Description

1804-06 with later 19th century extension to rear. 2-storey, 3-bay, square-plan former manse with central pilastered, corniced door architrave enclosing rectangular light above timber-panelled door; two coped stone steps. Coursed pink sandstone rubble to front (S), snecked pink sandstone rubble to rear with raised polished and droved ashlar sills and quoins. Moulded eaves course to front (S) elevation only.

Timber sash and case windows, predominantly 12-pane glazing but with 4 panes in larger windows to rear and 8 panes in minor windows. Ashlar-coped skews. Ashlar wallhead stacks latterly heightened in brick with buff clay cans. Purple- grey slate ridge roof with 3 rooflights to front. Mixture of cast-iron and plastic rainwater goods, including decorative cast-iron hopper to W front.

INTERIOR: small entrance hall leading to central hallway with wooden balustraded staircase (probably a later addition). Arched alcove to SE drawing room. Timber-panelled doors throughout: 6-panel in front (1804-06) part of house, 4-panel in rear (later 19th-century) part. Working timber shutters and simple cornicing throughout.

STEADING: single-storey H-plan steading and stable range to W of house, contemporary with house and connected to it by later single-storey, flat-roofed extension. Random rubble with red sandstone dressings. Symmetrical gables at each end of both N and S elevations, with attic-level oculus to S. Asymmetrical openings to central sections with several timber-boarded doors to N and S. Stone floor. Modern asbestos cladding to ridge roof.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS AND GATES: random rubble walls with curved rubble coping surrounding area in front of house and stables. Corniced, pyramidal-capped grey ashlar gatepier; second gatepier hidden in ivy (2007). 2-leaf cast-iron gates with foliate finials.

Statement of Interest

A well-preserved, elegant, classical early 19th-century former manse and associated outbuildings, situated in a rural setting overlooking the River Tweed and adjacent to the B-listed parish church.

The building was completed in 1806 at a total cost of £787 12s 7d, which included the offices, garden walls, gates and gatepiers. In his November 1834 eport for the New Statistical Account, Rev. John Thomson writes: 'The manse was built about twenty-seven years ago, and is not unsuitable to the living, which is 14 chalders, half meal, half barley, with a small sum for vicarage tithes and communion elements. The glebe is about 11 acres, which might be let, perhaps, for L.18 or L.20.' The rear extension may date from 1847 when records show that a water closet was installed and the interior was probably also upgraded.

The original roofing material for all the buildings would have been slate.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56621174

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

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  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
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  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
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  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
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  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
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  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)