Elrig House Terrace Garden, Mochrum, Dumfries and Galloway

Description

Stewart and Paterson, 1912 (dated). Scots 17th century vernacular Arts and Crafts country house. 2-storey and attic. Truncated H-plan. Symmetrical elevation to S, balanced near-symmetrical elevation to N. Decoratively packed and pinned random rubble, Cyclopean at intervals. Dressed granite lintels and cills. Rubble eaves course. Rounded angles. Wall plane slightly advanced above ground floor on gabled jambs and tower. Timber doors with wrought-iron door furniture, some studded and some with bull's-eye panes set in. Slate-hung cat-slide dormer windows. Coped crowstepped gables. Steeply pitched roofs.

N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 7 bays at centre; gabled jamb advanced to right, and 2-storey piend-roofed wing advanced to left, with semi-circular tower in re-entrant angle. Central bays: gabled porch at centre, with red sandstone ashlar coped skews, roll skewputts,

block finial, and projecting blockish tablet over broad 2-leaf door to N; small windows to returns of porch; door set on chamfered re-entrant angle to outer right, window in 1st bay, and flanking 7th bay to left at ground floor; 2 windows flanking porch in both 3rd and 5th bays; full-length stair window in 2nd bay; stair window at 1st floor in 3rd bay; triangular dormerheads to alternate windows, in 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th bays, at 1st floor; small square windows in 4th and 6th bays at 1st floor; 3 regularly spaced dormer windows. Gabled jamb: window at centre at ground floor; window, with elongated cill, in gablehead; blank inner return. tower; window to both floors to NW, 2 small windows at eaves to N and W; concial roof. Wing to E: 2 windows at ground floor and cat-slide dormer window at 1st floor to W return; N elevation gabled to left, with window to left of centre at 1st floor and flight-holes in gablehead, and 2 windows to both floors to right, with wallhead stack between.

S (GARDEN) ELEVATION: 5 bays at centre, with gabled jambs advanced to left and right. Central bays: narrow doors to outer right and set on chamfered re-entrant angle to outer left; large windows at ground floor, centre window with ashlar blockish keystoned lintel and small

panel below cill, inscribed "Nisi Domi Nus Frustra NCMXII AM MM"; alternate triangular and keel-shaped dormerheads to windows at 1st floor, spaced 1-3-1, with central 3 windows set in slightly recessed panel and outer 2 windows set in slightly advanced panels, 5 regularly

spaced dormer windows. Gabled jambs: 2 windows at ground floor; window at centre at 1st floor; window, with elongated cill, in gablehead; window at 1st floor to inner returns. Gabled and crowstepped loggia adjoined to angle to outer right; round-arched opening to W; 3 open

bays to S, divided by circular piers, and with low walls to outer bays; harled lean-to, with corrugated sheeting roof, adjoined to E.

W ELEVATION: tripartite window, with relieving arch over, to left of centre at ground floor; windows to left and right. 3 windows to left and left of centre, and window to right at 1st floor; 3 dormer windows, spaced 2-1. Section of wall adjoined to right, crow-stepped over

round-arched gateway.

E ELEVATION: small window to right of centre and 2 windows to right and window to left at 1st floor; 2 dormer windows. Single storey range adjoined to left and 2-storey, with 1st floor breaking eaves, range adjoined to right, forming inner court with former vehicle house to

left to E; large round-arched opening into court to right to E. Former motor house, with 2, now partly block and glazed, segmental arches to N, and rubble forestair to 1st floor to E. Variety of small-pane glazing; 8-pane 2-light timber casement windows, with 8-pane lights

over, to central bays at ground floor to S; mainly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; 9-pane fixed glazing to dormer windows. Crowstepped gables; crowsteps built of small stones covered over with thin stone slab. Slate-coped rubble stacks; ridge to outer left and right; tall stack to right of centre on S pitch; gablehead to right and wallhead, stepped at base, to wing to left to N; ridge between pitches to E. Small purple slates.

INTERIOR: much original woodwork. Wrought-iron door furniture and window fittings. Groin-vaulted hall.

TERRACE GARDEN: rectangular-plan formal terrace garden to S. Rubble walls, with flat rubble coping. Flight of steps at centre to S. Rounded angles to SE and SW, containing stone-flagged seats to garden. Random-rubble flagged paths radiating from pond, with rubble parapet, at centre. Raised terrace, with rubble wall and steps to either side, between advanced gables of house. Iron sculpture of eagle, set on red sandstone pedestal, to right of house to N.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: drystone rubble boundary walls; square rubble conical-capped drum piers, surmounted by rounded boulder finials; timber gate.

Statement of Interest

The House of Elrig was the birthplace of Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969), the author and naturalist. The house was built by Maxwell's parents, Aymer and Lady Mary Maxwell. In his autobiographical account, THE HOUSE OF ELRIG, Gavin Maxwell gives an evocative description of the House of Elrig as "a rugged house of the raw grey stone of grey Galloway".

He states that his "mother was her own architect, and both stone and slate were quarried within a hundred yards of the site", in true Arts and Crafts manner. The crowsteps were executed in the style which is peculiar to Galloway, picked up earlier by Park and Schultz at Old Place of Mochrum.

External Links

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