Description

Robert Gordon Wilson, 1903. 2-storey and attic, 2-bay villa. Tooled coursed grey granite ashlar with contrasting light grey granite long and short dressings finely finished to margins at S elevation; Aberdeen bond granite rubble to remainder. Base course; string course forming 1st floor cill course; overhanging eaves. Long and short quoins.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled bay advanced to right, 4-light canted window through ground and 1st floors supporting advanced half-timbered gablehead on oversized stone brackets, bipartite window inset; doorway to ground floor of flanking bay to left, chamfered reveals, corniced lintel, light grey granite keystone detail above, 2-leaf panelled timber door, deeply chamfered angle to outer left, with window to centre of chamfer, flanked to right by window; bipartite window to 1st floor above, piend-roofed tripartite dormer to attic floor.

E ELEVATION: gabled; modern satellite dish to centre.

N ELEVATION: not seen 2000.

W ELEVATION: gabled to right; single storey addition to left; tall stair window near centre; irregular fenestration to remainder.

Timber sash and case windows, plate glass lower and 9-pane upper sashes. Purple-grey slate roof with lead ridges. Gablehead and wallhead stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 2000.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: square-plan gatepiers with pyramidal caps to S (shared with adjacent properties); low coped granite ashlar walls between; granite and brick coped rubble walls to remainder.

Statement of Interest

B-Group with 6 and 10 Rubislaw Den South (see separate listings). From the beginning of the 19th century Aberdeen rapidly expanded westwards from Union Street. 8 Rubislaw Den South is part of the later 19th/early 20th 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 Robert Gordon Wilson, were often employed to produce bold and unusual designs to reflect the wealth and individuality of the clients. Near identical to the adjacent 6 and 10 Rubislaw Den South (see separate listings), also by Robert Gordon Wilson. Of note is the delicate doorway with unusual keystone detail, and the deeply chamfered angle flanking to left, with decorative window inset.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56625489

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

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)