Again, a gem courtesy of Zak's wanderings, here's another of the puzzling modern ruins. I can't tell the exact location, but anyone local will recognize it, and I suspect it will be an easy find on the cost road (that wouldn't have been built without a seaview!), but it still looks like it was nice, typical of the modern retreats built on the Clyde coast by the well-heeled. Former residence, or past hotel?

What do you think, local disaster, personal problem or tragedy, just went bust, or fell apart?


Zak

You are right in that it is easily recognised by locals and I can tell you that by yesterday it was clompletely flattened.

It is Council owned and has been a home/ hostel for those with learning difficulties and recently a Resouce Centre whatever that is!!

It is a clasic example decayed 1960's build due to an almost total lack of maintenance.

Cover your eyes Jacde Falcon as I expect it will be more yuppie housing.  Being a waterside site it will be worth a lot of money to the Council.

The big house looks older than the 1960s - is it, with the 1960s part being the 'square' bit tacked on to the left?

All the rubble appears to be bricks and timber to I don't think it can be all that old.

Bethania, Innellan

This development, on the site of the former Bethania care home will see Fyne Iniatitives Ltd take this project forward to provide 1, 2  and 3 bedroom properties for Homestake (shared equity).

We are working with Gokay Deveci to provide innovative and sustainable housing on an attractive seafront site.

Fyne Initiatives Ltd will work in conjunction with The Bullwood Group to maintain the wooded area to the rear of the development.

A site start is anticipated later in the year - Further updates to follow!

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FYNE INITIATIVES UNVEILS DUNOON DEVELOPMENT
13 September 2007

Fyne Initiatives, a subsidiary of Argyll and Bute Housing Association Fyne Homes, will be inviting Dunoon residents along to view development proposals for the former care home in Innellan next week.

Prior to the open day, award-winning architect Gokay Deveci will tutor some senior pupils from Dunoon Grammar School with an interest in architecture, on what it is like being an architect and some basic building design principles.

The Bethania care home, which has stood empty for several years, was purchased by Fyne Initiatives in March 2007 from Argyll and Bute Council. They are hoping to inject a new lease of life in to the area with the creation of another new housing development.

Members of the public are invited to the Park Hotel between 10am and 4pm on Wednesday 19 September to cast their eyes over the three design options that will be on display. Fyne Initiatives are keen to receive feedback from members of the public, who will be asked to highlight their preferred option.

The Bullwood Regeneration Project who work and maintain the woodland on the grounds of Bethania will also be present at the open day. They will be on hand to discuss their woodland based education and training programme which is currently available for all abilities.

The housing project at Bethania, in excess of £2 million, is due for completion in October 2008 creating a total of 13 homes for the shared equity market as well as one commercial unit to be used by the Bulwood Regeneration Project.

As well as having fantastic views overlooking the firth of Clyde, the properties will also have their own gardens, woodland area to the rear, as well as renewable energy sources, sun spaces and roof terraces.

Fyne Initiatives social economy director, Peter McDonald said: “The Bethania development marks another exciting chapter for Fyne Initiatives. We are delighted to give the students at Dunoon Grammar School the opportunity to attend a design tutorial, which may even inspire them towards fulfilling a career in architecture or the construction industry.

“We also believe that it is really important to engage with the community and to listen to their views about our proposals for the Bethania site. We want to work with the community and provide them with quality affordable housing which meets their expectations and their needs.”

The demolition didn't warrant any mention in the local paper but then the new editor probably doesn't live down this way.

The brickwork of this building has now all gone through the stone crusher and dumped in one pile that is surprisingly small.  Fyne homes always do this as a form of reclycling.

This seems to be fairly standard nowadays - recycling/tax/penalties/landfill etc.

A Victorian swimming baths was demolished near me last year or so, a huge building with a proper chimney for the boilers - it's been replaced by a small housing development which gives a hint of its size.

The whole place took weeks to demolish fully, and the whole thing went through a crusher to form great heaps of rubble, but these were shipped away. Might also have been used to fill in and level the site too, but I never saw the whole job.

