Kirklea (former Morton parish manse), Manse Road, Thornhill, Mid and Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway

Description

Dated 1847, Kirklea is an irregular-plan, two-storey former parish manse, possibly designed by Burn and Bryce. It is constructed in snecked, stugged and squared rubble with polished dressings and Tudor-style hoodmoulds around the window and door openings. The property is located at the northeastern extent of the village of Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway.

The principal (southwest) elevation is four bays wide with a wide gabled bay at right and two bays to the left with gabled dormer heads. The open entrance porch is set within an advanced gabled bay and has an entrance door with fanlight and sidelights.

The southeast elevation has a door leading out onto a patio area and two pedimented dormers breaking the roof eaves. The northwest elevation has an advanced gable on the right-hand side and a single-storey and attic wing adjoining the northeast elevation (currently in use as a garage).

The windows are predominantly sash and case windows with two-pane glazing. The roof is covered with graded slates and the house has stepped skews and moulded skewputts. There are moulded finials atop the dormer windows and gable apexes. The chimneystacks have grouped, square flues.

The interior has some decorative features dating from the 19^th century, such as moulded cornicing in the principal rooms, timber window shutters, some timber wainscoting and timber panelled doors. There are some decorative fire surrounds, some of which are replacements. The curved timber staircase has a polished and coiled timber handrail. The layout comprises principal rooms on either side of a central hallway with a curved staircase to the rear.

There is a large, rubble-built walled garden and byre to the northeast of the house. The walled garden has an opening in the southeast wall and follows the sweep of the drive around the rear of the property. The single-storey byre range is constructed in snecked sandstone rubble and its southwest wall is incorporated into the northeast wall of the walled garden. The byre is 6 bays wide with timber doors, some are two-panel stable doors. The byre has ventilation slits in the southwest elevation. The roof is covered in corrugated sheeting with three rooflights in each roof pitch. Internally, the byre has white-washed walls and exposed timber rafters and purlins. The former associated L-plan steading (now known as Kirkwood Steading) is east of the walled garden (it was excluded from the listing in 2021 because the loss of historic fabric and the level of alteration affected its overall interest in listing terms).

The vehicular access to the Kirklea is flanked by curving, quadrant walls constructed in ashlar sandstone with rounded coping stones. The walls have a pair of square gatepiers with pyramidal caps at either end and decorative iron gates. Accessed by a sweeping driveway, the former manse is surrounded by mature trees and bushes and is largely shielded from Manse Road.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: Kirkwood Steading.

Historical development

Thornhill is a planned village that was laid out on a grid-plan in 1717 on the Queensberry estate. The main road through the village historically linked Dumfries to Glasgow.

The original Morton Kirk and manse were built in 1781 and are shown on Crawford's 1804 map of Dumfriesshire. These were replaced by the present church, manse and steading, which were built closer to Thornhill, between 1841 and 1847 (New Statistical Account, p.100).

The Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1848-58 describes the current Morton parish church as commodious with a manse and glebe attached (OS1/10/40/1A). The church opened for service on 10^th October 1841 and the patron was the Duke of Buccleuch (OS1/10/40/96). The manse was constructed around the same time as the church and the current listed building record notes the manse is dated 1847.

The 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1856 shows the church on the south side of the road and the manse and L-plan steading on the other side of the road to the east of Thornhill village. A walled garden and incorporated rectangular-plan byre range is shown between the manse and the L-plan steading (which is excluded from the listing). The 2^nd Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1898 shows the footprint of the manse, walled garden and steading block remained largely the same until the early 20^th century. A fire in 1904 affected the rear (northwest) section of the manse and the footprint changed from an asymmetrical, U-shaped plan form to a roughly L-shaped plan form (Edinburgh Evening News).

Kirklea and the associated walled garden and byre is privately owned (2022) and is in separate ownership to the former agricultural steading building associated with the former parish manse. This steading, Kirkwood Steading, was converted into a separate, private dwelling in the early 21st century (and was excluded from the listing in January 2021).

Statement of Interest

Kirklea (the former Morton Parish Manse) and its associated walled garden and byre meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

The historic setting of the former manse and historic glebe has been largely retained and together the manse, walled garden and byre are a good surviving historic group of mid-19^th century ecclesiastical and agricultural buildings.

