Keil Hotel Explained

Keil Hotel
Coordinates:55.3111°N -5.6592°W
Architectural Style:Modern Movement architecture
Location City:Southend, Kintyre
Location Country:Scotland
Groundbreaking Date:1937
Completion Date:1939
Opened Date:1947
Closing Date:1990
Destruction Date:-->
Client:Captain James Taylor J.P.
Management:or
Operator:or
Governing Body:-->
Architect:James Austen Laird[1]

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

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 to operate the business.[4]

In 1990 the hotel closed. Despite plans for conversion into apartments, and later plans for a hotel and country club,[5] 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.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Keil Hotel . . Dictionary of Scottish Architects . Dictionary of Scottish Architects . 31 October 2021 .
  2. Web site: James Austen Laird . . Dictionary of Scottish Architects . Dictionary of Scottish Architects . 31 October 2021 .
  3. News: . Keil Hotel, Southend, Argyll . The Scotsman . Scotland . 18 August 1947 . 31 October 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  4. News: . New Scottish Companies . The Scotsman . Scotland . 3 September 1949 . 31 October 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  5. News: . £2m hotel and country club to provide 50 jobs . Aberdeen Press and Journal . Scotland . 24 February 1996 . 31 October 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  6. Web site: Keil Hotel, Southend . . Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland . Historic Environment Scotland . 31 October 2021 .