Lamlash - The Village: Character and Buildings

The Village: Character and Buildings

The basic character of the village is formed by a long building line of two and three storey roughcast or stone houses lining the inland side of the shore road. The parish church and the former St George’s church sit at either end of this series of buildings. Only the scattered buildings around the pierhead break this pattern. This elongated settlement character was already well established in the 19th century. The creation of Hamilton Terrace and its shorefront public space added to the image of Lamlash as it looks today. Lamlash has several characteristic buildings, some of them listed for their special architectural or historical interest. These include:

Hamilton Terrace consists of two rows of idyllic single storey-and-attic cottages of which the No's 1-27 are on the Lamlash seafront, arranged in pairs. The No's 1a-24a are positioned behind these and are probably coeval with the No's 1-27 and assumed to have been built for residents' summer occupation allowing the main houses to be let to visitors, an accepted practice in Arran. The terrace is a major architectural feature of the village, designed by Sir John James Burnet and constructed in the late 19th century. The houses have survived with a minimum of changes, even to their rear elevation. Some still have original glazing. One of the houses functions as the Lamlash Post Office at no 27. On the front side (seaside) the complex had two rectangular garden enclosures; one of these is currently a car park. On the lawn between the enclosures is a modern monument in remembrance of the Arran clearance emigrants in the form of 3 standing stones.

St George's United free Church stands on the northern end of Lamlash, on Bungalow Road in the Margnaheglish neighborhood. The church was erected between 1885-1892 in early English style by the Duke of Hamilton to replace a church of 1774. It is built in cream-colored sandstone and has a striking square stone pyramidal spire with an iron weathervane. The church was used by the Lamlash Free Church congregation from 1892 until the union of the Free and United Presbyterian Churches in 1900, when it became the United Free Church. From 1929 it formed one of the congregations of Lamlash Parish church at that year's union with the Church of Scotland.

The church was in use until 1947 and stands empty since. Its future is uncertain. It is currently (2010) in a state of decay; the masonry is damp in places where the rainwater goods have failed and an array of vegetation including large tree saplings are growing from the masonry joints, also at higher elevations. The boundaries are also overgrown. The windows are boarded up. The lawn in front has turned into an unkept weed field that together with the sign on the front porch "Private Keep Out" blights this part of Lamlash's seafront. The Arran Theatre and Arts Trust, established in 1989 had as its main objective to convert St George’s Church into a theatre. As part of that objective, the Trust ran many events and brought touring companies to Arran, but because of "wider political issues" the plan never materialized. Similarly, plans to turn it into an Childhood Heritage Museum also failed in 1999. In the meantime the Scottish Civic Trust added the church to the register of "Buildings at Risk" in 1993.

A chance to save the building arose in October 2004 when CRGP Architects & Surveyors from Glasgow applied for permission for the conversion of the church to form 8 flats and the erection of an extension to the rear to form 6 flats with associated parking. The application was granted on 7 Feb. 2005 by the North Ayrshire Council, subject to a number of conditions. However, the development was not realized.

Then, in February 2007 the North Ayrshire Council commissioned ARP Lorimer and Associates (ARPL) to carry out a townscape audit for the Lamlash seafront with the specific assignment (i.a.) to evaluate the potential for the Church. In its report ARPL considers the state of the church poor but saveable. It recommends that -as a category B listed building- the retention of this historic structure is of importance. ARPL suggests to convert the church into three apartments and to build some new development to the rear to make it financially viable (just as CRGP Architects had requested 3 years earlier), and advises the Council to encourage the owner to progress the development to ensure the building does not decline to the point where demolition is required. Again, nothing happened and as of summer 2010 the building still stands neglected. Minutes of the Arran Community Council show that the future of the church is a regular topic of debate, but difficulty in contacting the private owner or convincing him to cooperate seem to be (part of) the reason that there has been no progress to date.

The church's former manse (next door) is also a category B listed building. It was built in 1898 and remained in use as manse for the united congregation until circa 1990.

