Description

Possibly John Rust, circa 1880; later additions and alterations. 2-storey, basement and attic, 6-bay double villa with Jacobean detailing. Tooled coursed grey granite, finely finished to margins at SE elevation; Aberdeen bond granite rubble to remainder. Base course; projecting cills; dividing string course; eaves course; chamfered quoins to NW elevation.

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical; 6-bay mirrored pair of 2 3-bay villas; sunken basement; regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors of 2 central bays; doorways to ground floor of penultimate bays to left and right, panelled timber doors with letterbox fanlights, single window to 1st floor of each, blind tablet between 1st floor windows of each villa, with curvilinear gabled window breaking eaves above at attic floor, stone finials to apexes. Kneelered gables to advanced bays to outer left and right, piend-roofed canted bay through ground and 1st floors, bipartite window with crowstepped pediment set in each gablehead.

NE ELEVATION: gabled; window off-centre to right of 1st floor.

NW ELEVATION: predominantly obscured by 2 modern blocks adjoining to left and right, regular fenestration flanking each; wallhead stepped up to centre of each at attic floor, with window to centre, flanked to left and right by dormers.

SW ELEVATION: gabled; doorway to centre of ground floor, 2 windows to 1st floor, single window centred in gablehead.

Predominantly 4-pane timber sash and case windows. Grey slate roof with lead ridge. Coped skews with blocked skewputts; decoratively profiled skewputts to SE elevation. Corniced gablehead and ridge stacks with octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIORS: cornices survive to 2 Queen's Road; staircase with iron balusters, scrolled brackets, some panelled doors, architraves, cornices and some friezes survive to 4 Queen's Road.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: square-plan ashlar gatepiers to SE with pyramidal caps (shared with adjacent properties); low coped granite wall between; granite coped rubble walls to remainder.

Statement of Interest

From the beginning of the 19th century Aberdeen rapidly expanded westwards from Union Street. 2 and 4 Queen's Road is part of the later 19th century development W of Queen's Cross. Queen's Road is on the site of Skene Road, which was originally surrounded by the estate of Rubislaw. In 1877 Rubislaw Estate was bought by the City of Aberdeen Land Association, who re-aligned the road and sold off the estate in smaller plots. Streets became wider and villas with substantial gardens often replaced terraces. Prestigious architects, such as John Rust (the City Architect), were often employed to produce bold and unusual designs to reflect the wealth and individuality of the clients. Features of particular note at 2 and 4 Queen's Road include the kneelered and curvilinear gables and highly decorative skewputts. Currently in commercial use.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56625417

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

• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)