Description

1781; additions and alterations: 1814; circa 1837; R Turnbull, 1884; earlier 20th century; late 20th century. 2-storey and attic, 4-bay gabled house with Victorian porch, piend-roofed dormers and later wing to rear, forming L-plan. Painted roughcast render with raised painted sandstone ashlar dressings. Base course; eaves course; quoin strips; raised window margins.

HOUSE: 4-bay S (principal) elevation: half-glazed timber boarded door to Victorian porch with half-piended roof and cast-iron brattishing; regular fenestration to bays; late 20th century dormers to attic; late 20th century conservatory to left. W elevation: 4-window gable to right; later single storey and attic wing to left (see Notes) with tripartite window at ground and dormer to attic. N (rear) elevation: irregularly fenestrated with tall staircase window to centre; piend-roofed dormers to attic. Later gabled wing advanced to right: timber boarded back door in 20th century porch to N gable; irregular fenestration to left return.

Predominantly 4-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; some 12-pane glazing to rear. Corniced gablehead stacks with decorative clay cans. Ashlar-coped skews. Graded grey slate. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: tiled porch; half-glazed timber panelled inner door with decorative frosted glass and sidelights. Curved staircase with timber banister. Drawing room with cupboards forming bowed end; decorative cornice; picture rail; black marble fireplace (painted). Working shutters in some rooms. Cornicing in principal rooms. Timber panelled interior doors throughout.

FORMER STABLE AND COACH HOUSE: single storey, 3-bay, roughcast outbuilding with forward-facing gable to right bay to NE of house. Timber-boarded doors; vehicle entrance to gabled bay. Ridge stack. Skylights. Ashlar-coped skews. Graded grey slate.

BOUNDARY WALL, GATES AND GATEPIERS: ashlar-coped random rubble boundary wall; 4 octagonal sandstone ashlar corniced gatepiers with pyramidal caps forming vehicle entrance and flanking pedestrian gates. Decorative iron gates.

Statement of Interest

Former manse of the established church. The previous manse was Kirkland, on the opposite side of Main Street, but the Heritors considered it to be in an inconvenient position because the surrounding land belonged to someone else, so they exchanged Kirkland and its garden for this site and the sum of £50 (see Bayne for details). According to the New Statistical Account, this house was built in 1781, with substantial additions made in 1814. It is likely that the original 1781 house comprised of the 3-bay section to the right of the South elevation, and that the fourth bay was added in 1814. According to Bayne, the West wing was added by Rev. Matthew Dickie, who mentions 'alterations now in progress' in the New Statistical Account (1837). The OS maps show that the West wing was previously much larger than it is now, and extended back almost as far as the boundary wall with the road. The Heritors' records show that much work was done in 1884. This probably included the porch, further additions to the West wing, and the piend-roofed dormers. Although the present dormers are late 20th century (the Historic Scotland photographs from about 1970 show no dormers), the photograph of the manse in Bayne (p123) shows two dormer windows on the South elevation. The architect chosen for the 1884 work was Robert Turnbull, a former partner of Alexander Thomson. The builder was Andrew Robertson of Dunlop. According to Bayne, over £1000 had been spent modernising the manse since 1915, and electric light was installed in 1929. The church sold the manse in the 1980s, and it has since been renovated and altered.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56615514

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

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)