Lamlash Community Centre on Benlister Road is a large former military hall from 1914. The hall (rectangular, single storey, corrugated-iron) was built by the Admiralty in 1914 as accommodation for the fleet arriving at Lamlash. It was supplied in prefabricated form, assembled on site quickly and cheaply. It comprised a canteen, reading rooms, offices, lavatories, a stage and gymnasium. Tents were erected in the surrounding playing fields for the soldiers. In 1917 the hall was converted for use as a hospital for recovering soldiers. The hall was given to the village of Lamlash after World War I on the condition that it be used again when necessary for troops. This indeed happened during World War II when it was used as a troops' canteen. Lamlash community centre was demolished in 2010 or 2011 following the opening of community facilities in the new Arran High School nearby,

Lamlash and Kilbride Parish Church and the church hall. It is a T-plan, aisleless, Gothic-style church built in 1886 in red sandstone with a massive campanile-like tower. The church is prominently situated on the Shore Road and is listed in category A in consideration of the prominent tower. It replaces an earlier plain building of 1773, itself replacing the earlier Kilbride church, the remains of which survive at the present Lamlash graveyard. The cross and baptismal font in the church were both unearthed in the graveyard of the old Kilbride Church in 1892, and are thought to be of 14th century origin. In the tower is a 9-bell carillon. The church hall -a separate, adjacent building- was built and used for worship some years before the church itself (around 1880), and included a reading room and library. It is a single storey, rectangular-plan hall, made into a T-plan by lower wings.

The Lookout is an early to mid 19th century classical villa with prominent corner pilasters and Tudor Jacobean details, located on the main road close to the shore. It has some later additions and unfortunate alterations to the facade. The current condition is poor and deteriorating. Roof flashings are missing and the rainwater goods are leaking. Windows are smashed and boarded up, making the building an eyesore rather than a monument to be admired. The interior too is likely to need significant renewal. The Lookout remains a building of local value and character though. Probably originally a villa, it possibly became a bank in the 1850s or 60s. The building was marked as 'Bank' on Ordnance Survey maps of 1868, 1897 and 1924. In October 2002, the North Ayrshire Council turned down an application by John Thomson Construction Limited (from Lamlash) to have the building demolished. It was argued that demolition would be contrary to national policy and to the Isle of Arran Local Plan as it would have an adverse impact on the Lamlash Conservation Area. The Council also considered that it had not been satisfactorily demonstrated that the Lookout could not be restored and brought back into use as advised by Historic Scotland. In 2004 the Scottish Civic Trust added the villa to the register of "Buildings at Risk". Then, in February 2007 the North Ayrshire Council commissioned ARP Lorimer and Associates (ARPL) to carry out a townscape audit for the Lamlash seafront with the specific assignment (i.a.) to evaluate the potential for the "Lookout". In its report ARPL suggested a residential conversion into four flats as the most economically viable option to save the building. But there was no follow-up and in September 2009 an inspection revealed that the condition of the building had further deteriorated. Several of the windows have missing or broken glazing and the building was neither wind nor watertight. This was still the case as of summer 2010. The Lookout was demolished in March 2012.

Some of the smaller listed buildings in Lamlash are:

Glenkiln is a mid 19th century farmhouse and includes two adjoining cottages from the early 19th century. It is one of the two remaining farms in Lamlash (of the 7 there once were), the other one being the Clauchlands Farm.

Monamore Bridge Millhouse is an early 19th century single storey former mill house in L-form.

Whitehouse Lodge is a late 19th century lodge, formerly belonging to the (demolished) White House mansion. The lodge is single storey-and-attic with a basically rectangular-plan. The site of the former White House itself is now designated for development.

Bellhaven, a single storey and attic 3-bay cottage from 1808 next to the Parish Church.

Other notable buildings are the former pier house with clock tower (1885); the 'Crafts Made in Arran' Shop (late 19th century); the early 19th century Pier of red rubble blocks; the Sea Gate, part of the former Steamer Pier Office (1902) and the Bay Hotel, the latter being a good example of an early Victorian villa.