Description

Early 19th century with later 19th century remodelling. 2-storey over raised basement, 5-bay symmetrical classical house of rectangular plan with flanking pavilions giving Palladian arrangement. Painted ashlar principal front, roughcast walls to sides and rear with polished ashlar dressings. Base course, band course below principal floor, cill course at principal floor (principal front only), band course, cornice and blocking course at eaves. Raised margins at corners and windows, with projecting cills at side and rear elevations.

NW (PRINCIPAL) FRONT: projecting cills, smaller window centring basement beneath sandstone ashlar stair, oversailing basement recess, with nosings and decorative cast-iron railings accessing slightly recessed centre bay with central recess behind distyle screen of Tuscan columns and pilasters flush with 1st floor; architrave and cornice above; 4-panel entrance door with 8-pane fanlight above and 8-pane timber sash and case sidelights; venetian window at 1st floor, raised wallhead above. Principal floor windows architraved and corniced with scrolled brackets. 1st floor windows flanking centre architraved, with lugged cills.

NW ELEVATION: windows to principal floor at outer left and 1st floor to right of centre.

SE ELEVATION: principal floor windows at outer left (square) and right, 1st floor window to left of centre.

SW (REAR) ELEVATION: modern conservatory at centre, built on existing roughcast base with ashlar dressings at corners, tall stair window above.

Blank bays at outer left and right of principal floor, narrow windows at 2nd floor above.

12-pane timber sash and case windows to most openings, 24-pane stair window, 4-pane and plate glass at outer left and right rear 2nd floor windows respectively. Grey slate piended roof comprising 2 valleys running at right angles to rear from main pitch over principal front. Paired ashlar stacks to principal ridge and in valleys to rear with octagonal and circular cans.

INTERIOR: many fittings surviving intact, including panelled shutters, 6-panel doors, black and white marble chimneypieces in dining and drawing rooms respectively, ornate plaster cornices and ceiling roses. 2-leaf, 6-panel inner entrance door, architraved with 8-pane sidelights

OUTBUILDINGS: single storey over basement connecting walls flanking principal front, band course, cornice and blocking course stepped at centre, margined doorways (infilled at left). Flanking segmental carriage archways; that to right within garden of Courthill (see separate listing); left archway margined, pilasters framing, with frieze, cornice and blocking course, terminal dies and stepped at centre. L-plan single storey stable block and carriage house to rear, random rubble with margins and piended grey slate roof, ashlar wallhead stacks with octagonal cans. Single storey, gabled, symmetrical built into wall at N side, central door with flanking bipartite window, modern tile roof, apex stack with octagonal can.

RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: ashlar cope around stone flagged areas to front and rear, wrought-iron railings with finials. Random rubble boundary wall to Kilkerran Road with ashlar cope. Rendered and coped gatepier remaining with single leaf of wrought-iron gates surviving.

Statement of Interest

The Ordnance Plan of 1868 shows the driveway leading from Argyll Street around the S side of the house, with no vehicular access from Kilkerran Road, and also shows the W wing within the grounds of Skipness Court (Courthill). This is an impressive house from the early 19th century period of Campbeltown?s prosperity. It is unfortunate that the W wing has now become separated from the main composition. 12-pane windows at principal floor improve the appearance of the house, being a replacement of plate glass windows, removed during a recent (1995) thorough restoration of the house.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17773299

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

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)