Laigh Whiteston Lodge, Culzean Castle, Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire

Description

Robert Lugar (attributed as designer), James Thomson (builder), circa 1816; later alterations, ARP Lorimer, 2000-2002. Ensemble of gated bridge over burn guarded by lodge at junction of carriage drives.

LODGE: single storey, 1- by 2-bay, rectangular-plan, Gothick gate lodge, with lower outbuilding attached to E elevation. Pepperpot corner turrets. Ashlar construction, with squared rubble on S elevation and to outbuilding. Sited on S side of driveway to W of bridge over burn, with N gable as principal elevation. N ELEVATION: fenestration set within pointed arch recess flanked by pointed niches. 3 ogee arched windows in moulded surrounds set between 4 engaged clustered colonnettes. Blind quatrefoil above central window. Pepperpot turrets on corners at wallhead. Fleur-de-lys finial at apex of skews. S ELEVATION: blind, with pair of doors to outbuilding. Pepperpot turrets to wallhead corners. W ELEVATION: rectangular doorway to left, with ogee arched window to right. E ELEVATION: blind window aperture to right with outbuilding gable, having door to left.

Multi-paned timber framed windows, fixed on N, sash and case on W. Pitched grey slate roofs. Corniced chimney stack with single can on apex of S gable.

INTERIORS (seen 2010): small lobby, with doors to 2 former cupboards, now lavatory and shower, and to main room. Former kitchen, now living room, to S, with doorway to former bedroom, now kitchen, on N. Stone flags in lobby. Iron cooking range and fittings (original), hearthstone and timber mantelpiece in former kitchen. Vertically boarded timber doors throughout. Outhouse has 2 brick lined chambers with separate doors to the W.

BRIDGE: single span road bridge over burn. Pointed barrel vault of squared rubble with ashlar voussoirs, squared rubble spandrels and abutments. Dwarf parapet of squared rubble with saddleback coping surmounted by iron railing consisting of plain square profile uprights between cylindrical stone posts.

GATEPIERS, GATES AND RAILINGS: 4 ashlar piers, each in the form of a cluster of 4 cylindrical columns. Iron carriage gates of hollow-headed spears to upper bouts. Pine cone finials. Cross-braced lower bouts with applied florettes. Fence of plain pointed iron uprights set between columnar stone posts mounted on dwarf walls. Garden gate, with cross-braced lower bout and applied florettes.

Statement of Interest

Part of an A-group at Culzean Castle Estate comprising: Culzean Castle; Castle Walls etc; Fountain Court etc; Ruined Arch and Viaduct; Stable Block etc; Camellia House; Cat Gates; Home Farm; Powder House; Ardlochan Lodge; Dolphin House; Hoolity Ha'; Swan Pond Complex; Swan Pond Ice House; Walled Garden; Bathing Complex; Water Works; Shore Boat House; Battery and Mast House; Main Drive Walls and Piers; Gas Works.

The Lodge and Bridge at Laigh Whitston(e), later know as Hoolity Ha', were part of the substantial estate improvements carried out for the 12th Earl of Cassillis and are an important and picturesque group of estate ancillaries, with distinctive architectural detailing. In this particular case, the bridge spanning the Glenside Burn improved access to the centre of the estate from the policies further east. A new S-N drive from Glenside to the Castle, via Hoolity Ha', was completed at around the same time. The work is likely to have been undertaken by James Thomson (c1784-1832) of Dumfries, who was estate architect at the time, while the designer was probably Robert Lugar, although other plausible architects, including James Gillespie Graham and Richard Crichton were engaged by the estate during this period. The landscape designer, Thomas White senior (1736-1811), a pupil of 'Capability Brown', and his son (1764-1836) were also providing advice on estate improvement at this time. According to Lugar's precepts, practical improvements and ornamental embellishment were entirely compatible, thus the humble 2 room accommodation required for a gatekeeper might fulfill scenic purposes and advertise the good taste of the gentleman who commissioned it.

Conversion of interiors in 2000-2002 by ARP Lorimer Architects. Currently in use as a holiday cottage (2010).

Together with the outstanding ornamental landscape of its estate, Culzean Castle is acknowledged as the epitome of the Picturesque movement in Scotland, in its own right and is a work of international importance. Culzean, at one time the largest estate in Ayrshire, has been associated with the Kennedy family since the Middle Ages. It was gifted by Gilbert the 4th Earl of Cassillis to his brother Thomas Kennedy, in 1569. In the 1660s, the barmekin around the tower house was breached to create the terraced gardens, orchards, and walled garden for which Culzean was notable, while the caves beneath the castle (a Scheduled Monument) were fortified to serve as secure stores. Culzean Castle became the principal family seat when Sir Thomas Kennedy (1726-75) became the 9th Earl of Cassillis, in 1759. A continuing programme of improvements was undertaken by Sir Thomas and his successors during the 18th and 19th centuries. The 10th Earl began rebuilding the Castle to designs by Robert Adam. This work was continued by Archibald (1770-1846), the 12th Earl, later the 1st Marquess of Ailsa. From about 1810 onwards he commissioned numerous structures, both practical and ornamental, and several important architects and landscape designers were engaged to embellish the gardens and grounds with ponds, gates, lodges and pavilions, resulting in several key works of the Picturesque era. The 3rd Marquess undertook the modernisation and enlargement of the Castle in the 1870s. In 1945, the 5th Marquess of Ailsa divided the property, making over the Castle, and the policies immediately surrounding it, to the National Trust for Scotland.

Robert Lugar (1773-1855) was a successful architect to the gentry during the picturesque era, specialising in Gothick and the Cottage Orné idioms and publishing several volumes of his designs. He designed a number of castles and mansions and many estate buildings, frequently making making humble buildings such as cottages and kennels into ornamental landscape features. His works include Balloch (now Ardoch) Castle (1809) and Tullichewan Castle (1808), both in Dunbartonshire and in the castellated style. His published works helped to spread the Cottages Orne style across the British Isles. Several buildings at Culzean were either especially designed by him or drew on his published designs: Swan Cottage and probably Swan Pond Bridge and the Pagoda, as well as the lodges at Morriston, Pennyglen and Glenside, which were demolished in the 1950s.

Hoolity Ha'Lodge and Hoolity Ha' Bridge were previously separately listed.

List description revised as part of the Culzean Castle Estate Review, 2010-11.

External Links

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