This linked townhouse development, known as Claverhouse and Cannonwalls, provides 14 artist studio spaces as well as communal kitchen and toilet facilities.

History of the project

This is one of our most recent projects and we opened the facility in 2010. We'd been looking to set up studios
within Dumfries and Galloway for the past 8 years to meet the high demand for
studios there and to extend our network’s geographic spread.

Both the Cannonwalls and Claverhouse buildings sit in Kirkcudbright's historic High Street, close to the Tolbooth Arts Centre and near neighbour to the Selkirk Arms Hotel where Robert Burns reputedly wrote his famous "Selkirk grace": 

Some hae meat, and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.

We were drawn to Kirkcudbright in particular because of its reputation as an ‘Artists Town’, one of several themed towns in Dumfries & Galloway (along with Wigtown Book Town and Castle Douglas Food Town). It is home to interesting historical buildings (including the Tolbooth and 16th century remains of MacLellan’s Castle right in the centre of town) and the local landscape has long attracted artists – in the early 20th century many distinguished artists lived in the town: E.A. Hornel (whose former home is now a National Trust property); Jessie M. King and her husband, E.A. Taylor; and Charles Oppenheimer. It was also the summer haunt of visiting artists, such as S.J. Peploe, the Scottish Colourist, and Robert Burns, Head of Painting at Edinburgh College of Art.

Several contemporary artists live and work in the town today and there are also some great local galleries which is evident through the success of events such as Spring Fling.. We therefore jumped at the chance to purchase two former town houses, Claverhouse and Cannonwalls, from Dumfries and Galloway Council when they came on to the market in Kirkcudbright back in 2007. 

In December 2010 we held a fantastic launch to celebrate the studios opening and the artists based there have continued to hold popular events both within the building and the town itself since.