Walled Garden, Juniperbank, Traquair, Scottish Borders

Description

18th century, restored late 18th / early 19th century with later additions. 2-storey, 3-bay, rectangular-plan, classical former farmhouse with M-gabled wing to rear and later single storey entrance porch; additional mid-20th century sun lounge to W. Harled and painted with painted tabbed quoins and margins to most windows; later extensions harled and painted with red sandstone dressings. Skew gabled with plain skews and putts.

N (PRINCIPAL - RIVER) ELEVATION: 2-storey, 3-bay regularly fenestrated house with large single storey, flat-roofed projecting entrance porch with red sandstone tabbed quoins to door surround with roll-moulded arrises to jambs, 2-leaf timber panelled door and red sandstone cornice. To extreme right, single storey gabled sun lounge with tripartite window to each return and inset carved red sandstone coat of arms to gablehead of right return.

W ELEVATION: to left, gabled end of original farmhouse with gabled end of later sun lounge to left and centre of ground floor (see N ELEVATION); single storey, squared extension at right with single window above in main elevation of farmhouse. To right, 2-storey, 3-bay rear wing with pair of windows to left and single window to right at ground and 1st floors. To far right, single storey outbuilding adjoins ground floor angle.

S (REAR ? ROAD) ELEVATION: 2-storey, M-gable elevation with central timber entrance door (9-pane glazing to upper) and window aligned in 1st floor; rest of elevation blind and partly concealed to ground floor right by later free-standing garage. Rubble wall (leading to gatepiers, see below) adjoins to right.

E ELEVATION: to left, rear wing with 4 bays to ground floor and 3 bays (single window to left, paired windows to right) to 1st floor. To right, gabled end of farmhouse: later rectangular-plan, flat-roofed projecting bay (containing bipartite window with painted sill band and red sandstone cornice) to ground floor left with narrow window off centre left at 1st floor; rest of elevation blind.

12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows to principal, E and W elevations (sash and case bay window to east with 6-panes to upper sash and plate glass lower sash; replacement multi-paned window to ground floor left of E elevation with integral extractor fan). Some plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows to later sun lounge (and ground floor right window of W elevation) and plate glass in further extension. Piended grey slate roof with replacement metal ridging. Some 2-pane cast-iron Carron roof lights. Painted cast-iron rainwater goods. Short, squat, harled and painted gablehead stacks with red sandstone neck copes and hexagonal cans (to most); similar roofline stacks to M-gable.

INTERIOR: regular M-plan rear wing with rooms flanking central corridor; timber skirting boards and some timber panelled doors.

WALLED GARDEN, BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: near square-plan walled garden with bowed N wall: medium height, random rubble walls with segmental copes and later timber gates, W wall bounds driveway. Random rubble boundary wall with rough copes to road elevation with pair of tall, random local rubble cylindrical gate piers with projecting band course and terminating in rounded caps. 3 similar gatepiers (now harled and painted) on drive to house forming pedestrian and vehicle gate; all gates replacement.

Statement of Interest

This was the farmhouse to the steading sited down the hill on the riverbank. Originally, Juniperbank was a 2-storey, 3-bay farmhouse facing out over the River Tweed. By the 1st Edition map, the farmhouse had already been extended to the S and had the M-gabled rear we see today. There were also small single storey, single bay wings (probably outbuildings) adjoining to the SE and SW angles. The farmhouse retained this plan well into the 20th century when (by 1920) a bay window was added to the north end of the E elevation. A single storey entrance porch was added to the river elevation and a sun lounge of similar style to the main house was added to the north of the west elevation. The farm once fell under the control of Traquair House Estate and was one of a number linked with estate. The farm was fairly self sufficient, as were most on the estate. To the north is a U-plan courtyard steading enclosed on the open side by another range. The steading has separate drives to the house and is set below. Some farm cottages stand to the SW of the site and originally housed workers. A large mill dam can still be found adjacent to the farmhouse and was fed from a stream running down the hill to the south. The sluice is still operational and would have been used to power a threshing mill in the stead below. Although many farms had such dams, many have been in-filled; this one even retains its original 19th century shape. To the east of the farmhouse is the walled garden, which would have provided fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers for the farm. The gatepiers of the farm are of the same design as those in parts of the Traquair estate. The farmhouse was popular in the early 20th century with MPs who would use the building as a place to retreat for holidays. Listed as good (though altered) example of a Borders farmhouse with historical links to Traquair House and Estate.

External Links

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