Guest, Sign inJoin
Battery Hill, Mccaig MonumentBattery Hill, Mccaig Monument · Photo: Mpeace37 · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History of Oban · Historic Environment Scotland

77 listed buildings, 1 of them in the top category

Historic Environment Scotland counts them inside Oban’s locality, 96 for every 10,000 residents. It also has 2 scheduled monuments. We have photos of 33 of its listed buildings and 3 old views of the town.

1Category A37Category B2scheduled monuments
Listed buildings
77
96 per 10,000 residents
Category A
1
national importance
Category B
37
regional importance
Scheduled monuments
2
nationally important sites
In pictures

Oban in 36 photos and old views

Nearly every Category A and B building, photographed, and the town before 1950. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.

George Street, Cathedral of St John the Divine (Episcopal) with RailingsGeorge Street, Cathedral of St John the Divine (Episcopal) with RailingsCategory C listedOban Sheriff Court and Justice Of The Peace Court, Albany Street, ObanOban Sheriff Court and Justice Of The Peace Court, Albany Street, ObanCategory B listedCorran Esplanade, Great Western HotelCorran Esplanade, Great Western HotelCategory B listedNorth Pier, Piermaster's Offices, With Lamp StandardsNorth Pier, Piermaster's Offices, With Lamp StandardsCategory C listedTweeddale Street, Congregational ChurchTweeddale Street, Congregational ChurchCategory B listed+31See all photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.

Through time

Oban from 1890 to 1890

3 old photos and postcards, in date order. All public domain, made before 1950.

General view, Oban, Scotlandc. 1890
VictorianGeneral view, Oban, ScotlandPhoto: Photochrom Print Collection · Public domain
The bay, Oban, Scotlandc. 1890
VictorianThe bay, Oban, ScotlandPhoto: Photochrom Print Collection · Public domain
The place Oban in Scotlandc. 1890
VictorianThe place Oban in ScotlandPhoto: Unknown photographer · Public domain

Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server. Each credit opens the image’s page with its full description and history.

The map

Where Oban’s history is

Every Category A and B building, monument and historic park.

An Dunan, dun 50m SE of 10 Campbell Crescent, Oban, scheduled monumentRaschoille, cave 40m ENE of, Oban, scheduled monumentAlbany Street, Municipal Buildings, With Lamp Standards, Category BAlbany Street, Post Office, Category BArdconnel Road, Craigvarren House, Category BBattery Hill, Mccaig Monument, Category BBenvoulin Road, Manderley, Category BCharles Street, Category BCorran Esplanade and 1 Stafford Street, Oban Inn, Category BCorran Esplanade, Christ Church Dunollie (Church of Scotland), Category BCorran Esplanade, Great Western Hotel, Category BCorran Esplanade, Oban Times Building, Category BCorran Esplanade, Regent Hotel (Formerly Marine Hotel), Category BCorran Esplanade, Wellpark and Glenrigh Hotels, Category BDalriach Road, Maternity Hospital (Formerly Gleneuchar House), Category BGallanach Road, The Manorhouse (Hotel) with Lamp Standards, Ice House and Boundary Walls, Category BNorth Pier and Corran Esplanade, Columba Hotel, Category BOban Sheriff Court and Justice Of The Peace Court, Albany Street, Oban, Category BQueen's Park Place, (Caledonian Hotel), Category BRockfield Road, Oban Free High Church (Free Church), Category BRockfield Road, Primary School with Boundary Walls and Play-Shelter, Category BSouth Pier, Piermaster's House, Category BStafford Street, Oban Distillery, Category BStation Road, Bank of Scotland, Category BTweeddale Street, Congregational Church, Category BWar memorial, Corran Esplanade, Oban, Category B1-7 (Inclusive Nos) Shore Street, Cawdor Place Including the Kelvin Hotel, Category B120 George Street, Category B13 Argyll Square, And Lamp Standard, Category B2 Argyll Square and Airds Place, Royal Hotel, Category B20-22 (Even Nos) Argyll Square, Category B20-26 (Even Nos) George Street, Royal Bank of Scotland, Category B28 George Street, King's Arms Flats (Formerly Hotel), Category B3 Tweeddale Street, Woodside Hotel, Category B4-6 (even numbers) Argyll Square (Former County Buildings), Oban, Category B42-46 (Even Nos) George Street and 3 Argyll Street, Argyll Mansions, Category B7 to 9 (Inclusive Nos) Albany Street, Masonic Hall, Category B70 George Street, And Stafford Street, Category B8-16 (Even Nos) George Street, (Formerly Queen's Hotel), Category BCorran Esplanade, Cathedral Church of St Columba, With Boundary Walls (Roman Catholic), Category A
Category ACategory BScheduled monument

Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.

77 listed buildings by grade
1 Category A37 Category B39 Category C

Historic Environment Scotland lists buildings in three categories: Category A for buildings of national or international importance (about 7.5% of listed buildings), Category B for buildings of regional importance (about 50%), and Category C for buildings of local importance (about 43%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.

Every entry on Historic Environment Scotland’s designations whose point lies inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.

Category A

The Category A listed building in Oban

Buildings of national or international importance, about 7.5% of all listed buildings. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.

Category B

The 37 Category B listed buildings in Oban

Buildings of regional importance. 31 are photographed.

Show the other 25
What’s protected

Most of Oban’s listed buildings are homes

Every listed building sorted by what its list name says it is.

Houses, terraces & villas45
Walls, gates & bridges10
Inns, shops & warehouses9
Public & civic buildings5
Street furniture3
Churches, chapels & priories3
Memorials, crosses & tombs2

45 entries (58%) are houses, terraces and villas. 3 are churches, chapels and priories.

Buildings are sorted by words in each entry’s name (church, gate, inn, memorial…): the list’s open data has no building type. An entry named only by its address counts as a house.

Category C

39 Category C listed buildings

This category covers buildings of local importance. Open any building to read its official list entry.

All 39 Category C listed buildings, A to Z
Argyll Square, Former Clydesdale BankArgyll Square, St Columba's Church and Hall with Gatepiers (Formerly United Free Church)Breadalbane Street, The Argyllshire Gathering Halls and the Gathering RestaurantCombie Street, Oban Old Parish Church with Wall, Gates and Piers (Church of Scotland)Corran Esplanade, Alexandra PlaceCorran Esplanade, Kilchrenan and Glencairn HotelsCorran Esplanade, Queens HotelCorran Esplanade, Westbay HotelCroft Road, First Steps Nursery (Former St John's School), Including Playsheds, Boundary Walls and GatepiersDrummore Road, Eadar GlinnGallanach Road, Dungallan Hotel with Terrace WallsGallanach Road, Dungallan Parks Public Conveniences and Shelter Walls, Steps Balustrades and Lamp StandardsGallanach Road, Kilbowie Lodge StablesGallanach Road, Lighthouse Depot Including Gatepiers, Manager's House with Outbuildings to E and Boundary WallsGeorge Street and Queen's Park Place, Harbour WallsGeorge Street, Cathedral of St John the Divine (Episcopal) with RailingsHill Street, The Mains with Boundary WallNorth Pier, Piermaster's Offices, With Lamp StandardsNursery Lane and Hamilton Park TerraceSoroba Road, Soroba House Hotel1 Shore Street, Claredon Hotel1-4 (Inclusive Nos) Victoria Crescent10-12 (Inclusive Nos) Argyll Square102-112 (Even Nos) George Street122-132 (Even Nos) George Street15-17 (Odd Nos) George Street, And 2-3 Queen's Park Place, Single Storey Shops15-19 (Odd Nos) Stafford and George Street17 and 19 Argyll Square18 George Street, Palace Hotel19 Stevenson Street, Lindhu House (Former Hall) with Gatepier and Railing23 and 25 Argyll Square, And 1-6 Albany Street29 Albany Street, Including Police Station33 High Street, (Former School of Industry)37 and 39 (Odd Nos) Stevenson Street, With Lamp Standard5-11 (Odd Nos) Stevenson Street6-14 (Even Nos) Alma Crescent8 and 9 Argyll Square9 Tweeddale Street94-100 (Even Nos) George Street, And Craigard Road, Balmoral Hotel
How the list grew

More than half of Oban’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1995

The year each building now on the list was first listed.

