Early twentieth century · 56 Market Street · Category C listed
An imposing former hotel whose seven-bay frontage, dormers and red sandstone dressings make a strong contribution to the approach to Galashiels town centre.
Last reviewed: 26 July 2026
Quick Facts
| Date / main phases | Dated circa 1905 by HES; a local timeline records the New King’s Hotel opening on 13 November 1911 |
|---|---|
| Location | 56 Market Street, Galashiels |
| Building type | Former hotel; three storeys with an irregular seven-bay frontage |
| Designation | Category C listed, HES designation LB50708 |
| Architect | Not established in the listing record |
| Public access | Exterior visible from Market Street; current interior access and use require confirmation |
Why It Matters
The former King’s Hotel is one of the clearest architectural survivals of Galashiels’ early twentieth-century hospitality trade. Its scale, prominent roofline and carefully contrasted stonework announced a substantial commercial establishment. HES identifies it as an imposing and well-detailed building that contributes significantly to the streetscape.
Its history also helps disentangle two related but different places. A King’s Temperance Hotel operated earlier at the corner of Overhaugh Street and Market Street. The listed building at number 56 was the later New King’s Hotel, on the site of the Volunteer Arms. Treating the succession carefully reveals how businesses could retain a familiar name while moving into larger and more conspicuous premises.
The Story
The 1903 town directory lists George W. King’s Temperance Hotel in Market Street. HES records that the present building at 56 Market Street replaced an earlier public house called the Volunteer Arms and dates the structure to about 1905. The Old Gala Club timeline, however, records the New King’s Hotel opening on 13 November 1911. These statements may describe construction and later opening or alteration phases, but the available evidence does not yet prove that explanation.
The building was designed to command attention. HES describes a three-storey, irregular seven-bay hotel with the upper storey breaking through the eaves. Whinstone rubble walls are enlivened by red sandstone ashlar dressings; the upper floors are rock-faced, while a string course and former signage band emphasise the commercial frontage. Timber barge-boarded dormer heads, purple slates, clay ridges, ashlar skews and wallhead stacks give the roofline unusual animation.
Although the interior has been substantially modernised, the listing record notes surviving plasterwork and a formal timber stair. Those remnants matter because hotels were experienced through sequences of public and private rooms, circulation spaces and service areas, not only through their facades.
The hotel belonged to a period when Galashiels supported several substantial establishments serving commercial travellers, railway passengers, local diners and public functions. Its location near Market Square and the converging town-centre streets made the building both a business and a landmark.
Things to Notice
- The irregular seven-bay composition rather than a mechanically symmetrical frontage.
- The contrast between dark whinstone and red sandstone dressings.
- The upper floor breaking through the eaves and the timber barge-boarded dormer heads.
- The string course and the band intended to carry hotel signage.
- The roof’s purple slates, clay ridges, skews and prominent wallhead chimney stacks.
- The building’s strong visual position on the approach to Market Square.
Why It Matters Today
The former King’s Hotel remains a conspicuous record of the confidence of the early twentieth-century town. Even where commercial uses change, the combination of scale, materials and roofline continues to shape public experience of Market Street. Its survival also allows the story of Galashiels’ hotels to be told through a building rather than through directories alone.
Significance Scores
| Criterion | Score | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural interest | 4 / 5 | A well-detailed hotel with distinctive materials, dormers and roofline. |
| Historical importance | 4 / 5 | It documents the development of hospitality and commercial travel in the industrial town. |
| Social significance | 4 / 5 | Hotels supported visitors, dining, meetings and social occasions as well as overnight accommodation. |
| Rarity | 3 / 5 | Historic hotels survive elsewhere, but relatively few retain such a legible and prominent local frontage. |
| Townscape contribution | 5 / 5 | Its scale, corner approach and animated skyline make it a major Market Street landmark. |
Scores follow the published significance-scoring methodology. They are interpretive judgements, not statutory designations.
Timeline
- Before the present hotel – the Volunteer Arms occupies the site, according to the HES listing.
- 1903 – George W. King’s Temperance Hotel is recorded in Market Street.
- Circa 1905 – HES dates the listed hotel building to this period.
- 13 November 1911 – the Old Gala Club timeline records the New King’s Hotel opening.
- Later twentieth and twenty-first centuries – the hotel use ends and the interior is substantially modernised, while significant external fabric survives.
Notes and Uncertainties
The difference between HES’s circa-1905 date and the locally recorded 1911 opening has not been resolved. The earlier King’s Temperance Hotel at the corner of Overhaugh Street and Market Street must be distinguished from the present listed building at 56 Market Street. HES notes that it is unclear whether any fabric of the Volunteer Arms was retained. The architect, builder, exact construction sequence and present internal condition remain to be established.
Image and Licence Notes
No photograph has been reproduced here because no suitably clear image with a verified open reuse licence was confirmed during this review. Historic Environment Scotland’s archive contains several exterior views of the former King’s Hotel, which can be viewed in the Trove record for the King’s Hotel. These archive photographs are linked for reference and are not reproduced by Galashiels Heritage Watch. A properly licensed modern photograph would be a valuable addition.
Related Places
- Former Waverley Temperance Hotel, Channel Street
- Former Douglas Hotel and Channel Street Buildings
- 94-96 Overhaugh Street
- Sir Walter Scott Monument, Cornmill Square
Sources
- Historic Environment Scotland designation LB50708 – statutory description, dating, materials and assessment of townscape interest.
- Trove place record 290187 – location, survey references and related HES/RCAHMS images.
- Galashiels and Selkirk Directory, 1903 – contemporary listing of George W. King’s Temperance Hotel.
- Old Gala Club timeline – local record of the New King’s Hotel opening in 1911.
- Strang, Charles Alexander, The Buildings of Scotland: Borders, p. 309 – architectural context, cited by the Trove record.