SCHT King Street Funding Initiative

King Street Funding Initiative 2012-2018

The King Street Funding Initiative was a proactive project which involved external repairs, conservation and enhancement work to several buildings to aid the economic regeneration of Stirling’s historic town centre. This major investment built on previous work carried out under the Façade Enhancement Scheme which invested in the conservation and repair of six shopfronts on King Street.

King Street is recognised as an important street in the history of Stirling. During the 19th century it became the main commercial street with banks and respected local businesses located here. The streetscape reflects this legacy with ornately carved stonework and a number of interesting shopfronts, some of which were formerly banks. The majority of the buildings in the street are listed and the street is within the Stirling Town & Royal Park Conservation Area.

The initiative’s focus was on King Street and a number of key buildings in the city centre. The total investment has been over £1.5 million, of which £978,000 is public funding (62%). This has assisted 6 businesses, 3 shops and 40 flats.

34 King Street aerial view before works

34 King Street during the works

34 King Street after the works

King Street Arcade, 30-34 King Street

Arcade, 30-34 King Street

This tall building was formerly a hotel when the Arcade was first built around 1880. It is now residential flats with a ground floor shop. It is a very prominent building in the street and is unusual with its mansard roof and inset dormers.

There were problems with the roof, dormer windows and chimneys. The project involved re-slating, repairs to gutters and timber dormers together with an overhaul of the sash and case windows.

The work was completed in September 2017.

46 King Street before works

46 King Street after the works

46 King Street shop front restoration

42-46 King Street

This Category B Listed tenement had a ground floor and first floor retailer with two flats above. The building had issues with the chimney, water ingress to the roof and poorly functioning windows.

The works involved rebuilding of the chimney, new windows including to replace blanked out areas in the retail space and overhauling of the slate roof. The façade was repainted and the shopfront repaired and repainted in a more sympathetic colour.

This was the first of the King Street Funding Initiative projects and was completed in 2016.

14-18 King Street aerial view before works

14-18 King Street during the works

14-18 King Street leadwork completed

14-18 King St

The red sandstone of 14-18 King Street stands out amongst the cream buildings adjacent. Erected in 1898 for the Stirling Co-operative Society Ltd, it was designed by Stirling architects McLuckie & Walker.

The building had significant water ingress due to the failing lead roof and slating together with issues with poor pointing of the masonry. The lead roof was replaced, the slates repaired and the chimneys and façade repointed using lime mortar. The timber sash and case windows were overhauled and painted a traditional dark green.

There are some interesting carved features on the facade associated with the Co-operative Movement including clasped hands indicating co-operation and a date stone with the name of the society.

3-15 King Street before the works

3-15 King Street after the works

3-15 King Street shopfront restoration work

3-15 King Street

This Category B Listed Building has five shops on the ground floor with residential flats above. It has an interesting history having been a Temperance Hotel in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. A Cyclist’s Touring Club ‘winged wheel’ plaque survives on the wall from this time indicating a place where cyclists were welcomed.

The roof and chimneys were in need of repair and the painted façade was also in poor condition. The project ran during 2017 and involved slate repairs, repointing to chimneys, new lead gutters and Keim paint on the façade which has breathable qualities.

The Trust funded the repair and enhancement of the ground floor shops in 2012. The building works in 2017 ensure that the parent building above is now in a good state of repair.

52-54 King Street during the works

52-54 King Street

This prominent building at the corner of Friars Street and King Street was built for the Bank of Scotland in 1836. In a Classical style, it was suffering from problems with water ingress in the roof and damage to the stone balustrade. It had also been largely vacant for a number of years.

The project was on site in March 2018 and involved re-slating, new lead gutters and repairs to the stone balustrade and chimneys. Timber sash and case windows were also repaired and overhauled.

The project was completed in September 2018 and the property is to be fitted out as a public house and due to open in 2019.

King Street Exhibition

To mark the end of the King Street Funding Initiative and significant investment by SCHT over a 6-year period, the Trust created a small pop-up exhibition which will tracing the history of this important street and exploring the architecture and businesses associated with its long and auspicious history.

To accompany the exhibition, a free publication was produced, King Street A Place Of Quality.

King Street Funding Initiative

King Street Funding Initiative 2012-2018

King Street Arcade, 30-34 King Street

42-46 King Street

14-18 King St

3-15 King Street

52-54 King Street

King Street Exhibition

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