The house was built for John Aiken of Glasgow,Aiken's involvement in the wine and spirits mercantile trade was the basis for the house's nickname, 'Brandy Castle'.
The building was designed by David Hamilton in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £12,000 and was completed in December 1816. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing northwest along Fore Street; the central section of three bays featured a full-height tetrastyle portico with Doric order columns supporting an entablature and a central roundel which was flanked by volutes and contained the town's coat of arms. The outer bays were fenestrated with sash windows and flanked by full-height pilasters supporting an entablature and a balustrade. At roof level, there was a central three stage tower, with round headed windows and Ionic order columns in the first stage, an octagonal piece with clock faces in the second stage and a belfry in the third stage. The tower was surmounted by a spire, which was 150 feet (46 m) high, and a weather vane. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber, which had a coffered and vaulted ceiling; the building also contained courtrooms and a series of prison cells.
The town buildings continued to serve as the headquarters of Port Glasgow Burgh Council, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Inverclyde District Council was formed in 1975. After the building had stood empty for twelve years and had become seriously dilapidated, an extensive programme of refurbishment works was completed in August 1996. The works involved the removal of the rear wall, which had originally been harled, and the erection of a modern extension. These changes allowed the ground floor of the building to be used as a public library, and the first floor to become offices for a public body, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited. Following further works, which included the reconfiguration of the library space and the creation of a new atrium, the building re-opened in August 2021
An estimated £14 million was spent for the construction of the exhibition.[1] After only 3 years of operation, the museum permanently closed in 2003 after a major decline in visitor numbers. As of 2024, no plans have been made for the former museum's redevelopment and it continues to lie abandoned on the peninsula.
It was built in 1818 by Robert Wallace in the neo classical style an extension was constructed in 1931 by Alex Mair.
The building these days is used by south Ayrshire council.
“I had gone to take a walk on a fine Sabbath afternoon, early in 1765. I had entered the Green by the gate at the foot of Charlotte Street and had passed the old washing house. I was thinking upon the engine at the time, and had gone as far as the herd’s house, when the idea came into my mind that, as steam was an elastic body, it would rush into a vacuum, and if communication were made between the cylinder and an exhausted vessel, it would rush in to it, and might be condensed without cooling the cylinder….. I had not walked further than the golf house when the whole thing was arranged in my mind.”
It was built in the 13th century by the MacDonalds, the Lords of the Isles. The castle stands on the cliffs, overlooking the island of Pladda and the entrance to the Firth of Clyde. It was built to defend against enemies attacking through the Firth.
It was used as a hunting lodge by the Kings of Scotland, including Robert III, when the island belonged to the crown. The castle became the property of the Earls of Arran in 1544.
Information courtesy of Wikipedia.
