History in Structure

The Lion Gate, Wedderburn Castle

A Category A Listed Building in Duns, Scottish Borders

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Coordinates

Latitude: 55.772 / 55°46'19"N

Longitude: -2.3119 / 2°18'42"W

OS Eastings: 380530

OS Northings: 653228

OS Grid: NT805532

Mapcode National: GBR D19P.8Q

Mapcode Global: WH8X8.G5BY

Plus Code: 9C7VQMCQ+Q6

Entry Name: The Lion Gate, Wedderburn Castle

Listing Name: Wedderburn Castle, Lion Gate and Boundary Walls

Listing Date: 9 June 1971

Category: A

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 335210

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB4029

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Wedderburn Castle, The Lion Gate

ID on this website: 200335210

Location: Duns

County: Scottish Borders

Electoral Ward: Mid Berwickshire

Parish: Duns

Traditional County: Berwickshire

Tagged with: Gate

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Description

J Shaw of York, circa 1790, completed 1794.

NW ELEVATION: tall round-arched ashlar carriage gateway to centre with cornice and panelled piers, breaking cornice with round niches and pedimented, flanking Coade stone lion couchant. Flanking droved ashlar coped quadrant walls leading to advanced sentry pavilions; each pavilion with slightly advanced panel to centre with round-arched recess (deep niche to left; with iron ornamental gate to right); base course, cornice and parapet; string course to blocking course with further blocking course above, block pediment with coped stack at apex.

SE ELEVATION: lodge to left. 7-bay, grouped 1-3-3. Base course to 3-bay group to outer right. Slightly advanced pedimented bay to centre with band course at eaves height and round-arched panel recess with boarded door and flanking lights, and roundel above. Window to each flanking bay with broken pediment. 3-bay group to centre rubble with droved ashlar dressings, slightly set back from 3-bay group to right, with small window flanked by later bipartite window to left and boarded door to right. Stugged squared and snecked sandstone with droved ashlar dressings in later bay to outer right with bipartite window.

4-pane timber sash and case windows to lodge. Slate roof. Brick stack between outer bay to left and 3-bay group to centre.

GATES: ornamental wrought-iron 2-leaf gates with curved top (complementing quadrant walls).

INTERIOR: not seen, 1995.

BOUNDARY WALL: tall harl-pointed rubble wall with flat ashlar coping. Broken in few places and also occasionally dipped down.

Statement of Interest

Plans are still extant, signed and dated, showing the gate with barley-sugar cans to the wallhead stacks to the NW elevation. The SE elevation of the lodge (to the W of the gate) is a direct reference to Palladio?s church facades in the Veneto region of Italy. Subsequent additions, the 3-bay group to centre and (still later) the bay to outer left, interrupt the purity of the design, although the total design of the gate and lodge is very fine, despite later additions. The boundary wall was built by French prisoners of War and, according to the present architect of Wedderburn, its construction reveals French techniques. It has in recent times been broken in an unsympathetic manner. It is of great historical importance as part of the Wedderburn estate, and is a fine and, in general, well-preserved example of an estate wall. It has been listed as part of an A group category along with the Lion Gate and the S lodge, or W gate (see separate listing). The S lodge/W gate is stylistically indebted to this lodge, although it seems most probable that it was built by a local builder, in response to this finely detailed lodge.

External Links

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