Look for a grand, grey stone building right in front of you, with five large windows across its perfectly symmetrical front, a little gable up top with a rounded attic window, and a spiked iron fence guarding the entrance you’ll see just ahead.
Alright, pause for a moment and take it in-this is Arbuthnot House, though if buildings could talk, it might still whisper its old nickname, the Municipal Chambers. Imagine yourself standing on this very street in the late 1700s: the salty air of Peterhead swirling around, carriage wheels rattling along Broad Street, and the sound of Robert Arbuthnot (the original owner, and let’s just say, not short of a penny or two) pacing out the plot for a fine private house. Back then, the building was only half as deep as what you see now, more of an elegant townhouse than the imposing block before you, and it faced straight down to the bustling Town House at the other end.
Flash forward a few decades-the house is snapped up by James Arbuthnot, a merchant with an eye for style. Here’s where things start getting interesting: in the early 1800s, the house is given a makeover fit for a neoclassical romance novel, with smooth ashlar stone, those stately sash windows, and a doorway so grand you almost expect a gentleman with a top hat to come strolling out.
Now, step inside in your mind’s eye-past the rusticated doorway, you’d find a soaring reception hall stretching up two stories, perfect for gossiping aristocrats or, later, council debates that might’ve gotten just a bit heated! Long after the laughter and music faded, Arbuthnot House took on a serious role: shortly after the Second World War, the leaders of Peterhead ran the show from these very walls. But the years rolled on, councils and councils came and went, and eventually the hustle faded, leaving the building empty and boarded up, its windows looking out as if waiting for the next chapter.
And here’s the twist-Aberdeenshire Council has big plans. Soon, the quiet of Arbuthnot House might be broken by the sound of readers and museum-goers, as new life is set to move in. So go on, give a wave. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll walk by and see the lights back on, stories old and new echoing through the hall once again!