1995 · 581971 · 8
19501960197019801990200020102020

The first 8 entries were listed in 1971, 1 of the 1 Category A buildings among them. 58 came in 1995. Only 1 has been added in the last 15 years.

Monuments & landscapes

Monuments, parks and gardens

Designations that overlap the town by a tenth of their area or half a hectare.

2 scheduled monuments

Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, protected by law; work on them needs consent from Historic Environment Scotland.

An Dunan, dun 50m SE of 10 Campbell Crescent, ObanPrehistoric domestic and defensive: dun
Raschoille, cave 40m ENE of, ObanPrehistoric domestic and defensive: cave; Prehistoric ritual and funerary: burial(s) (not under barrow/cairn)
Born here

9 notable people born in Oban before 1900

Their lives on one timeline, earliest first.

Dúghall of Lorne
Andrew Aldcorn
Marie Blaze de Bury
Donald MacInnes
Allan McLean
Jessie MacLachlan
Alec Cameron
Andy Gardner
Kenneth N. MacKenzie
13501500165018001950
MB
Marie Blaze de Bury1813–1894 · Scottish writer and salonniere (1813-1894)
Allan McLean
Allan McLean1840–1911 · Australian politician (1840-1911)
Jessie MacLachlan
Jessie MacLachlan1866–1916 · British singer (1866–1916)
Donald MacInnes
Donald MacInnes1824–1900 · Canadian politician (1824-1900)
Kenneth N. MacKenzie
Kenneth N. MacKenzie1897–1951 · British explorer (1897-1951)
DL
Dúghall of Lorne1301–1403 · Scottish bishop
AA
Andrew Aldcorn1792–1877 · Scottish medical practitioner and politician in colonial Australia
AC
Alec Cameron1866–1957 · Rugby player

Everyone born in Oban → Birthplaces from Wikidata; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.

In brief

Oban in brief

Oban has 77 listed buildings, 1 of them in the top category, including Battery Hill, Mccaig Monument. Most entries on the list, 58%, are houses, terraces and villas. Of the 9 people born here before 1900, the best known include Marie Blaze de Bury (1813), Allan McLean (1840) and Jessie MacLachlan (1866). The big year was 1995, when 58 of the 77 went on the list. The rest is about typical: it has one Category A building, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 1); and it also has 2 scheduled monuments.

Questions about Oban’s history

How many listed buildings are there in Oban?

Historic Environment Scotland lists 77 buildings inside Oban’s locality: 1 Category A, 37 Category B and 39 Category C.

What are the Category A listed buildings in Oban?

One: Corran Esplanade, Cathedral Church of St Columba, With Boundary Walls (Roman Catholic).

Are there scheduled monuments in Oban?

Yes, 2 scheduled monuments, including An Dunan, dun 50m SE of 10 Campbell Crescent, Oban and Raschoille, cave 40m ENE of, Oban.

When were Oban’s buildings listed?

The first in 1971; the most, 58, in 1995.

Are there old photos of Oban?

Yes: 3 public-domain photos and postcards from 1890 to 1890, all on this page.

Who was born in Oban?

Among people born before 1900: Marie Blaze de Bury (1813), Allan McLean (1840), Jessie MacLachlan (1866), Donald MacInnes (1824) and Kenneth N. MacKenzie (1897).

Oban has no History Grade.

Listed buildings, scheduled monuments, gardens and designed landscapes, battlefields, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites: Historic Environment Scotland, Open Government Licence v3.0. Check an entry on Historic Environment Scotland’s portal before relying on it.

Sources: Historic Environment Scotland designations (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, gardens and designed landscapes, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.