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A granite Town Hall and bell turret give Oldmeldrum’s enclosed Market Square its clearest civic landmark.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1877; incorporating a 1741 coat of arms and bell-turret tradition; altered about 1920
- Architect / designer
- William Smith
- Type
- Granite burgh Town Hall with clock stage and ogee-capped bell turret
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB38892)
- OS grid reference
- NJ 80833 27209
Architecture and continuing use
William Smith composed a tall two-storey front in rough granite ashlar. The centre projects slightly around an arched doorway, reused burgh arms and a bracketed clock stage, before rising to a timber-and-lead bell turret with an ogee cap. Curved corners become square above, concentrating attention on the tower while the first-floor hall occupies the broader block.
Its story
The present building replaced an older town house and tolbooth in 1877. A dated 1741 civic emblem was retained, and the new arched entrance reportedly echoed the earlier building. Alterations followed around 1920. The Town Hall remains central to the conservation-area townscape, but this record does not assume a current programme of interior access.
Why it is included
It turns Oldmeldrum’s former burgh authority into a highly visible granite composition and anchors the Market Square cohort.
What to notice
- The ogee-capped bell turret above the clock stage.
- The reused 1741 coat of arms over the central entrance.
- Curved lower corners corbelled into the square upper wall.
Reading the surroundings
The exterior is visible from public town-centre space. Check locally for any hall opening, avoid blocking doors and respect events or temporary access controls.
Timeline
- 1741 The earlier town house received the civic arms and ogee-capped tower tradition remembered in the present building.
- 1877 William Smith’s granite Town Hall replaced the older civic building.
- Around 1920 A further phase of alteration adapted the municipal interior.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The designation and HER establish the civic history and fabric, but no current source was found that confirms routine public access to the first-floor hall.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Oldmeldrum Town Hall, LB38892 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
- Aberdeenshire Historic Environment Record: Oldmeldrum Town Hall — Council HER evidence for the earlier tolbooth, the 1877 Town Hall, construction details, mapped extent and archive references.
- Aberdeenshire Council: Formartine settlement statements — Local-authority evidence for Oldmeldrum’s settlement boundary, Market Square, listed Town Hall, landscape setting and planning context.
- Trove search: Oldmeldrum Market Square — National heritage inventory search for mapped records, photographs and archive material relating to Market Square.
Location
OS grid reference NJ 80833 27209 · Location confidence: High for the current HES designation point; public text separately qualifies access, component identity and current use. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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