Designating the Carnegie Public Library in Dumbarton

Closed 8 Oct 2025

Opened 17 Sep 2025

Contact

Designations

0131 668 8914

designations@hes.scot

Feedback updated 29 Oct 2025

We asked

From 17 September 2025 to 8 October 2025, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on a proposal to list the Carnegie public library in Dumbarton.

Dumbarton Library, located along Strathleven Place, was designed in the Renaissance style by local architect, William Reid. The building is dated 1909 and is a two-storey, three-bay, purpose-built public library that was funded through the Public Libraries (Scotland) Act and the Carnegie library grant scheme. Its scale, relative lack of later alteration and its architectural quality overall all contribute to Dumbarton Library’s special architectural interest as a major example of an early-20th century public library.

Through Citizen Space, we invited members of the public to tell us if they agreed with the proposed designation and if they had further comments to make.

We consulted directly with West Dunbartonshire Council as the owners of the building and the planning authority.

Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document.  

You said

We received two responses to the consultation.

We received a written response from the local authority in which they raised no objection to the proposed listing but provided information about the future proposed reuse of the building.

The other response was from a private individual via our Citizen Space Survey. This response strongly agreed with our proposal and provided further comments about preserving local heritage assets.

The responses to consultation did not raise any issues that put into question the special architectural or historic interest of the building under review.

We did

After considering the comments received during consultation, we have updated our report of handling and we have listed the Carnegie library at category B as Dumbarton Library including boundary walls and the bell-shaped stone tablet and excluding the mid-20th century extension, 13-15 Strathleven Place, Dumbarton.

We have published a Report of Handling for this case on the Heritage Portal.

Overview

We propose to designate the Carnegie public library in Dumbarton as a listed building.

Dumbarton Library, located along Strathleven Place, was designed in the Renaissance style by local architect, William Reid. The building is dated 1909 and is a two-storey, three-bay, purpose-built public library that was funded through the Public Libraries (Scotland) Act and the Carnegie library grant scheme.

Constructed in locally sourced Dalreoch sandstone to the front elevation, the plan form of the library is typical for a library building of this date and the principal interior spaces remain largely as they were designed, including its committee room on the upper floor. Its scale, relative lack of later alteration and its architectural quality overall all contribute to Dumbarton Library’s special architectural interest as a major example of an early-20th century public library.

We are now gathering views on our proposal to list this building at category B.

Read more about why we think the library meets the criteria for listing by downloading our Report.

Library fronting pavement with tree in left foreground

Dumbarton Library, principal elevation © Historic Environment Scotland

How we designate listed buildings

We list buildings of special architectural or historic interest. A dedicated team researches and assesses all designation applications.

You can find out more about listed buildings in the Advice and Support section of the Historic Environment Scotland website, and read our Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019).

To merit listing, the structure must meet set listing criteria.

Find out about the listing process.

Why your views matter

We’d like to know whether you agree with our proposal.

To help you respond to the following survey, please read why we think the library meets the criteria for listing by downloading our Report of Handling.

You can tell us if you agree with our proposal by completing the short questionnaire below.

This questionnaire usually takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

Find out what comments we consider and what happens next in our consultation guide or watch our designations video on YouTube.

You can also watch a version of this video in British Sign Language.