CodeBase Stirling resides in the beautiful Municipal Buildings, which have stood on Corn Exchange Road for over one hundred years. Before the Municipal Buildings were built, this part of Stirling hosted the Corn Exchange.
The Corn Exchange in the late 1800s, from the Daily Record
In 1865, Alexander Miller had this to say about the Corn Exchange:
'In a recess to the left, betwixt the top of King Street and the bottom of Spittal Street, stands the Corn Exchange, a commodious erection, in which are held the weekly grain markets. Situated as Stirling is in the centre of one of the richest agricultural districts in Scotland, the Corn Exchange is a place where much business is done every Friday, the day on which the weekly market is held. The Exchange is also used for public meetings, for lectures, and other entertainments. It is also occasionally used as a theatre. (pp. 26-7)
In 1908, it was decided that a building should be constructed to house Stirling Council activity:
The costs of the building were estimated to come to a total of £30,000 with a new road from Spittal Street to Dumbarton Road also included although the town council decided to proceed with only the Back Walk portion of their plans which reduced the cost of the project to £21,000. The building was designed to house an Assessor’s Office, Collector’s private room and strong room, Chamberlain’s offices, Medical officer and health visitor, Council Chamber (41 ft long x 30 ft wide a 24 ft high to the arched ceiling) with an oriel window projecting over the Council entrance. There were also rooms for the Master of Works, Town Clerk and the Provost as well as a Council officer’s flat on the premises. The article goes on to note that ‘A hose drying room could be formed in the height of the tower’ which must have been useful indeed! (source)
After this competition, the winning design was that submitted by Architect Mr J Gaff Gillespie of Salmon, Son & Gillespie. For entering the winning design, Mr Gillespie was awarded 100 guineas.
Gillespie’s design was noted in the Observer as ‘based on Scottish architecture...with simplicity and strength in the mass and a hint borrowed from France in the detail’ (source)
An illustration of the proposed plans for the building, taken from Canmore.org.
Construction began in 1914, with the foundation stone laid by King George V on July 11th, 1914.
The foundation stone contained a capsule in the form of a lead casket which contained a bound volume of charters relating to the Royal Burgh 1124-1705, copies of local and national newspapers 30 June – 11 July 1914, a copy of Stirling Post Office Directory 1914-1915, a Stirling Journal Souvenir Programme of the Royal Visit for 11 July 1914, Stirling Observer and Sentinel souvenirs relating to the new Municipal buildings, a complete set of coins of the realm in a glass jar and lastly, photographs of members of the town council of Stirling[1]. There was a ceremony earlier in the day before the arrival of the royal party to fill the casket, seal it and place it in the stone which would be laid by the King. (source)
More information on the timeline of the construction of this building can be found here, on the Scottish Architects website. In 1965, construction of the Modern Wing of the building was begun, following the demolition of the old Corn Exchange Hotel.
There are lots of interesting details in the architecture of the building, including beautiful stained glass windows, carved wooden figurines, and a grand marble staircase. One of our favourite parts of the building is the Provost's Lounge, where an inscription on a ceiling beam reads: 'The moir I stand on oppin hitht my faultis moir subject ar to sitht'.
The inscription is in Middle Scots, and in Modern English would read something like 'The more I stand on open height, my faults more subject are to sight'. This text is taken from Mar's Wark, a now-ruined building constructed c. 1570! The warning that the more prominent your position, the more you are scrutinised must have seemed an appropriate reminder for the Provosts of Stirling.