Description

John Smith of Darnick, circa 1826. 2-storey and basement, 3-bay rectangular-plan Classical house, with advanced pedimented central bay and piended roof. Small-sized dark whinstone rubble with cream sandstone ashlar dressings; red sandstone dressings to rear elevation. Base course on front and side elevations; eaves course. Tabbed window margins. Regular fenestration to front; irregular fenestration to rear.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: single-leaf, 6-panelled timber front door, with astragalled sidelights and fanlight; tripartite window at first floor level. Pediment ornamented with segemental recess. Round-arched staircase window to rear. Small circular structure beyond NW rear corner of house, built into retaining wall, probably a coal cellar.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Margined stacks with yellow clay cans. Welsh slate roof. Cast-iron rain water goods.

INTERIOR: largely intact early 19th century interior. Enclosed stone-flagged porch with access to public rooms. Curving stone stair at rear with iron balusters and narrow mahogany handrail running from basement to upper floor; stair window flanked by niches. Segmental- headed arches supported on decorative brackets in upper hall. Dining room with panelled dado and vestiges of buffet niche in cornice. Original plasterwork throughout, particularly fine in principal rooms. 6-panelled doors.

WALLED GARDEN: situated on sloping ground to W of house, rubble walls with rounded cope. Entrance gate at SE corner.

Statement of Interest

Situated facing S on rising ground within extensive garden grounds. The house was built for Thomas Scott who was a lawyer in Melrose and was built and designed by John Smith of Darnick who did much work for Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. The house appears on John Wood's map of Melrose, published 1826, and was therefore probably complete before that date. This house is remarkable for the fact that apart from a small rear porch it is largely unaltered; this or similar porch appears on OS 1st edition maps and was presumably a very early addition. The red sandstone dressings on the rear are said to have come from Melrose Abbey.

List description updated at resurvey (2010).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56621164

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

• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)