The building was designed by Alan Burgess Crombie as the headquarters of the 3rd (Dumfries) Volunteer Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers and completed in 1890.[1] This unit evolved to become the 5th Battalion, the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1908.[1] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Gallipoli and then to the Western Front.[2]
The 4th and 5th battalions amalgamated to form the 4th/5th Battalion, with its headquarters at the Paton Street drill hall in Galashiels in 1961.[3] Loreburn Hall then became surplus to requirements and ownership was transferred to Dumfries Council in 1968.[4]
The Council used the drill hall as a venue for concerts by performers such as Black Sabbath[5] and Big Country[6] and for sporting events such as wrestling.[7] In 2014, the drill hall was given a new lease of life as a temporary gym and sports facility when the newly built DG One Leisure Centre [8] was found to be so full of building defects it had to be closed for a major rebuilding program.[9]
