Description

Probably William Smith, 1877, with additions Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, 1904-5, and further alterations 1923-4. Gabled, Germanic style 2-storey house, rectangular-plan with projecting service bays enclosing small court to rear.

Stugged, squared granite with base course, rock-faced quoins and polished margins. Corbel course dividing floors giving appearance of jettied 1st floor. Sweeping eaves to gabled dormerheads; shallow pitch to broad gables. Multi-light windows with timber mullions and transoms.

NE elevation: 3-bay. Stone porch projecting at centre with stop-chamfered arrises; pointed-arch doorway with panelled door; cornice and corniced parapet with decorative, light brattishing. Dormerhead to 1st floor window behind. Bay to left with tripartite window at ground and dormerheaded window above. Broad gabled bay advanced to outer right with tripartite at ground and bipartite above.

NW elevation: advanced gabled bay off-centre left with 2 narrow windows at ground and bipartite at 1st floor, flanked by narrow windows. Outer bay to left with projecting corniced window with blocking course at ground (1902) with stone mullioned bipartite to front and single windows on return; dormerheaded cross window above. Outer bays to right with 1st floor cross dormerheaded window and harled lean-to abutting blank outer wall.

SE elevation: originally symmetrical. Narrow windows to centre, flanked either side by cross windows at ground and as dormerheaded windows above. Broad outer gabled bays slightly advanced, to left with tripartite window at ground, corbelled chimneybreast raised from 1st floor at centre dividing 2 narrow windows; mirrored to outer left but now with projecting window (1902) in place of tripartite and detailed as opposing elevation.

SW elevation: gabled end of short wing to left, small window at ground and bipartite at 1st floor. Courtyard recess at centre with window orielled across left re-entrant angle at 1st floor, bipartite and small window. Door in opposing short wing, panelled with 2-pane fanlight, and blank 1st floor jettied on cavetto corbel course. Courtyard partly enclosed by stone screen walls with rounded coping, continuing from wallplane.

Sash and case windows with large panes. Cusped barge boards to swept dormerheads; pendant finialled timber brackets to eaves and scroll-flanked kingposts to broader gables. Grey slates. Coped stone stacks to gableheads and ridge.

STEADING: to SW of house. Single-storey and loft, L-plan steading. Stugged, coursed granite. Pair of 2-leaf boarded timber sliding doors to NE elevation. Other timber boarded doors. Timber external stair to boarded timber loft door to SE. Piend-roofed dormer to NW.

Predominantly 4-pane timber sash and case windows. Grey slates. Some rooflights. Raised skews with plain skew putts.

GAME LARDER: to SW of house. Small, square-plan, timber game larder with vertical battens, pyramidal roof and ball finial.

Statement of Interest

Baile-na-Coille was built for the Queen's servant, John Brown, but was incomplete at his death in 1883. See watercolour by Nathaniel Everett Green: this shows a crenellated parapet to the entrance porch rather than the brattishing currently in place; it is possible that Rowand Anderson altered its form in 1902. The latter architect executed other works of improvement at Balmoral Castle for King Edward VII, from whom he received his Knighthood in November 1902. The Croft, built 1858, is a diminutive version of Baile-na-Coille, similar in articulation and details, and was probably the earlier home of John Brown. It is a distinguished example of the Germanic design across the estate and of historic importance.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17777082

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.

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