Stables, Cawder House, Cadder, Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire

Description

Early to mid 18th century, remodelled early 19th century by David Hamilton. Courtyard plan stable complex, comprising original 3-bay, 2-storey stable and hayloft with flanking single storey carriage houses to N range; early 19th century, single storey stores to W range; cottage to SW and carriage houses to SE of S range; cottage to E range (derelict, 2004). Classical detailing to exterior of N range, facing Cawder House and driveway. Roughly coursed rubble; raised ashlar strip margins and quoins to heavily pointed 19th century ranges. Raised, V-jointed ashlar quoins, raised ashlar margins, advanced ashlar base and eaves courses, moulded cornice, Gibbs-surround carriage doors, round-arched keystoned door architraves to N range.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION (STABLES AND CARRIAGE HOUSES): round-arched doorways to left and right bays of stable; advanced keystone and imposts; short, square windows to 3 bays of upper floor, now blocked (central window shortened, formerly loading door to hayloft). Gibbs-surround, blind carriage doors to flanking carriage houses; modern timber doorway with flanking windows to centre of E carriage door (entrance to club shop). N (COURTYARD) ELEVATION: 3 bays. Plain doorways to outer bays of stable; square windows off-centre above doorways; central loading door at central upper floor; shortened slightly to window; all windows blind. Late 20th century, single storey extension to E carriage house rear. W carriage house demolished; only N wall remains; stone forestair to W side of stable block.

E ELEVATION (COTTAGE, BOUNDARY WALL AND CARRIAGE HOUSE): 5-bay, L-plan cottage to left (E-facing wing to centre); L-plan boundary wall, forming square garden in re-entrant angle of cottage. 4 bays to main cottage; single window to far left (possibly later); blocked, ashlar infilled window to right with small, rectangular light above (also blind). Single window to centre right bay; infill to former doorway with raised concrete margins. Window to far right; later, tall projecting chimney to left (red brick base with concrete block above). 4 bays to outshot reveal (S facing, into walled garden); single window to left; doorway to right with flanking, short windows to upper part of door. Ruins of outhouse to NE corner of walled garden. Heavily pointed random rubble boundary wall to right side of E elevation with gateway to courtyard; tall, square-plan ashlar gatepiers with rounded corners and round topped, square caps. Boundary wall meets E façade of S range to far right; single, late 20th century window to façade. E (COURTYARD) ELEVATION: 5-bay cottage to right side of range; boundary wall with gateway to left. Central doorway to cottage with large flanking windows, further window to far right; blind opening to far left. Boundary wall set back to NE corner of cottage.

S ELEVATION (COTTAGE AND CARRIAGE HOUSES): 9 bays. Central raised, ashlar bay with wide, segmental-arched pend leading to courtyard; slightly raised eaves level. 4-bay cottage to left; wooden, advanced gabled porch to 2nd bay; windows to remaining bays. 4 bays to right of central passage; carriage doors (smaller than central passage) to 2 left hand bays; sliding timber boarded door to doorway to right with window to far right. S (COURTYARD) ELEVATION: segmental-arched pend to centre with single, square window to right (window shortened from former rectangular opening); 3 bays infilled to right.

W ELEVATION (STORES AND CARRIAGE HOUSE): ruinous wall of carriage house to far left; 4-bay range to right. Single window to far left of range; doorway with flanking windows to far right (now largely overgrown and obscured, 2004). Adjoining plain W elevation of N courtyard range to right. W (COURTYARD) ELEVATION: 6-bay range. Doorway to bay to far left with 2 large double doorways to right; rectangular window to penultimate bay right with flanking doorways. Gable to right renovated and rendered; raised eaves height with late 20th century skews. Ruin of carriage house to right of range.

INTERIOR: central stable to N derelict and roofless (2004); some evidence of internal partitioning to walls. Carriage house to E converted to golf shop mid-to-late 20th century. Cottage to E inhabited until late 20th century; currently derelict (2004). S and W ranges, not seen (2004).

Statement of Interest

A-group listing, also including Cawder House, Cawder Lodge, Cawder Dovecot, Cawder Bridge, Cawder Icehouse and the lodge at 2 Cadder Road, Bishopbriggs. Cawder Stables are an important group of farm and stable buildings lying to the immediate SE of Cawder House. The buildings show a contrast between two building phases which together form the courtyard. The stables first appear in this place on Richardson's map of 1795 in a N-facing, U-plan arrangement, part of which has been retained as the N range. On Forrest's 1816 map, the stables have changed to a courtyard plan, the E, S and W ranges probably having been added during the contemporary improvements to the estate carried out by David Hamilton. Hamilton was one of Scotland's most prolific and popular architects of the time, his major works including the Royal Exchange in Glasgow (1827-1832), Hamilton Palace (now demolished) and Hutcheson's Hospital (1802-1805). Charles Stirling (owner and benefactor of Cawder House) was an enthusiastic patron of his work, and prior to taking ownership of Cawder, Stirling had commissioned Hamilton to build his previous mansion, Kenmure House (now demolished, on the site of Bishopbriggs Golf Club to the SW of Cawder). Hamilton then executed the Cawder Estate improvements between 1813 and 1815, before returning to Cadder again in 1825 to build Cadder Parish Church. Of the four ranges, the N range is particularly interesting, as it shows a contrast between the classical detailing applied to the N elevation, the public façade which would be seen by those arriving by carriage up the driveway, and the S façade where the classical detailing disappears from the doorways, being more utilitarian in nature. Additional, later buildings to the S and SE of the courtyard have since been abandoned and largely removed, with only the shell of one cottage surviving to the S. Today (2004) the stable ranges to the S and W continue to be used by Cawder Golf Club as greenkeepers accommodation and stores for lawnmowers etc, whilst the cottage to the E range is abandoned, and in a state of considerable disrepair, having been lived in by a greekeeper as recently as the late 20th century. The carriage house on the NE corner of the courtyard has been renovated (mid-to-late 20th century) and is in use as the professional's shop. The mixed usage of the name Cawder and Cadder to describe the house, village and estate can be a source of some confusion. In the ancient maps of Richardson and Forrest, the parish is marked as 'Cadder' (the parish being one of the original 365 designated parishes), whilst the House and estate are marked as 'Calder'. The use of 'Calder' has since disappeared, and until the early 20th century the estate, village and parish were all refered to as Cadder. The use of the name Cawder was adopted by the golf club and this has since become the most common name for the House and its related estate, whilst the village and parish have continued to be called Cadder. These changes in name and spelling have been put down to gradual changes in dialect and pronunciation through time.

Cawder Stables are of particulary note for their proximity to the Antonine Wall, which passes E-W across the Cawder Estate, to the S of the Stables. They lie within the amenity zone for the Antonine Wall recommended in D N Skinner The Countryside of the Antonine Wall (1973), and which will form the basis of the buffer zone, yet to be defined, for the proposed Antonine Wall World Heritage Site.

External Links

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