Description

1946-48. 2-storey (set on sloping ground), roughly 5-bay boiler house with tapered multi-faceted chimney stack, crowstepped gables and steep, prominent roof. Squared, snecked, bull-faced red sandstone with polished ashlar dressings. Base course; moulded band course at eaves continued around principal gable; projecting window cills. Long and short quoins and window margins.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: prominent stack rising through centre of principal gable elevation (N) with rectangular-plan base and semi- hexagonal central section rising to 12-sided upper section; round-arched windows to each side in shallow-arched recesses with 2-leaf vehicle entrance doors at ground. Windows to side elevations. Earlier, lower piend-roofed range (fuel store) adjoining S gable.

Predominantly small-pane glazing in fixed timber lights with central tilting panels. Corrugated asbestos roof with slated easing course.

Statement of Interest

Built as part of the former Crichton Royal Hospital. This building, which has considerable strength of appearance, has been designed to match the architecture of the pre-war buildings on the site, while simultaneously expressing its function. The stack, although not particularly tall, gives the building considerable presence and power. The stonework is particularly good with a fine attention to detail that is unusual for the date, particularly bearing in mind the shortage of building materials and labour in the immediate post-war period.

According to the Chronicle of Crichton Royal, plans for the boiler house were drawn up in 1946, and work was in progress by 1947 with an estimated cost of £78,077. It was completed in 1948 and some minor alterations were carried out soon afterwards, including turning part of the fuel store into a staff room. The boiler house now contains an electricity sub-station and communications hub; its original interior workings have been removed.

The piend-roofed section to the rear of this building is earlier than the boiler house and was built as coal store.

The date of the boiler house is incorrectly given in Buildings of Scotland as 1894-5. This mistake is a result of confusing this boiler house with the electricity station that was formerly attached to the laundry behind Johnston House and was demolished during the second half of the 20th century.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77780542

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)