Paton Street
Created as offices for Mid Mill and taken over by the Territorial Force in 1908, this building links the industrial and military histories of Galashiels in a single surviving place.
Last reviewed: 17 July 2026
Quick Facts
| Original date | Later nineteenth century; exact year not established |
|---|---|
| Original use | Offices for Mid Mill, also known as Valley Mill |
| Military use | Acquired by the War Office in 1908; later drill hall and Territorial Army/Army Reserve centre |
| Location | Paton Street |
| Record status | NRHE place record 333070; no HES listing reference identified in this review |
| Access | Operational site; view exterior from public streets without obstructing access |
Why It Matters
The building is valuable precisely because it changed function. Its first life belonged to the management of a textile mill; its second to the organisation, training and mobilisation of local soldiers. It provides a physical link between industrial employment, civic volunteering and the experience of two world wars.
The Story
The Paton Street building began not as a purpose-built drill hall but as the offices of Mid Mill, also known as Valley Mill. This origin is important. Its respectable office frontage represented the administrative side of a large industrial enterprise, while the production buildings occupied the wider mill site to the north.
In 1908 the War Office acquired the premises for the new Territorial Force. A gymnasium and firing range were added, adapting an industrial office to the needs of military training. The 4th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, was associated with the hall and mobilised there in August 1914 before overseas service, including at Gallipoli and on the Western Front.
The drill hall system placed military organisation within everyday civic life. Men who worked in local mills and businesses trained part-time in a building close to the town centre, and families would have known it as the point from which units assembled and departed. The hall therefore belongs to the social history of service, absence and loss as much as to regimental organisation.
Later reorganisations changed unit names and headquarters arrangements, but military use continued. The site has remained associated with reserve forces into the twenty-first century. That continuity distinguishes it from the Volunteer Hall in St John Street, which served a broader mixture of assembly and public functions.
The surrounding industrial landscape has changed radically, including the loss of much of Mid Mill. The office block’s survival consequently carries additional weight: it is one of the few structures through which the former mill site can still be interpreted.
Things to Notice
- The formal office-like street elevation rather than a conventional large drill-shed facade.
- The building’s relationship to the former Mid Mill site.
- Later additions associated with military use.
- The robust masonry and regular window pattern inherited from its industrial function.
- The contrast with the nearby modern retail and road landscape.
Timeline
- Later nineteenth century: Built as offices for Mid Mill/Valley Mill.
- 1908: Acquired by the War Office for the Territorial Force; gymnasium and firing range added.
- August 1914: 4th Battalion KOSB mobilises at the hall.
- 1961: Headquarters of the amalgamated 4th/5th Battalion KOSB established at Paton Street.
- Later twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Continues in reserve-force use through successive reorganisations.
Significance Scores
| Category | Score | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural interest | 3/5 | A solid industrial office building adapted to military purposes |
| Historical importance | 5/5 | Associated with Mid Mill and the mobilisation of the 4th KOSB in 1914 |
| Social significance | 5/5 | A long-standing centre for local military service and community identity |
| Rarity | 4/5 | An unusual survival combining mill-office and drill-hall histories |
| Townscape contribution | 3/5 | A recognisable landmark within a much altered industrial area |
Scores follow the Heritage Directory’s published significance-scoring methodology. They are interpretive judgements, not statutory designations.
Notes and Uncertainties
An exact construction date and architect have not been established. The NRHE classifies the site as nineteenth-century offices and a twentieth-century drill hall. A public heritage record identifies it as an Army Reserve Centre, but military units and operational arrangements can change. No HES listing reference was identified during this review, so the building is not described here as listed.
Image and Licence Notes
The principal photograph was taken by Thomas Nugent and is reused from Wikimedia Commons under the CC BY-SA 2.0 licence. Follow the image link for the original file, full attribution and reuse terms.
Related Places
Sources
- Trove/NRHE place record 333070: Galashiels, Paton Street, Mid Mill
- Mike Osborne, Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain’s Volunteer Forces (2006), p. 278, cited by the NRHE record.
- Digital Open Doors: Army Reserve Centre