Description

Arthur Clyne, circa 1900. 2-storey and attic, 4-bay double villa comprising 2 2-bay mirrored houses. Rough faced granite finely finished to margins of principal elevation, grey granite to ground floor, pink granite to 1st floor; Aberdeen-bond rubble to remainder. Base course; ground floor cill course; tooled dividing band course forming 1st floor cill course.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical; 2 doorways to centre bays of ground floor, with sunken fillet below lintels, pilastered timber doors, panelled, flanked by glazed panels, letterbox fanlights, window above each to 1st floor; shallow rectangular-plan tripartite windows with banded rustication through ground and 1st floors of bays to outer left and right, breaking eaves with crenellated parapets; bipartite flat-roofed dormers to attic floor above, skylights to central bays between.

W ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled; single storey wing adjoining to right of ground floor, irregular fenestration to remainder.

S ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; doorways to centre 2 bays at ground floor, flat-roofed porch addition to right, regular fenestration to remainder, single storey wings to outer left and right; 4 rectangular dormers to attic floor.

E ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled; single storey wing adjoining to left of ground floor; canted window (possibly oriel) to centre of 1st floor.

Predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case windows; some PVCu windows to attic and rear S elevation. Grey slate roof with decorative terracotta ridge. Stone skews with blocked skewputts. Coped gablehead and wallhead stacks and stacks breaking pitch, circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIORS: not seen 2000.

BOUNDARY WALLS: low coped granite boundary walls to N, rubble walls to remainder.

Statement of Interest

From the beginning of the 19th century Aberdeen rapidly expanded westwards from Union Street. 1 and 3 Rubislaw Den South is part of the later 19th century development W of Queen's Cross. Rubislaw Den South runs almost parallel to Queen's Road (on the site of Skene Road) which was originally surrounded by the estate of Rubislaw. In 1877 Rubislaw Estate was bought by the City of Aberdeen Land Association, who re-aligned Skene Road and sold off the estate in smaller plots. Streets became wider and villas with substantial gardens often replaced terraces. Prestigious architects, such as Arthur Clyne, were often employed to produce bold and unusual designs to reflect the wealth and individuality of the clients. Arthur Clyne, and his partner John Bridgeford Pirie, designed some of the most prestigious houses in Aberdeen's West End. 1 and 3 Rubislaw Den South is almost identical to 23 and 25 Rubislaw Den South (see separate listing). Both houses follow the same double villa formula that Pirie and Clyne employ for their houses in Hamilton Place (see separate listings), however detail is kept to a minimum, the doorways being the most characteristic part of the design, with sunken fillets below the lintels. Buildings executed by Arthur Clyne after his partner Pirie died tend to be more conservative, which would explain the more restrained design of these houses in Rubislaw Den South.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56625470

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

• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Old House Care and Repair