Description

Early 19th century farmhouse aggrandised to asymmetrical plan Italianate villa by circa 1840 additions and alterations including flanking pavilions to principal (S) elevation attributed to Thomas Hamilton; 1922 addition to rear. 2-storey centre block flanked by tall single storey pavilions with 2-storey block to rear. L-plan steading adjoined to W. Rendered. Base course, single, bipartite and tripartite windows, hoodmoulds. |modillion eaves course and cornice to S elevation.

VILLA

S(PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 2-storey block to centre with piended roof; slightly advanced simple distyle portico in antis, modern panelled door brought forward to centre, narrow windows with louvre shutters to outer bays; tripartite window with stone mullions to 1st floor. Slightly advanced pavilion to right with piended roof; tall single window to centre. Advanced gabled and finialled pavilion to left with tall bipartite window (apparently louvered to serve as French windows) with stone mullion; recessed panel to gablehead, moulded beak skewputts; blind window on return to right with round headed louvered shutter to centre.

E ELEVATION: return to E pavilion, 2 widely spaced windows, tall narrow stack to centre. Recessed taller 2-storey block to right with lower 2-storey piended block to outer right. Single window to ground and 1st floor to each block wiht further smaller window at ground to outer right.

N ELEVATION: 2-storey with single storey lean-to addition, inscribed HMC 1922, door off-centre right.

W ELEVATION: 2-storey, 2-bay block recessed to left, taller piended block to right with door off-centre left, wallhead stack above, window at ground and 1st floor to left, window at ground to right, windows breaking eaves at 1st floor, canted window to far right, window breaking eaves at1st floor, wallhead stack to outer right.

12-pane sash and case glazing, timber mulliond and transomed casement windows in E pavilion. Grey slate roof, range of stacks mostly rendered, corniced and with original cans.

INTERIOR: large ground floor rooms not seen (Nov 1990) due to interior refurbishment, noted by C McWilliam as "heavy Greek detail to drawing room to right and adjoining annexe which has a corner chimneyiece with a lintel between pylons, both rooms joined by bracketted arch. Dining room to left is rectangular-plan with a bowed end to S and has 4 free-standing columns with upright acanthus leaves on their shallow capitals. undercut foliate cornice". Fine early 19th century plasterwork to room at 1st floor to centre block, square with deep cove and flat soffit to 3 sides, soffit divided into panels bearing octagonal paterae with archaeological motifs. Ceiling centrepiece with acanthus and palmette decoration and husk garland border.

STEADING: single storey L-plan forming a courtyard between house and ranges. Whinstone rubble, brick and rendered to S elevation.

S ELEVATION: 4 blind windows to right; taller advanced 'lectern' square tower to left, window at 1st floor with bracketted cill and drroved margins. Moulded string course detailed as eaves course to villa; lower rubble wall to left. Gabled return to E with ashlar coped skews, skewputts and finial to apex.

COURTYARD ELEVATIONS: asymmetrical.

Slate roof to S, red pantiled to courtyard.

Statement of Interest

The HMC refers to Henry Moubray Cadell, builder of nearby Grange House and landlord of Bonnytoun Farm in the early 19th century. There was a distillery at Bonnytoun Farm up to 1834 when it was transferred to Linlithgow and became St Magdalene's Distillery, the owner Adam Dawson of Bonnytoun House. McWilliam suggests Hamilton's involvement here owing to similarity in details with Bonnytoun House which is also attributed to this architect. The principal elevation of the house oriiginally had large green louvered shutters flanking the windows.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17850561

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

• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)