Description

Circa 1901. Predominantly single storey and attic, 9-bay, rectangular-plan former canteen building with swept pyramidal-roofed end bays breaking eaves at each corner; on elevated site to W overlooking paper mill. Aberdeen bond, tooled ashlar granite; stone cills; cill course; roughly squared granite with tooled dressings to N and W elevation. Extensive linear rooflights to E and W elevations.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: advanced piended roof entrance porch off centre to left, with replacement door to right return.

S ELEVATION: 2-storey, 2-bay shaped and coped gable at centre with corbelled wallhead stack; flanked by advanced lower pyramidal-roofed bays. Cill course at ground and 1st floor.

N ELEVATION: 4-bay central section with full-width box dormer. 2-storey pavilion to right with cill course at first floor.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows. Mansard roof; grey slates, pyramidal swept roof to end bays with decorative finial. Linear rooflights. Terracotta ridge tiles. Ventilators to ridge.

INTERIOR (seen 2012): timber dog-leg staircase to SE corner with elaborate cast-iron balustrade. Painted timber boarding and moulded dado rail at 1st floor; hinged ventilator panels below roof lights. Some later subdivision.

Statement of Interest

A rare surviving example of a purpose built industrial canteen building provided by a philanthropic mill owner. The building is well detailed with its pyramidal swept roofs surmounted by finials and tooled granite dressings. The building is prominently located on raised ground overlooking Stoneywood Mill. Although the south elevation is now obscured by trees the detailing, such as the shaped gable, suggests that it was designed to be visible from the mill.

Stoneywood Mill was founded in 1770 and passed by inheritance to Alexander Pirie in 1796, the first of a long line of Piries to own and direct Stoneywood. Pirie initiated the change from brown paper to fine papers, developed the first Stoneywood watermark: 'Pirie 1802' and doubled the mill's output by the introduction of Fourdriniers, continuous power-driven paper machines. The Pirie family were benevolent employers, and as part of the expansion of the mill, constructed buildings for the welfare of their employees. This included a library in 1849, a new school and schoolhouse in 1865 (see separate listing), and a separate canteen building where inexpensive meals were served. Stoneywood was one of Scotland's largest mills and together with the adjacent Waterton site is the only surviving working paper mill in the North East of Scotland, producing over 200 tonnes of paper per day (2012).

The building is not evident on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map (published 1901) because it was constructed after the area was surveyed in 1899. However, the map depicts a clearing where the building is situated.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17771452

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

• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)