The Long Croft, Rossdhu Drive, Helensburgh, Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute

Description

A N Paterson, 1901-2. 2-storey over basement, asymmetrical L-plan villa with 17th century Scottish Renaissance details, single storey service wing to E. Harled with polished ashlar dressings. Ashlar margins and mullions to windows.

N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: canted entrance bay breaking eaves with balustraded parapet in re-entrant angle. Doorway with roll-moulded architrave with cavetto moulding surround, boarded door, engraved above 'AD DOM 1902'. Family crest above flanked by inscriptions; cornice acting as cill to bipartite window above with clustered colonnette shafts to angles ending midway at ground floor with corbels of portrait heads of the architect's children. Windows with roll-moulded architrave. Single windows flanking bipartite window on return elevations. Small window on return to left at ground. Square tower joined by narrow single storey link to right; corbelled at 1st floor; eaves course; small windows at ground and at 1st floor below eaves with roll-moulded surround; bellcast lead roof. Taller bay to right with crowstepped gable; mullioned and transomed bow window at ground.

Cornice between ground and 1st floor. Window to left at 1st floor.

Wing to left of entrance bay, corbelled at 1st floor; 3 windows at ground; 3 bipartite dormer windows breaking eaves above, swept roofs. Doorway to outer left, fanlight; narrow transomed window to right. Single storey wing to outer right.

W ELEVATION: 2-bay return to outer left, small windows to basement, window to right at raised ground floor, cornice above, 2 windows breaking eaves above with croketted pediments. Slightly advanced shaped gable bay to right with apex stack, tripartite basement window to right, doorway to left with bipartite window flanking to left. Corbelled balcony above with bombe railing and curved stone stair, doorway to right, bipartite window to left, carved panel above doorway. Corbelled angle turret above, 2 windows with roll-moulded surround, frieze, eaves course, conical slate roof, finial. Window with moulded cornice to centre of gabled bay at 1st floor. Semi-circular-headed dovecot to gablehead with ashlar voussoirs. Large semi-octagonal tower to SW angle corbelled to circular at 1st floor; doorway to basement facing SE, 3 windows at ground and 1st floor, roll-moulded surround to 1st floor windows and cill course, eaves course, conical slate roof.

S ELEVATION: large tower to outer left, main block to right with 3 windows at ground and 3 windows at 1st floor breaking eaves with shaped gables, centre gable dated 1901; moulded cill course. Lower 2-storey wing recessed to outer right with curved bay in re-entrant angle, door facing SE, small window to left with window above at 1st floor. Tripartite window at ground in wing to right; shaped gable to right with dormer window breaking eaves. Single storey service wing to outer right.

E ELEVATION: lop-sided crowstepped gable off-centre right, wallhead stack at apex. Small window to right at 1st floor; bipartite window to left.

Variety of sash and case windows, lead-pane glazing to stair window. Roof decorated with a pattern of purplish-blue Ballachulish and Aberfoyle dark green slates, cast cement ridge; corniced harled stacks; original rainwater goods; thistle style tops to flues. 2 rooflights to N elevation.

INTERIOR: many fine original fixtures and fittings including vestibule with terrazzo tiling; part-glazed vestibute door. Wainscot to hall, dog-leg timber stair with moulded balusters, triple arched screen at ground and 1st floor landing. Wainscot continued into barrel vaulted inner hall; decorative plasterwork to entrance archway and vault ribs; slate chimneypiece with inset porcelain crest, painted overmantle. Drawing room: cove ceiling with decorative floreate plastework by Bankart; chimneypiece with large timber overmantle inset with elaborately worked embroidered panel by Maggie Hamilton; upper sashes in projecting octagon with stained glass by Guthrie and Wells. Large tapestry of Spanish origin on wall opposite (approximately 200 years old). Dining room (former studio): Art Nouveau detailed chimneypiece by George Walton. Morning room (former dining room): timber chimneypiece with decorative overmantle containing ornate enamelled panels. Pantry with original shelves. Stencilled barrel vaulted master bedroom at 1st floor with embroidery work by Maggie Hamilton on the seat and panel adjoining the chimneypiece. Original bathroom fitting and furnishings to en-suite bathroom. Bedroom facing SW: embossed oil painting to overmantle of chimneypiece. Original fittings to main bathroom. Blue tiled Dutch style tiles to nursery chimneypiece.

TERRACE GARDEN TO W: low brick wall, ashlar coped, ball finials, decorative ashlar urn at N angle, steps to lower garden to centre. ENTRANCE GATES AND GARAGE: simple timber gates and flanking fence. Rectangular-plan timber garage adjoining entrance to right, jettied gable above double doors onto Rossdhu Drive, slate roof.

Statement of Interest

Longcroft was built by Paterson for himself, the family crest over the entrance has the initials ANP (Alexander Nisbet Paterson) and MH (his wife Maggie Hamilton) intertwined, the inscription flanking is "A house that God doth oversee is grounded and watched as well as can be - Salve Bene Dicite". It has a fine well preserved Edwardian interior with plasterwork by Bankart, embroidery panels by Maggie Hamilton, chimneypieces by George Walton. The house cost approximately $3,615.

External Links

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