Geograph - photograph every grid square

This building stands on Dumbarton's High Street, at the corner (visible at the left) of Quay Street. The building immediately to the right is NS3975 : Glencairn's Greit House, and the arched opening leads to NS3975 : Quay Pend. (The street is not usually so deserted; the picture was taken on New Year's Day.)

The name Burton is prominent in this view, but the text reads, in full, "Montague Burton – the Tailor of Taste". The dark opening on the right is that of NS3975 : Quay Pend, a covered passageway leading through the adjacent NS3975 : Glencairn's Greit House. A blue plaque (for the former Burton's building) can be seen just to the left of the opening of the pend; directly below that plaque, but too small and dark to be visible in the present view, is a foundation stone: NS3975 : The former Burton's building: foundation stone. Another foundation stone is on Quay Street (the lane whose entrance can be seen on the left): NS3975 : The former Burton's building: foundation stone.

The former Burton's building dates from about 1938, but it was built upon the site of a historic building, the Elephant Hotel (not to be confused with the NS3975 : Elephant & Castle, which is located at the eastern end of the High Street).

The Elephant Hotel was originally called the Town's Arms Inn, and it was built by the same John Brown (NS3975 : The gravestone of John Brown) who was responsible for building NS3975 : Dumbarton Bridge. Work on the building began in 1760 (five years before the bridge was built); it opened for business in 1762. For a detailed history, see "The Elephant Hotel" (2008) by Michael C. Taylor; it suffices to note here that it was demolished in 1935, and that it had been built on the site of a still earlier building, which had been owned by Robert Harris, a doctor, and which was referred to in the council's minutes as Harris's Wastage.

Across the road from the Elephant Inn and Glencairn's Greit House, in (roughly) the area where the entrance to the NS3975 : Artizan shopping centre is now located (NS3975 : Shopping Centre, Dumbarton), there would once have stood the town's Tolbooth, with the Mackenzie House standing immediately next to it (on the east); for those buildings, see NS3975 : Ancient stones, Glencairn's Greit House.

At a later date, Heggie's Buildings occupied much the same area: specifically, what is now the covered entrance shown in NS3975 : Dumbarton Town Centre, and the area just to its left (where there is now a pharmacy).