Description

Circa 1874, James Maitland Wardrop. Jacobethan-style, 2-storey and attic mansion, roughly square on plan; skilful and distinctive asymmetrical composition. Single-storey buildings of kitchen court at NW now demolished: inner walls of courtyard only remain (see note). Distinctive bull-faced coursed or snecked rubble (part repointed, 1991) with finely polished ashlar doorpiece and bay windows; stugged dressings; rubble base-course; plain string-course at 1st, moulded string at 2nd floor on principal elevations. Coped gables at advanced bays; octagaonal pinnacles canted out over angles at wallhead parapet; finials at gable apices (lion rampant above entrance bay). Tall octagonal shafted jabobethan stacks grouped at ridges. Steeply-pitched slated roofs. Square timber lantern over rear staircase, with fish-scale slated ogival cap and apex, weathervane. Decorative rainwater heads to down-pipes. Sash and case glazing, plate-glass at principal apartments, 3 panes deep at 1st and at rear.

ENTRANCE (E) FRONT: slightly advanced gable with single windows each floor, left. Irregular 4-window pattern to right: off-centre advanced entrance bay, with basket-arched doorpiece, plain pilastered architrave, fluted consoles and corniced frieze; strapwork above with centre cartouche (insc: 'NJS', see note) flanked by obelisk finials raised on balls. Heavy nailed oak door in 17th-century style.

S ELEVATION: near-symmetrical garden elevation. Single-storey canted bay windows flanking centre 3-light mullioned and transomed window at ground (later steps at centre). Parapet detailing of canted bays: quatrefoil in pierced roundel at centre and ball-finials at angles on moulded cope. Bipartite at centre 1st floor, flanked on left by bipartite (outer) and single-light windows; on right by 2 single-light windows; single gable stepped above wallhead parapet to left over bipartite; pair gables to right centred on windows below.

W ELEVATION: L-plan frontage; 3-window to left, plain, outer 2 bays gabled, with off-centre wallhead stack; gable to right with belt and string courses and angle pinnacles.

N ELEVATION: originally E-plan, with westermost single-storey range extending N to form kitchen court, now F-plan, plain with big wallhead stacks. Inner walls of kitchen court buildings (with blocked openings) and single corniced gatepier at E entrance are only survivals.

INTERIOR: top-lit dog-legged principal staircase; twisted balusters and panelled newels with decorative ball finials. Ground floor rooms retaining some original timber chimney-pieces:

Jacobethan-style at SE (drawing) and SW (dining) rooms, former with Ionic capped baluster stiles, latter with Ionic pilaster, stiles, tiled insets. Simple lugged and moulded classical timber chimney-piece, with monogram insc. (?'MLS') in pulvinated frieze in 'business room' (NE angle, right of entrance porch). Plain cornices at ground floor (1st and attic floors not seen).

Statement of Interest

The kitchen courtyard comprised single-storey buildings, with Jacobethan gables in the style of the house at its NW angle, with direct access through the kitchen court to service wing of the house; a second court, originally attached to the kitchen court by enclosing walls at its NW corner, includes an L-plan STEADING (listed separately).

Simple corniced ashlar GATEPIERS AT S ENTRANCE opposite Craigsanquhar Farm.

Entrance insc, NJS, probably Nathaniel James Spens, resident at Craigsquhar in 1875, for whom the house was presumably built.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17810272

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

• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014