Keil Hotel

Keil Hotel is a former hotel near Southend, Kintyre in western Scotland.

Keil Hotel
Keil Hotel
General information
Architectural styleModern Movement architecture
Town or citySouthend, Kintyre
CountryScotland
Coordinates55°18′40″N 5°39′33″W
Groundbreaking1937
Completed1939
Opened1947
Closed1990
ClientCaptain James Taylor J.P.
Design and construction
Architect(s)James Austen Laird[1]

History and architecture

It was constructed between 1937 and 1939 for Captain James Taylor J.P. (a retired farmer) and built to the designs of architect James Austen Laird. It was one of the last buildings designed by Laird before he closed his practice in 1940.[2] and shows the influence of the modern movement.

During the Second World War it was used as a naval hospital by the British Admiralty, but in 1947, Captain Taylor opened it to the public as a hotel.[3] In 1949 the Keil Hotel Company Ltd was formed by James Taylor and Sibella H. Taylor with a capital of £10,000 (equivalent to £380,000 in 2021)[4] to operate the business.[5]

In 1990 the hotel closed. Despite plans for conversion into apartments, and later plans for a hotel and country club,[6] the building deteriorated. Within 20 years some of the upper floors had collapsed, and it ended up on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.[7]

References
  1. "Keil Hotel". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  2. "James Austen Laird". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  3. "Keil Hotel, Southend, Argyll". The Scotsman. Scotland. 18 August 1947. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. "New Scottish Companies". The Scotsman. Scotland. 3 September 1949. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "£2m hotel and country club to provide 50 jobs". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Scotland. 24 February 1996. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Keil Hotel, Southend". Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
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