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A. K. Bell Library

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Coordinates: 56°23′43″N 3°26′15″W / 56.395273°N 3.4374628°W / 56.395273; -3.4374628
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A. K. Bell Library
Main façade, 2018
Map
General information
Address2–8 York Place
Perth, Perth and Kinross
CountryScotland
Coordinates56°23′43″N 3°26′15″W / 56.395273°N 3.4374628°W / 56.395273; -3.4374628
Current tenantsA. K. Library
Named forArthur Kinmond Bell
Construction started1834
Completed1838 (186 years ago) (1838)
Design and construction
Architect(s)William Mackenzie
Other information
Public transit accessNational Rail Perth
Website
www.culturepk.org.uk/your-local-library/ak-bell-library/
Listed Building – Category A
Official nameYork Place, A K Bell Library including Boundary Wall to York Place
Designated20 May 1965
Reference no.LB39323

The A. K. Bell Library is an historic building on York Place in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The building was originally a hospital before becoming a municipal building and later a library. The central section of the building is Category A listed.[1] The lodge to the estate, now removed from its original location, is Category B listed.[2]

History

The building, situated on the western outskirts of the city centre, was originally commissioned as a hospital and was made possible by a gift of £1,000.[3] The foundation stone was laid by Lord Kinnaird in 1836.[3] It was designed by William Mackenzie in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone was officially opened as the County and City Infirmary on 1 October 1838.[3][4] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with eleven bays facing onto York Place with the end bays projected forward; the central section of three bays, which also projected forward, featured a large porte-cochère with a central niche flanked by two round headed windows. At roof level there was a dentilled cornice, a parapet and a stone decoration in the form of a scroll surmounted by a seashell.[1] The other bays were fenestrated by sash windows.[1] Patients with infectious diseases were admitted to the wings from 1891.[3] The building was vacated when the Perth Royal Infirmary opened on Glasgow Road in 1914,[3] and the former County and City Infirmary was then used as a British Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital, where service personnel who had been wounded on the Western Front were treated.[3]

The building was acquired by the Perthshire Education Authority in 1920 and, following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, the administration of the county of Perthshire and of the neighbouring county of Kinross-shire were combined under a joint council based at the former hospital building in York Place which became known as the "County Offices".[5]

Following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the joint council was abolished and a two tier system was introduced with many of the council officers either joining Perth and Kinross District Council or Tayside Regional Council.[6] After Perth and Kinross District Council opened new offices at 2 High Street, the building closed completely as a municipal facility in 1985.[1]

The building was extensively modernised as part of a programme to convert it into a library between 1992 and 1995.[1] The works, which were carried out by Mowlem,[7] involved modern wing extensions and well as an extension to the rear.[1] The cost of conversion was £6 million and the library was named after the former partner in the Bell's whisky business, Arthur Kinmond Bell, who had been a significant benefactor to the town; the trust fund he had established was also been a major contributor to the new library.[8] It was officially opened by the Duke of Rothesay on 13 January 1995.[9][10] He was presented with a leather-bound, second-edition copy of W. H. Findlay's 1984 book Heritage of Perth.[11] Meanwhile, the lodge, which was built in 1836,[12] was moved from its original location to 4 York Place. It was reconstructed by another local architect, David Smart, in 1867,[13] and was converted for use as the home of the Perth and Kinross Archives.[14] Derelict and threatened with demolition, the lodge was purchased and restored, with assistance from Historic Scotland, by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust in 2000.[12]

Works of art in the library include a large oil painting in the foyer by the local artist, Dan Stephen, named "Reconstruction".[15]

Photographic collection

A notable resource at the library is the photographic collection of W. H. Findlay. The collection contains over 6,000 images of Perth, around a quarter of the total Findlay took over the course of fifty years. The rest of his collection is in the archives of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science.[11]

The library also holds two albums of Magnus Jackson's tree photographs.[16]

Sandeman collection

Upon the closure of the nearby Sandeman Library in 1995, its collection of books was moved to this location and can now be found in the Sandeman Room.[17][18]

  • East elevation
    East elevation
  • Another view from the front
    Another view from the front

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Historic Environment Scotland. "York Place, A K Bell Library including Boundary Wall to York Place (LB39323)". Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  2. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "4 York Place, The Lodge, including gatepiers (LB39324)". Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Perth County and City Infirmary". Historic Hospitals. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  4. ^ "City and County Infirmary". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Perth & Kinross Council Archive Collections County records" (PDF). Perth and Kinross County Council. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  7. ^ "50 Years of Leisure in Perth & Kinross". Live Active. p. 12. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Perth's Tribute to A. K. Bell". Perth, Scotland: The Courier and Advertiser. 4 July 1994. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Perth". Local Histories. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Charles at 70 – HRH the Duke of Rothesay's visits to Courier Country over the years". The Courier. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Dr W H Findlay Distinguished physician, botanist, photographer and community servant" – The Herald, 19 January 2006
  12. ^ a b "Civic History of Perth from Medieval Times". Perth Civic Trust. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  13. ^ David Smart - Dictionary of Scottish Architects
  14. ^ "Library Lodge, Perth". Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 23 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  15. ^ "AK Bell Library (managed by Culture Perth and Kinross)". Art UK. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Magnus Jackson and the Black Art", p. 12 – Perth and Kinross Council
  17. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "14–16 (even nos) Kinnoull Street (former Sandeman Library) (Category C Listed Building) (LB39334)". Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  18. ^ Sandeman Room, AK Bell Library – Culture Perth & Kinross
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