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John Kibble building named at Coulport
28 January 2025
Staff at Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport recently gathered for the official naming ceremony of the old canteen building which has been newly refurbished and will now provide brand new office space.
During the naming ceremony for The John Kibble Building, Naval Base Commander Clyde, Commodore Sharon Malkin ADC, unveiled a plaque, joined by members of the various teams that helped with the recent infrastructure project.
The newly renovated, John Kibble Building, is now home to office space and is available for staff to book out for various training events or conference meetings. Among the many desks and workspaces available, there are also several individual soundproof booths that can be used for more privacy.
There are two main conference rooms, also soundproofed, that are designated for training use, each with a capacity to hold 25 delegates. Each conference room has theatre styled seating and bifold doors to separate the two rooms. The doors can be opened if a larger space is needed.
The office space can fit up to 150 workers. As well as this, the renovated gym sits next door to the newly named building.
Described as an eccentric person, John Kibble was a Victorian entrepreneur. He was known to dabble in various activities such as engineering, astronomy, and photography. Using glass plates that had to be carried via horse and cart, Kibble’s photographs saw him awarded various medals and in 1858, was known to have the world’s biggest camera. However, his most impressive accomplishment was cycling across Loch Long on floats – his own engineering invention. He remains the only man to have achieved that to this day.
John created ‘The Kibble Crystal Art Palace’ with the help of architects, John Boucher and James Cousland. It was his home located at Coulport, on the shores of Loch Long until 1871. He began negotiations to have his structure dismantled and transported via barge to Glasgow. There it was reconstructed on a larger scale with an addition of a circular dome, 150ft in diameter to create an impressive front entrance.
The Kibble Palace was closed in 2003. The following three years saw it dismantled and restored off-site before its grand re-opening in the Botanic Gardens on St. Andrew’s Day 2006.