Kirklea is a good example of its building type as a large, well-detailed former manse designed in a restrained Tudor-style with a large walled garden and byre.

The walled garden and incorporated byre are largely unaltered in terms of plan form and it remains intervisible with the former manse and the excluded L-plan steading to the east.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: Kirkwood Steading.

Architectural interest:

Design

The size and scale of Kirklea indicate it was a house of some status in the parish, such as a manse, designed with a family area, service accommodation and large walled garden and steading for working the glebe. The property's restrained, well-proportioned Tudor style is of interest and is particularly evident in its good stonework detailing, including hoodmoulds over the openings, pedimented dormer heads, finial decoration and stepped gables. The front elevation has an open porch and the entrance door has decorative sidelights and fanlight which adds further interest to the design of the building.

Manses were typically large, often with attic floors and lower wings to accommodate the family and staff of the minister. The single-storey and attic section to the rear (northeast) of the building is stylistically plainer and was likely designed as service accommodation. The architect of Kirklea is unknown, but it may have been designed by Burn and Bryce.

Together with the walled garden and rectangular-plan byre range, Kirklea largely retains its mid-19^th century footprint and appears little altered externally since that shown on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1856). The plan form is typical for its building type with large reception rooms arranged around a central hallway and stair on the ground floor. Interior decorative features such as timber panelling, moulded cornicing and the sweeping staircase are standard for rural manses, however the survival of these 19^th century fixtures and fittings adds to the building's interest.

Kirklea is detached from the steading and the principal elevation is crucially turned away from the walled garden and workings of the former glebe. This reflects the social status of a minister in the 19^th century, with the minister having a level of detachment from the work of the glebe itself. The size and scale of Kirklea and its walled garden and related steading indicates the wealth of Morton parish at the time of construction.

The lack of substantial later alteration to Kirklea, especially to the building's principal elevation, contributes to its special interest which largely retains its mid-19^th century form and character for a rural parish manse.

Setting

Kirklea and the walled garden and attached byre are important historic components of Morton parish church and, together with Kirkwood Steading, they form a historic group of ecclesiastical buildings. Prominently located at the northeastern edge of the village of Thornhill, the former manse and associated buildings largely retain their semi-rural setting, set back from the road.

The survival of the walled garden and byre range, and the detached steading demonstrates how the historic glebe was functionally and historically related to the manse, both as an ancillary component of the parish church and as a portion of land assigned to the parish minister in addition to his stipend. Their layout and proximity to each other aids our understanding of the operation of a parish manse and its associated glebe.

Historic maps and current aerial images show the manse surrounded by trees with a walled garden between the manse and the steading. The byre range incorporated into the garden wall is close to the L-plan steading and faces away from the front elevation of the house. This highlights the importance of the manse and the social status of the minister, as having a level of detachment from the working of the glebe and animal husbandry.

The immediate setting of the former manse is largely unchanged since that shown on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1856, with the walled garden, byre and former steading (excluded from the listing) remaining in situ. Kirklea is intervisible with the walled garden, byre and steading, and this functional association and historic setting is important in listing terms. The wider setting has been altered by the additional of late-20^th century housing across the road to the south, however this is not unusual for an expanding village.

Historic interest:

Age and rarity

Manses are not a rare building type as every parish was required to provide a house for its minister. The former manse, walled garden and byre and steading date from 1847 and were constructed to replace an older manse and parish church that were no longer fit for purpose. While manses are not rare, they are often buildings of relative prominence in their communities. Kirklea, while typically simple in its design, is well-detailed and retains its historic character and mid-19^th century appearance. While not considered to be rare, it is a good surviving example of a large rural parish manse and is an integral component of a group of related former ecclesiastical buildings.

Kirkwood Steading was excluded from the listing in 2021 because the degree of change to the steading had an adverse impact on the authenticity and historic character of this particular building. However, it still remains an important visual ancillary component of the former manse.

Social historical interest

Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.

Manses are common building types in Scotland, and they all have some social historical interest because they are part of the spiritual history of a place. Kirklea is a good survival of a style and form that is typical of manses of this date in Scotland. The survival of the walled garden and byre is of interest as a built reminder of the historical relationship between the manse and its attached glebe.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2022. Previously listed as 'Kirklea (former Morton Parish Manse), excluding Kirkwood Steading, Manse Road, Thornhill'.

External Links

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