Head Gardener's House, Kailzie House, Traquair, Scottish Borders

Description

1811 with late 19th century Mackenzie & Moncur glasshouse; later additions to house and range. Rectangular-plan walled kitchen garden with canted corners to SW and SE; long symmetrical 5-section glasshouse range adjoining N wall with 3-bay, 1?-storey rectangular-plan picturesque gardener's house and single storey, multi-bayed range to NE angle; sundial by Alexander Adie of Edinburgh. Random whinstone rubble with narrow ashlar copes and droved ashlar dressings with projecting margins. Harled and painted sections to house, range and modern extension; some brick.

WALLED KITCHEN GARDEN:

N ELEVATION WITH GLASSHOUSE: high wall with former gardener's house and backshed range to left and centre (see below). To S side of N wall: Regency style lean-to glasshouse with slightly projecting gabled planthouse to centre with semi-glazed timber entrance door; vineries (of similar height and style) flanking with lower peach house style sections to outer bays; later glasshouse adjoining to left. Some stacks (from heated wall/glasshouses) rise from wallhead.

E ELEVATION: concealed by beech hedge and plain wall with single storey extension of garden house adjoining to right (interior elevation of wall broken by later fenestration and doorway of house); to left, wall advances SE before canting sharply to SW, angle buttresses for support.

S (FORMAL) ELEVATION: high wall with flat copes and shared angle buttresses, small central entrance doorway with droved tails and projecting polished margins, wrought-iron gate (see below).

W ELEVATION: similar to S ELEVATION with entrance to left; additional curved wall adjoining to extreme left with garden store to rear.

GARDEN HOUSE:

NW (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: central panelled timber entrance door with rectangular glazed fanlight, timber bracketed canopy with slated pitched roof surmounting; window to flanks. To ?-storey, pair of flush gabled timber dormers with projecting verges and apex finials. To left return, lean-to with projecting verges, window to front with curved wrought-iron security bars; wrought iron gate adjoining to left forming pair of entrance gates. Adjoining harled right return, single storey range with paired windows to left, near central timber door and 2 widely spaced windows to right.

SE (REAR) ELEVATION: 2-storey and single storey extensions forming L-plan to rear of original house; rear of single storey incorporated into earlier garden wall and looking into it. Regular fenestration with modern doors and glazing.

10 and 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; 4-pane casement windows to dormers; 9-pane windows to range and modern glazing to later extension. Piended grey slate roof and slate cheeked dormers to Garden House; lead ridging to main roof with terracotta ridging and stalked ball finials to dormers; piended and platformed roof with swept eaves to single storey range. Cast-iron and replacement rainwater goods. High ashlar stack with projecting ashlar neck copes and 4 plain terracotta cans to central roofline.

INTERIOR: in use as residential accommodation, 2002.

SUNDIAL: 1811. Octagonal ashlar base supporting polished ashlar baluster-shaped classical shaft with decorative cornice to top (mainly acanthus detail and egg and dart, carved lozenges and roses); copper dial and gnomon by Alexander Adie of Edinburgh, famed optician who made the Camera Obscura in the Edinburgh Observatory.

GATES AND RAILINGS: plain painted wrought-iron railings to S of walled garden with plain barred gate. Decorative painted wrought-iron gates to SE and SW walls with alternate plain and scrolled arrowhead tips.

Statement of Interest

This walled kitchen garden is part of the surviving landscape features from Kailzie House, demolished in 1958. Kailzie was built in 1803 for Robert Nutter Campbell, a Glasgow merchant. It was described as a "very elegant 2-storey and basement mansion of moderate size with a bowed garden front". All that remains of the house is a small building (listed separately) that was formerly part of the courtyard buildings and a pond now marks the spot of the main house. The garden is sited to the W of the Stable and Kennel Courtyard (now a gallery, shop and restaurant). The flat garden is sited in a valley so its high walls (20ft) are orientated a little to the SE to catch the early morning sun. Originally, the garden was split into quadrants with a path following the line of the walls and 2 central paths bisecting in the middle of the garden. They were lined with trees and the sundial marked the convergence of the paths; the garden is now contains a hedged section of flowerbeds and a tennis court. A range of glasshouses stood against the N wall, but these were replaced in the late 19th century by the larger 'Regency Style' symmetrical range with the projecting central gable. To the exterior of the wall, there was a row of backsheds, likely to have contained the potting shed, garden office and fruit store; these have now been extended and encompassed into the former head gardener's house. This stands near the NE angle of the garden and part of it faces into the main garden (to keep an eye on the workers and the produce) whilst the main elevation overlooks a smaller garden to the N (possibly frameyard or slip garden / orchard). The garden is handily placed for manure from the adjacent stable and was at a discreet distance from the house. The exterior of the garden is surrounded by a slip garden, part of which has a wrought-iron railing boundary. To the W now lies a formal garden with a fountain as its centrepiece. The garden and designed landscape is open to the public.

External Links

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