Description

1878, 2-storey, 3-bay Scots Baronial, L-plan villa with circular stair tower to S; rear wing raised and entrance porch added circa 1925 to E (side) elevation. Bull-faced cream snecked sandstone rubble, ashlar rubble, ashar to canted bays, (former) doorcase and dressings. Battered base course, crowstepped gables with beak skewputts to N (entrance) elevations.

N (ENBTRANCE) ELEVATION: 3 bays; slightly advanced lower gabled bay to centre with fine doorcase with Scots Renaissance detail, door (now blocked as window) with architraved round-headed arch supported on decorative consoles with ornate buckle quoins, keystone flanked by foliated bosses, cill course above to window flanked by string course, wallhead stack recessed to left; flanked by taller gabled bays, to right with 4-light canted window at ground and 1st floor and round-arched gablehead window, to left advanced squared tripartite window with stone roof at ground, bipartite window at 1st floor with decorative panel above and overstepped by hoodmould with carved label stops, carved round to gable.

Single story crenellated porch to outer left with round-arched entrance with architraved surrounds, keystone, impost blocks; stone steps through to inner 2-leaf panelled doors.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical, 3-storey advanced gabled bay off-centre left (upper storey later addition), windows to each floor; single storey lean-to porch set in re-entrant angle to left, low segmental projection with slate roof set in re-entrant angle to right, tripartite window at ground to right, corbelled gabled bipartite window above with carved panel in gabled dormerhead. Stair tower breaking eaves to right with corbelled eaves course, cornice and conical slate roof with weathervane. Entrance porch to outer right (see above) crowstepped dormerhead window with thistle finial above, tall wallhead stack to right.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: asymmetrical, advanced 3-storey block to right (upper storey later addition); 2 gabled bays recessed to left with apex stacks, abutted by single storey gabled wings of different lengths, bipartite window to right with short forestair and door in timber porch, door to left with canted window behind.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: 2 symmetrical gabled bays each with apex stacks and segmental-headed window with hoodmould at 1st floor. Modern single storey lean-to consrvatory at centre, window to right.

Variety of window types, plate glass sash and case, modern aluminium to N elevation, plate glass lower and multi-pane upper to window in tower. Grey slate roof, modern rooflight to N, round-headed dormers to S, W and E elevations.

INTERIOR: stone stair with wrought-iron balustrade; fine chimney pieces and plasterwork.

GARDEN PAVILION: circa 1880. Charming single storey, hexagonal pavilion in gothic style, timber clap-boarded on ashlar base with red and grey felt fishscale slates. Door with later canopied gabled porch, door flanked by windows with canopied roof decorated with timber trim to right, canted squared bay to left, canted pointed Venetian windows to 3-sides, continuous lean-to roof over. Continuous quatrefoil pierced panels to clerestorey under bracketted overhanging eaves with timnber trim.

GATEPIERS: pair of tall ashlar gatepiers (gates missing) with pulvinated frieze to conical and simple cap; chamfered arises.

Statement of Interest

Recorded "as building" in the 1878 valuation rolls for a William Stuart of Melville house, Portobello, Edinburgh. He is recorded as living there in 1881. Mrs MacKinnon a later owner of the house developed the liqueur Drambuie here. The fine unusual pavilion is of particular interest.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17851110

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability