A subscription-funded classical hotel still welcomes guests behind its whitewashed five-bay High Street front.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1808
- Architect / designer
- Architect not stated in the checked sources
- Type
- Classical coaching-era hotel with bow-ended former ballroom
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB39187)
- OS grid reference
- NT 25172 40379
Architecture and continuing use
The recessed two-storey facade is ordered by raised quoins, regular sash windows and a projecting centre entrance. Behind it, a bow-ended former ballroom retains an Adam-style fireplace, coved plasterwork and gallery.
Its story
Built in 1808 for a group of private subscribers, the hotel took its name from the tontine arrangement under which the last surviving subscriber inherited the property. Later additions expanded accommodation to the rear.
Why it is included
Continuous hospitality use, a distinctive funding story and surviving public-room interiors make the Tontine an important Georgian counterpart to the later Hydro.
What to notice
- The central entrance canopy and stained-glass fanlight with Peebles arms.
- The restrained five-bay classical street front.
- The bow-ended projection marking the former ballroom behind.
Reading the surroundings
The Tontine is a working hotel. Dining, events and accommodation follow booking arrangements, and bedrooms or private functions are not heritage-access spaces.
Timeline
- 1808 Private subscribers completed the purpose-built hotel through a tontine agreement.
- 1971 The hotel entered the statutory list at Category B.
- 2026 The Tontine continues to provide accommodation, dining and events on High Street.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
The architect is not named in the checked designation, and later rear additions are not fully dated there.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Tontine Hotel, LB39187 — Designation category, mapped location, construction phases, fabric, authorship and architectural or historical interest.
- Tontine Hotel — Current accommodation, dining, events and contact information.
Location
OS grid reference NT 25172 40379 · Location confidence: High: the statutory designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference and the current source confirms the Place relationship or present identity. · 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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