Mount House, Dundonald Road, Kilmarnock, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire

Description

1793 with later alterations and additions. 2-storey with attic and basement, 3-bay classical villa made Italianate by addition of circa 1900 3-stage tower as 4th bay; further single storey bay pavilion to left and 1930's 6-bay addition to right. Pebble-dashed with ashlar dressings. Cill course at ground floor, dividing band course and cornice with blocking course to main house, cornices above ground floor to tower and pavilion, former continuing eaves cornice of earlier house, distinguishing towerhead with overhanging eaves.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: tetrastyle porch addition with entablature to slightly advanced centre of 3-bay original house; keystoned door surround behind; pediment above; regular fenestration above and in flanking bays, pair of attic dormers flanking central bay. Single storey pavilion to left, slightly advanced with 4-light window with swag and tail detailing above and grotesque face label-stops under cornice, stone balustrade surmounting with corner dies. Tower adjoined to right, slightly advanced with 4-light window to front spanning bay at ground with swag and tail detailing above and grotesque face label stops under band course; single segmental pedimented window to second stage and round-arched bipartite to 3rd stage with impost blocks, dentilled under pyramidal roof, 1st and 2nd storeys matching to right return. 2-storey, 2-bay flat-roofed link with windows to right adjoining 6-bay, piend-roofed block with regular fenestration and timber cornice.

W ELEVATION: single storey wing adjoining ground floor and basement right of 3-storey, 3-bay main house, window to remaining bays with 1st floor left bay now blind; pair of attic dormers flanking centre. Attached 2-storey extension set back to left: pend to basement right with narrow bipartite window above to ground floor, further bipartite to left with large tripartite window adjacent; gable end to extreme left with paired windows to ground floor with bipartite window to gablehead with half-timbering above.

N (REAR) ELEVATION: long 2-storey extension adjoining centre of main house: paired slit windows to ground floor, further slit window to extreme right, central window to 1st floor with projecting attic gable with decorative timber bargeboards. Main house: rear wing adjoining to ground floor and basement centre, bay to flanks at each floor; outsized projecting bay to 1st floor centre breaking into triangular gable, regular bay to flanks.

E ELEVATION: gable end of 2-storey extension to right, projecting single storey square-plan extension with arched bay windows and conical roof to left linking house and extension, pair of arched windows to left on projecting ground floor of main house, single window and later fire escape to 1st floor, attic dormer surmounting.

Advanced 1930's 2-storey, 3-bay addition adjoining main house by means of lower 2-storey, 2-bay link to rear.

Mostly 4 or 6-pane upper and plate glass lower timber sash and case windows to main house; 12-pane sash and case to 1930's addition; arch windows to 4th stage of tower; 3-pane upper and plate glass lower timber sash and case windows to rear extension; 12-pane segmental arched light overlooking staircase to rear; pair of 16-pane segmental arched windows to rear adjacent to 4-light bay with lozenge panes. Piended and platformed grey slate roofs. Attic dormers with broken-base segmental pediments and swag and tail detail to S elevation; flat-roofed dormers with slated cheeks to W; canted bay dormer with slated cheeks to E. Painted stone stacks to cross walls and sloped wallhead stack to tower. Later harled narrow canned stacks to rear elevations with projecting stone neck copes. Concealed gutters to main elevation leading to painted cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: fine early 19th century decorative schemes in place and much apparently of late 19th to early 20th century date. Wainscot panelling to hall with barley-sugar timber banisters to stair, with decoratively carved head to newel post. Further wainscot panelling in neighbouring rooms with fluted pilasters flanking ornamental chimney pieces. Fine doors en suite. Arcade screen of timber Ionic columns dividing room and passage. Segmental arches used throughout for recesses, overmantels and openings, often with decorative plasterwork friezes. Room at towerhead with open timber ceiling and inscription tablet with heavily swagged surround and quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson (indicating probable role as nursery around 1900). Canted window with leaded honeycomb glazing to casements in room with 4-centre-arched chimneypiece, dwarf column-flanked overmantel, wainscot panelling to bowed walls and decorative timber ceiling with billet ornament.

RAILINGS: fine wrought-iron railings curved to define entrance court with ashlar dwarf wall and dies. Inter-war wrought-iron lamp standards in front of porch on stone pedestals formerly with globe lamps.

GATEPIERS: to W of house, leading to gardens: pair of ashlar square panelled gatepiers on sloped base with projecting neck copes, cushion caps supporting sloped stalk with ball finials surmounting. To NW of house, leading to informal drive: pair of ashlar square panelled gatepiers on sloped base with projecting neck copes and channelled caps, random rubble walls with flat stone copes adjoining.

Statement of Interest

Dean Castle, Treesbank, Annanhill and Springhill all are noted as being large country residences of landowners but Mount House was never regarded in this context. The house stared off as a relatively small 3-bay villa, which has been greatly extended. There still stands a small house within the grounds to the NW formerly used by a worker on the estate and an informal drive leading to the rear of the house. The main drive was sited on Dundonald Road where a lodge was to be found. The drive continued under the railway embankment and approached the house from the SE. New houses have been built in the grounds S of the railway line. Mount House latterly served as a home for the elderly.

External Links

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