Robert Alexander Bryden, Architect (1841–1906), was born in Glasgow and educated at Arthur’s Academy, Dunoon, and Kirkcaldy Grammar School. Apprenticed to Clarke & Bell, he was listed in The Glasgow Directory as being "at Clarke & Bell’s" by 1864. In 1865, he made an influential marriage to Elizabeth Robertson, the daughter of Alexander Robertson, a Glasgow iron founder who had retired to Dunoon, consolidating Bryden’s existing connections there. That same year, he became a major in the 1st Lanarkshire Volunteers. He was elected FRIBA (Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects) on 20 May 1878, with John Baird, John Honeyman, and William Forrest Salmon serving as his proposers. Robert Alexander Bryden died on 14 April 1906 at 11 Lynedoch Crescent, Glasgow, and was buried in Dunoon Cemetery.
Dunoon Burgh Hall was designed by Robert Bryden in a castle-inspired Scottish Baronial style. The building retains many original features, including a large stained glass window and a sweeping staircase. Externally, carved gargoyles adorn the entranceway, and the initials of the Dunoon Burgh Commissioners—who oversaw the construction of the hall—are carved into the exterior stonework. Built in 1873 as Dunoon Burgh’s main office and entertainment venue, the hall today functions as a vibrant arts venue, café, and community hub, managed on behalf of local residents by the Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust.
The land for Dunoon Burgh Hall was donated to the Burgh by local landowner Mr. MacArthur Moir. The hall was constructed in just nine months at a cost of £3,000, with an additional £1,500 for "embellishments," equivalent to approximately £492,500 today.
Images:
Dunoon Burgh Hall (c) John Wm Morris LRPS
Burgh Hall Plans by Robert Bryden, 1873 (c) Dunoon Burgh Hall
Robert Bryden (c) Dunoon Burgh Hall