Sundial, Barnbougle Castle, Edinburgh, Almond, Edinburgh

Description

James Maitland Wardrop (Wardrop and Reid), 1881, on site of and incorporating fabric from earlier castle. 3-storey and attic, Scottish Baronial house; built on projecting rock terrace. Stugged, squared and snecked rubble, with polished ashlar sandstone dressings, long and short quoins, various mouldings; stone mullions to bipartite windows; crenellated parapet; crowsteps; bartizans to NW and SW angles, with water spouts; finials to gables.

S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 5-bay. Round-arched doorway in penultimate bay to right, with short sandstone balustrade projecting to S, with round-arched door set back behind; timber 2-leaf door, flanked by arrowslit windows. Single window aligned above at 1st floor, bipartite window above to 2nd floor. Arrowslit windows to 1st and 2nd floors. Datestone above doorway, reading '1881', containing armorial shield and coronet. Central bay comprising internal stair-well windows between ground and 1st floors and 1st and 2nd floors. Penultimate bay to left comprising bipartite window at ground floor with single windows at 1st and 2nd floors, aligned above. Outer left bay comprising single window at ground floor, single window aligned above at 2nd floor, and oriel window at 1st floor. 3-stepped mounting block near to SE angle.

W ELEVATION: M-gabled 4-bay, comprising round-arched timber doorway at centre, flanked by arrowslit window and single window; single windows aligned above at 1st and 2nd floors. Single window at bay to right, with single window at 1st floor. Single window in bay to left with pair of tall bipartite windows, widely spaced at 1st floor. Chimneyheaded gables with short section of wallhead parapet bridging valley gutter, with water spout.

N ELEVATION: 5-bay, comprising single window at ground floor to outer left, with single windows at 1st and 2nd floors aligned above; glass and timber mullioned round-arched door to penultimate bay to left, with tall bipartite window aligned above at 1st floor. Round- arched window to ground floor in central and penultimate bays to right with tall, bipartite windows aligned above at 1st floor. Oriel window in bay to outer right, with small attic window in gablehead above. Carved name panel to centre of 2nd floor, with monogram ?AR?.

E ELEVATION: 5-bay, comprising single window in bay to left, with single windows aligned above at 1st and 2nd floors; gabled dormerhead window at attic, breaking eaves. Large single window in penultimate bay to left, with single windows aligned above at 1st and 2nd floors. Projecting bay to centre, with carved panel reading ?Remove Not The Ancient Landmark Which Thy Fathers Have Set. Proverbs XXII.28?; single windows at 1st floor and attic; 2-storey corbelled circular turret in re-entrant angle between 1st and 2nd floors, with conical roof, and weather-vane reading ?1880?; single windows including deep-set bull?s-eye. Single windows at ground floor at bays to outer right, with single window at 1st and 2nd floors.

INTERIOR: fine interior decorative scheme. Large turnpike stair at SE. Ground floor library with beamed ceiling; large 1st floor library at NW, with timber barrel-vaulted ceiling rising through 2 stories, with oak gallery and richly carved oak fireplace. Oak and walnut panelling. Late Victorian bathrooms.

Predominantly timber small pane sash and case windows; some leaded with stained glass. Gablehead, wallend and ridge stacks; coped, with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

BALUSTRADE: coped balustrade, enclosing castle; roll-moulded base with short rectangular and tooled sandstone balusters, with occasional panelled dies and ball finials.

Cellars underneath castle, extending to half-moon battery at SE.

SUNDIAL: 17th century, obelisk style sundial, with polyhedron dials, to S.

Statement of Interest

A Group with Dalmeny House, including Barnbougle Gate Lodge, Dalmeny House Boundary Wall, Chapel Gate Lodge, East Craigie Farmhouse, East Craigie Gate Lodge, Edinburgh Gate Lodge, Dalmeny House Gardener's Cottage, Dalmeny House Home Farm, Dalmeny House Home Farm Laundry, Leuchold, Leuchold Gate Lodge, Longcraig Gate Lodge, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Long Green, Newhalls Gate Lodge, Dalmeny House Stable Block and Dalmeny House Walled Garden (see separate listings).

The first owners of Barnbougle were the Moubray or Mowbray family, who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and became the lords of Barnbougle, Dalmeny and Inverkeithing. The first house at Barnbougle was built in the 13th century, on the coast, projecting out onto what is now known as Drum Sands. The Moubrays sold the estate in 1615 to Sir Thomas Hamilton, later created the Earl of Haddington, whose grandson in turn sold the estate to Sir Archibald Primrose of Carrington, later the Lord Justice General of Scotland. His eldest son by his second marriage, Archibald, was created Earl of Rosebery in 1703. The family lived at Barnbougle until the early 19th century, when it was decided to build another property, after the extent of the neglect of the house was such that a wave supposedly washed into the dining room while the family were at supper. The son of the 4th earl had Dalmeny House built in 1817, and after being partly blown up, in an accidental explosion, Barnbougle was left as a ruin. It was rebuilt in 1881 after being deemed necessary for navigational purposes. The house has a splendid interior. It is not open to the public.

Several plans for the rebuilding of Barnbougle were drawn up, including, in 1774, a splay-planned castle designed by Robert and John Adam, that would have pointed out into the firth. The Wardrop and Reid building that was executed was primarily designed as a private library for the 5th earl, who later became Prime Minister. A scheme of 1889 by Sydney Mitchell & Wilson proposed to rebuild Barnbougle in the style of Linlithgow Palace.

An interesting view of the old castle can be seen in the background of Alexander Nasymth's painting 'The 3rd Earl of Rosebery and his family outside Barnbougle Castle' (1788), which can be seen at Dalmeny House.

External Links

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