I believe it may have been a Nunnery at one time which could explain it's name.

it certainly looked more comercial than residentail and of more modern design

I didn't get a chance to mention this earlier, but while I was rescuing a large quantity of documents from a very, very, damp loft, I discovered I have plans for proposed alterations and extensions to Bethania House, dating from 1963. So it has to have been built before then.

Reading the detail of the plans, it would seem that at that time, the house comprised exactly that - the house you can see to the right of Zak's pic with the main entrance and windows to either side. The extensions proposed are to the left and right of this original building, and as can be seen from the pic, that to the right has already been demolished when it was taken, so I can't compare it to the proposed alterations.

The section to the right contained an assembly room or refectory, kitchen, and numerous bedrooms.

The section to the left of the main building was the chapel, with altar and sacristy, and further accommodation.

I have had a quick hunt for information regarding the house's past, and its occupants, but came up with nothing at all on the first pass. Since this is usually couched in vague terms and picks up even obscure references, I suspect there is nothing to be had on the web, or it will turn up under a related, but indirect, connection.

Depending on how the plans copy, I may be able to post the Front Elevation.

It would be interesting if the Order that originally occupied the house could be identified.

Try dropping a question into the infamous Dunoon GB!

So long since I've been in - I feel like an incomer!!!

Still, it might work, someone may have worked in domestic service there when it was Bethania House rather than the latter Care Home.

It's still featured in its latter guise on a number of web sites for such services - bit tough on anyone that makes the trip and turns up at the door after a long trip if they neglected to phone ahead and check!

I am reliably informed that it was an hotel called Alderwood prior to becoming the Nunnery.  I do not know if that was the original house's name too.  Nobody knew the order of Nuns.  The name should not be confused with Laudervale , formerly the house of Sir Harry Lauder which was further along thee road towards Dunoon. The site is now occupied by bungalows.

Having looked at your plan I see it was for single story pitched roof extensions whereas the extensions were both 2 stories with flat roofs.  Were they built in two stages?  I must ask at the Museum.

There could either have been a further extension in later years, or the original proposal was modified before it was finalised, but a whole second storey that early seems unlikely.

Pity there are no pre-demolition pics floating about. The GB's doing well though, maybe another appeal?

I suggest you're wrong about the flat roof unfortunately, and just think the demolishers have already stripped it to reclaim the tiles. From past knowledge, my understanding was that in coastal locations in Scotland, such as this, planning officers would frown on their use due to the maintenance requirements and limited life if neglected, compared to a pitched item. The Google aerial view shows the pitched roof on the house, and if you pull up the VE image, then it's there in all its glorious hi-res detail. These images are usually no older than about five years.

I also have the plans for the lower and upper floor, but they're not really worth adding to the page as there is so much construction detail written on them. Thanks to the method of copying full size plans from tracing paper in the 1960s (no digital images or CAD for the architect them), the details just appears as smudges when imaged for the web - you can see the problem on the elevation - there just isn't the contrast to provide a good image (unless I use specialised lighting, which would take to long).

You may be right about the roof.  It was not a building I ever looked at despite passing it thousnads 9 literally) of times.  I thought it an ugly 60's addition to an older building.  When the council changed the name to "Resource Centre" that was the final straw.  What the heck is a Resource Centre?  Social Work seems to be very good at taking well known words and altering their meaning.  I feel a real profession should be able to invent it's own technical words.

Things seem to working OK now after problem earlier.

Having had a look at the present version of this page I noticed a link to an item on Bethania Congregational Church and a restoration project.  I don't think this would have anything to do with the Dunoon Bethania except that they share the same biblical name.

Good point, i just noted in passing as potential info, so stuck it in as a reminder.

I'll certainly do a bit more hunting, as you're probably right, and I just tied the two together because of the religious aspect.

Ta.

I see you want to discuss this page.

The only news is that Fyne Homes started on their reconstruction project a couple of months ago.  There will be two lines of terraced energy efficient homes as far as I am aware.