Tontine Hotel

About Tontine Hotel

This hotel is the only building on High Street which is set back a substantial distance from the main building line. By doing this, a small open square is created. The hotel was built in the 19th century and it is believed that French prisoners of the Napoleonic War were employed to construct the building. It opened for business in 1808 to provide additional accommodation when the Cleikum lnn became inadequate as a coaching inn. The hotel gets its name from the way in which it was funded, the tontine principle. The concept behind this is that a group of subscribers paid a subscription from which a dividend was paid. As each subscriber died, the dividend for the remainder increased until the last survivor took possession of the property. The public rooms are well proportioned and to the rear there is a fine bow window overlooking Tweed Green and the river.

In front of the hotel is a pink granite fountain dedicated to Professor John Veitch who was born in Biggiesknowe. Veiteh was a much respected professor of logic at both St Andrews and Glasgow Universities. This memorial was at one time a public drinking fountain although it is long since disused.

On the opposite side of the street you can see the former Playhouse Cinema. Built in 1932 during the golden age of cinema, this is a simply detailed ‘’art deco’ building. So different from the distinctly Scottish architecture of the surrounding buildings, the former cinema has aged with the town and now does not look at all out of place. The advent of television in the 1950s and 60s saw cinema attendance decline and eventually led to the closure of the Playhouse and its conversion to a shop.