Carlekemp House, Abbotsford Park, North Berwick, Dirleton, East Lothian

Entry Name: Carlekemp House, Abbotsford Park, North Berwick

Listing Name: North Berwick, Abbotsford Road, Carlekemp with Boundary Walls

Listing Date: 5 February 1971

Category: A

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 331931

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB1375

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200331931

Location: Dirleton

County: East Lothian

Electoral Ward: North Berwick Coastal

Parish: Dirleton

Traditional County: East Lothian

Tagged with: Architectural structure

Description

John Kinross, RSA, 1898. 2-storey Cotswold Elizabethan
style manor house now converted into flats with attic to
main house at W and single storey motor house to E.
Squared and snecked Rattlebag stone; ashlar dressings;
stone mullions and transoms; moulded margins; 1st floor
lintel course below parapet.
S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical, with higher
roofline to main bays, lower to former service end at E,
slightly recessed. Full-height, gabled advanced doorway
bay, with decorative wrought-iron finial; round arched
porch entrance flanked by pilasters with obelisk finials,
carved shield above arch with strapworked cartouche
above, strapwork carving on pilasters and garlands to
obelisks; tripartite at 1st floor. Small, depressed
arched windows to right, stepped at 1st floor.
Elizabethan entrance hall window flanking at left, with 2
grouped bipartites above. Outer left bay gabled with
canted diminutive window bay at ground with rose garland
carving to margins, and dolphins tumbling down piend
roof.
3 bipartite windows right of centre grouped closely with
cusped lintels at ground floor. Full-height canted bay to
outer right of advanced main house, with crenellated
parapet, bipartite lights and hoodmoulded heraldic shield
above 1st floor windows. 3 closely grouped bipartites at
left of tower range, bipartite stair window with 1899
dated cartouche panel above; bipartites to right and in
1st floor gabled outer bay.
N ELEVATION: 4 gabled bays to main house, recessed at
left, advanced at outer right. 5-sided canted windows at
ground to outer right with parapet. Remaining windows
bipartite or tripartite with transom to most in ground
floor. Heraldic shields and cartouches to W bay and in
return E facing gable. Obliquely set door in re-entrant
angle to right with carved lintel. 4 bays to service end
at left, outer bay gabled with tall paired windows at
ground and bipartites above. Motor house advanced with
pentice roof and gabletted crowsteps to right.
W ELEVATION: advanced bays to left with full-height canted
bay at centre with bipartites, hoodmoulded
cartouche and crenellated parapet. Stacks to left with
off-sets. Tripartite Elizabethan hall windows to right and
on return to S. Recessed bays to right with paired
tripartites at ground, bipartites at 1st floor. Doorway by
re-entrant angle with decoratively carved 1898 dated lintel
and depressed arch bipartites above.
Square lead-paned glazing to casement windows with some
plate glass below transoms. Decorative bronze door
handles. Decorative square lead guttering and gutter
heads. Westmoreland slates. Moulded coping to stacks
with original cans retained.
INTERIOR: outstanding and well-respected on subdivision
into 5 flats. Carved woodwork and panelling. Scott
Morton and Company, Edinburgh. Fine chimneypieces
with marble surrounds, decorative cast-iron grates.
Galleried hall with Jacobean details and oriel over
doorway. Strapwork and ornate plasterwork.
BOUNDARY WALLS: squared and snecked Rattlebag rubble, with
stepped gablet coping by lodge, rounded rubble coping
to outer walls.

Statement of Interest

Commissioned by James Craig, paper manufacturer, whose

brother later commissioned Bunkerhill, Abbotsford Road,

from Lorimer, allegedly taking the commission away from

Kinross. Carlekemp was the first of the 3 Cotswold manor

houses built in Abbotsford Road before 1st World War.

(See Bunkerhill and Westerdunes, listed separately.)

Carlekemp served as a Roman Catholic Priory School for

many years. The quality of materials, craftsmanship and

detail is excellent throughout. Gates and gatepiers listed

separately with lodge.

External Links

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