Description

Single storey, five-bay, rectangular-plan, Arts and Crafts style former sports pavilion designed by Alexander Lorne Campbell in 1895 for the Craigmillar Park Golf Club.

The pavilion features structural timber framed elevations with harling and painted timber, a steeply-pitched gambrel roof and a brick base course. The roof is covered by grey-green slates with red clay ridge tiles and includes ventilating louvres to the gablehead of the gambrel and exposed rafter ends at the eaves.

The northeast (principal) elevation has tripartite windows in the outer bays, a three-bay loggia to the centre divided by timber columns and low railing in front of the recessed bays containing a central door flanked by two symmetric windows.

There are tripartite windows to the side elevations (part blocked at east) and at southeast at rear. The windows are timber casement and contain multi-pane glazing and painted historic ironmongery.

The interior was seen in 2025. Refitted in 2017/18 with timber insulation panels covering the walls to ceiling height. The timber rafters of the roof structure are exposed. Historic ironmongery on door and windows has been retained.

Historical background

The building was the first clubhouse for the Craigmillar Park Golf Club from 1895 and it is shown at the northwest corner of the Golf Course on the 2^nd edition Ordnance Survey map (Revised 1905, Published 1909).

Craigmillar Park Golf Club course was a nine hole course constructed on the lands of the Gilmours of Liberton and Craigmillar. The end of the 19^th century was a time of rapid growth in golf and the new Club advertised its accessibility by train and tram for city workers. The Golf Club was unusual in having no restrictions on membership and was open to women players and to visiting women's and mixed clubs from the outset. The success of membership recruitment (300 at the time of the pavilion opening) resulted in a need for a clubhouse, which was opened on 5 October 1895.

In 1904 renewed feuing led to the loss of one of the fairways, and consequently the club moved to its present location, off Observatory Road, in 1907. The pavilion was sold to the Edinburgh Northern Hockey Club, but was also used by other sports clubs and the local St Margaret's Girls school used it until 1976 as changing room when it was taken over by Moray House of the University of Edinburgh.

The building was altered and extended to the rear by RD Cameron & Gibb in 1980. It was refurbished and relocated within the curtilage of the original sport field 52.5 metres south of its original position and re-orientated through 180 degrees in 2017/18 as part of a housing development. An extension to the rear was removed at the same time.

Statement of Interest

The former sports pavilion meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• The pavilion is a good surviving example of a late nineteenth century small scale former golf clubhouse which retains notable architectural details to the exterior which are characteristic of Arts and Crafts design and the building type.
• The historic character of the pavilion has been preserved following the relocation and the conservation works. The pavilion was relocated without complete disassembly of the structure and was reconstructed using the original fabric where possible or modern matching materials.
• The setting of the pavilion was altered following development and relocation; however, the building was relocated within the curtilage of the original sports field which has a tangible connection to the building's original use.
• The building contributes to our understanding of the social history of golf and increasing interest in sport and leisure in Scotland towards the end of the 19^th century.

Architectural and Historic Interest

The pavilion was moved to its current location without complete disassembly. It retains its original form and has not been substantially altered to the exterior. The conservation works undertaken retain the historic character of the building which was refurbished using the existing fabric and any new materials selected to match the original.

The pavilion was designed by Alexander Lorne Campbell (1871-1944), a founding member of the Craigmillar Park Golf Club and brother of the Club's President, Archibald Campbell. Alexander Lorne Campbell is best known for his partnership with John Nichol Scott formed in 1899. The practice was known for their ecclesiastical work. The pavilion is Campbell's earliest recorded independent commission.

The pavilion was built as part of the Craigmillar Park golf course which moved to a different location in 1906 with the golf course being reused as a playing field. The pavilion has been relocated but within close proximity of its original position and still within the curtilage of the original sport field. The immediate setting is now a privately owned park within an estate of villas.

Scotland is intrinsically linked with the sport of golf and it was the birthplace of the modern game played over 18 holes. Improved transport links and increased leisure time as well as a rise in the middle classes from the mid-19th century onwards increased the popularity of the sport with another peak taking place in the early 1900s. The sociable aspect of the game encouraged the building of distinctive clubhouses with bar and restaurant facilities. Purpose-built clubhouses date from the mid-nineteenth century onwards; previously clubs had used villas or rooms in an inn near to the course.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2025. Previously listed as 'FORMER CLUB HOUSE, CRAWFURD ROAD, EDINBURGH'.

External Links

• Wikidata Q77774678

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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