Basic Site Details Name: | Head Office of the General Accident, Fire and Life Assurance Corporation Ltd | Town, district or village: | Perth | City or county: | Perthshire | Country: | Scotland | Parish: | | Status: | B listed | Grid ref: | | Notes: | This building is at present in course of erection on the site of the old post-office at the corner of High- street and Tay-street. The principal elevations are being built of yellow freestone from Woodburn Quarry, Cumberland, with polished Aberdeen Corrinnie granite doorways, and red stone columns in the colonnade of the second floor. Internally the walls of the principal office will be lined with marble and finished in wainscot. The staircase will also be of marble and wainscot, while the general manager's room and the boardrooms will be panelled in fumigated mahogany. There is a basement floor extending under the whole area of the building, in which are situated the strong-rooms, store-rooms, boiler-rooms, and dynamo and storage battery for electric lighting. The level of this floor is under the flood-level of the River Tay, and it has therefore been specially constructed to be watertight, to withstand the very heavy floods which are so frequent in this river. The principal department on the ground floor will have desk accommodation for about 80 clerks, with public space and counter; and the department on the second floor accommodation for about 40 clerks. The architect is Mr George P K Young, ARIBA, of Perth. The drawing which we give was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy this year at Edinburgh. [Building News 15 December 1899 p801]
Sculptor William Shirreffs.
James Parr & Partners received a Civic Trust Award for their work in 1966. | Alternative NamesThe following alternative names are associated with this building/design: | | Name | Current name? | Notes | | Council Chambers | Yes | |
Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Commercial premises | Yes | |
Street AddressesThe following street addresses are associated with this building: | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | 2, High Street | Yes | | | Tay Street | Yes | |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1898 | 1901 | | High Street frontage extended by 2 bays and made symmetrical | | 1932 | 1934 | | Extensions | | 1955 | | Alterations and additions | Large additions - steel frame, masonry faced, 6-storey (80 foot frontage and 70 foot depth) | | 1963 | | Alteration/conversion | Alterstions and additions - cost £250,000 | | 1969 | | Alteration/conversion | Further work - cost £500,000 |
PeopleDesign and ConstructionThe following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | David Matheson Cuthbert | | A | 1898 | 1901 | As assistant to George Penrose Kennedy Young - High Street frontage extended by 2 bays and made symmetrical | | David Thomson | | A | 1898 | 1901 | As assistant to George Penrose Kennedy Young - High Street frontage extended by 2 bays and made symmetrical | | George Penrose Kennedy Young | | A | 1898 | 1901 | High Street frontage extended by 2 bays and made symmetrical | | G P K Young & Son | | B | 1932 | 1934 | Extensions | | Graham Conacher Young | | B | 1932 | 1934 | Extensions | | G P K Young & Son | | K | 1955 | | Large additions to insurance office | | Graham Conacher Young | | K | 1955 | | Large additions to insurance office | | Kenneth Mathison Young | | K | 1955 | | Large additions to insurance office | | Allan Fraser Bell | | C | 1963 | | Additions and alterations - cost £250,000 | | Gordon McQuattie Farquharson | | C | 1963 | | Additions and alterations - cost £250,000 | | James Parr & Partners | | C | 1963 | | Additions and alterations - cost £250,000 | | James Reginald Parr | | C | 1963 | | Additions and alterations - cost £250,000 | | Joseph Frank Wynne | | C | 1963 | | Additions and alterations - cost £250,000 | | Allan Fraser Bell | | A | 1969 | | Further alterations - cost £500,000 | | Gordon McQuattie Farquharson | | A | 1969 | | Further alterations - cost £500,000 | | Joseph Frank Wynne | | A | 1969 | | Further alterations - cost £500,000. Perhaps partner in charge? | | James Parr & Partners | | D | 1969 | | Further alterations - cost £500,000 | | James Reginald Parr | | D | 1969 | | Further alterations - cost £500,000 |
ClientsThe following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | | Name | Notes | | General Accident, Fire and Life Assurance Corporation Ltd | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Academy Architecture | 1899 | | part 1 | | pp77, 104 | | Gifford, John | 2007 | The Buildings of Scotland: Perth and Kinross | | Yale University Press | p600 | | RIBA | 1970 | RIBA Directory 1970 | | | | | RSA | 1899 | | | | 460 | | Who's Who in Architecture | 1923 | | | | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this building: | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | July 1901 | | | p63 with extensive note | | Building News | 15 December 1899 | | | p801 and illustration | | RIAS Quarterly | 2013 | Issue 14, Summer | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) | p79 Obituary of Wynne | | RIBA Journal | 9 December 1933 | v41 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | p153 - obituary of G P K Young |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this building: | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | Historic Environment Scotland | Listed Buildings Register | 39469 | | | National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS | GPK Young newscutting file (copy of file comp. Mrs Elsie Young, Union Mount, Glasgow Rd, Perth) | | | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | David Matheson Cuthbert: L v17 no 1213; David Thomson: L v10 no556 (microfilm reel 32); Graham Conacher Young: F no3698 (box 27); George P K Young: A v9 no1541 (microfiche 36/A7); Kenneth Mathison Young: F no5014 (Combined Box 56) |
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