Ayr Central Conservation Area Character Appraisal - South Ayrshire ...

Ayr Central Conservation Area Character Appraisal
Part One
East side of Sandgate, from the corner of Newmarket Street to New Bridge Street.
Spatial Analysis
Sandgate follows an axis east-northeast to south-southwest from the New Bridge crossing of
the River Ayr, rising gently to a level at its broadest between 39 and 24 Sandgate. Both sides
follow a continuous building line abutting the footway. Particularly on the western side of
New Bridge Street and Sandgate, the buildings behind the main street are arranged in long
narrow strips equating to the ancient pattern of rigs. Almost all the street frontages appear
to relate to the rig widths, either as single or combined units. New Bridge Street is narrow,
becoming broader where it joins Sandgate at the point where the Over Tolbooth once stood.
Fort Street runs broadly parallel along the back of the old Sandgate rigs, running away from
the river but curving to meet the south end of Sandgate. Many buildings abut the footway,
apart from those at the north end, which are set back to varying distances. South Harbour
Street runs parallel to the river with buildings primarily on the south side. With the exception
of the old lifeboat station, it has an open north aspect to the River Ayr.
The cross streets of Academy Street and Cathcart Street are narrow, with buildings abutting
the footway. St John Street is narrow and enclosed by tall rubble walls. Street openings are
narrow, apart from the opening to High Street, which is very broad with a landscaped area.
Boat Vennel is narrow at its junction with New Bridge Street but opens into a landscaped
enclosed courtyard. There are one or two very narrow vennels, one adjacent to the Town
Buildings, one between 41 and 43 Sandgate, another between 6 and 8 Sandgate and one
arched pend at 1–3 New Bridge Street.
Architecture
The architecture of Sandgate and its environs consists of predominantly 19th century 3–
storey classical tenements and contains Ayr’s most spectacular and historic buildings on its
mediaeval street pattern. Much of the 19th century redevelopment of Sandgate appears to
have aimed to regularise the frontages in terms of height and the arrangement of window
openings. It is very possible that much earlier fabric survives behind the 19th century
frontages, as was discovered during the archaeological analysis of Lady Cathcart’s House
41