Ayr Station Hotel

Location type


Name and dates

Ayr Station Hotel (1886-)

Description

Ayr Station Hotel dominates Ayr station with its three storeys of red sandstone topped with a Mansard roof. It opened in 1885/6 and is 'B' listed. Its construction coincided with the rebuilding and enlargement of Ayr Townhead station to become the main station in Ayr. The coat of arms of the GSWR is cut into the sandstone of the building. A serious fire of 25-26/09/2023 damaged a considerable portion of the building.

The hotel runs down the west side of the station, bordering the platforms with which it formerly had direct access, and at the north end it steps to the west to accommodate the bay platforms and circulating area. The building has three floors and an attic floor in French Renaissance style with a Mansard roof. At the front is a four storey tower with attic Mansard roof. The station offices are at the north end of the building. The station canopy, partly cut back, is braced from the rear side of the hotel and the single storey building on the east side of the station. The rear rooms in the upper three floors have a view over the station.

The architect was Andrew Galloway. The building was built during the reconstruction, by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, of Ayr Townhead station to become the main station in Ayr.

The railway owned British Transport Commission hotel was sold in 1951. The hotel building received attention in 1980, with scaffolding covering the northern portion.

The hotel partly closed in 2010, completely in 2012.

The building was in sufficiently poor condition in 2012 that it was added to the Buildings at Risk Register (BARR ). Structures were added to protect the station and its canopies from falling debris and the hotel's car park closed.

On the 28 of August 2018 South Ayrshire Council extended the 'exclusion zone' around the hotel to the extent that it closed the railway through the station and reduced the length of the bay platforms. This resulted in a complete cessation of trains through the station south to Maybole, Girvan, Barrhill and Stranraer and has trapped EMUs which were being serviced at the Townhead EMU Sidings.

Historic Scotland - Ayr Station and Hotel

The company had other hotels notably Glasgow St Enoch (1876-1974) and Turnberry Hotel (1906-Present).

Tags

Hotel station hotel

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67

Facilities

Listing: B


News items

24/12/2023Shuttle trains between Ayr and Prestwick to resume [Ayr Advertiser]
20/12/2023Ayr station: 'Unsafe conditions' spark fresh closure [The Herald]
19/12/2023Ayr station closed due to unsafe conditions months after hotel fire [STV]
01/12/2023Ayr Station Hotel: Station Bridge Road footpath to open [Ayr Advertiser]
30/11/2023Limited rail services to resume from Ayr station after hotel fire [BBC News]
28/11/2023Ayr Station Hotel: Letter outlines concerns on demolition [Ayr Advertiser]
27/11/2023Inside the life of Sunny Ung: The absentee owner of Ayr Station Hotel [Ayr Advertiser]
21/11/2023Ayr Station Hotel: Scottish Parliament roundtable meeting [Ayr Advertiser]
18/11/2023Save Ayr's Station Hotel: South Ayrshire Council must move heaven and earth to spare landmark building from wrecking ball Scotsman comment [Scotsman]
17/11/2023Ayr Station Hotel photos reveal damaged insides of landmark [Ayr Advertiser]