and other community facilities. Culture Perth and Kinross currently lists opening from 9.30am to 8pm on Tuesday, 9.30am to 5pm Wednesday to Friday, and 9.30am to 4pm on Saturday; Monday and Sunday are closed. The operator identifies the library as wheelchair accessible and the building has lift access, but does not publish a complete room-by-room access statement. Visitors with particular route, seating, toilet or evacuation requirements should check directly before travel. The temporary August–September 2026 maintenance closure has ended and is no longer treated as a current restriction.

Timeline

1. 1834–1838 William Macdonald Mackenzie designs and builds Perth County and City Infirmary.
2. 1914 A new Perth hospital supersedes the York Place infirmary.
3. 1915 The building receives wounded servicemen during the First World War.
4. 1920 Perthshire Education Authority acquires the premises.
5. 1930 Perth and Kinross Joint District Council adopts the building as its headquarters.
6. 1985 The council moves to other offices and the former infirmary is selected for library use.
7. 1992–1996 The historic building is adapted and substantial new wings are designed and completed.
8. 1994 The A. K. Bell Library opens to the public.

What we know — and what remains uncertain

The statutory record securely identifies the principal architects, phases and surviving fabric. It dates the design work for the library conversion to 1992–1994 while describing the large extensions as 1994–1996; the article keeps that distinction rather than forcing the whole project into a single year. Opening times and services are operational and should be checked with the library before a special journey.

Sources & further reading

• Historic Environment Scotland: A. K. Bell Library, LB39323 — Designation category, precise location, architecture, development history and statement of special interest.
• Culture Perth and Kinross: A. K. Bell Library — Current main-library use, services, address, opening hours and access information.