Kelso Town Hall

Kelso Town Hall is a municipal building on The Square in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders. It is a Category B listed building and for generations served as the seat of local government for the town.

What is Kelso Town Hall?

The hall stands in The Square, the open central space of Kelso, and is the main civic landmark there. It was the headquarters of Kelso Burgh Council, the body that administered the town until 1975. Its Category B listing means it is recognised as a building of regional importance in Scottish heritage terms.

What stood here before?

By the early nineteenth century the old tolbooth, the traditional Scottish building that combined a town's council chamber, courthouse and gaol, had fallen into a ruinous state. The 5th Duke of Roxburghe, the dominant local landowner, provided the site and most of the money for a replacement. He laid the foundation stone on 20 March 1816, and the new building was finished the same year. Records of the site suggest the new hall probably reused much of the stonework from the old tolbooth, so part of the earlier structure lives on in its walls.

What does it look like?

The original 1816 building was designed in the neoclassical style and built in ashlar, which is stone cut into smooth, precisely fitted blocks. In the early twentieth century it was remodelled in an Edwardian Baroque manner to designs by John Daniel Swanston and William Syme, an architectural firm from Kirkcaldy. The listing dates this work to 1904-06, while another heritage record gives a wider span of 1902-08. Either way, the result is a building that layers two distinct architectural periods on one frontage, a restrained Georgian core with the more ornate character of the Edwardian period.

How was it used?

For well over a century the building was the working centre of Kelso's civic life. Until 1975 the town council ran the affairs of the burgh from here. Since the abolition of the old burgh councils the hall has taken on a new role. The main room is still used for community meetings and exhibitions, so the building remains part of everyday town life rather than only a monument.

Visiting Kelso Town Hall

The hall is easy to find because it sits on The Square, the natural starting point for a walk around Kelso. The surrounding space is the heart of the town, and the town hall is best appreciated from the outside, where the two building phases can be compared. Because the main room hosts community events and exhibitions, it is worth checking locally for what is on if you hope to see the interior.

Frequently asked questions

When was Kelso Town Hall built? The foundation stone was laid on 20 March 1816 and the building was completed that year.

Who paid for it? The 5th Duke of Roxburghe provided the site and most of the funding.

Who designed the remodelling? The Kirkcaldy firm of J D Swanston and Syme, in Edwardian Baroque style, in the early twentieth century.

Is it a listed building? Yes, it is Category B listed.

Is it still used? Yes. The main room hosts community meetings and exhibitions.

What was it before? The site was occupied by the old tolbooth, which had become ruinous by the early nineteenth century.