Description

Late 19th century Cowdray Club adjoining No 1 Fonthill Road, Duncan McMillan, 1874. 2-storey, basement and attic, 5-bay former Nursing Club, with later additions and alterations, including 1927 additions by Kelly and Nicol, architects. Tooled coursed grey granite ashlar with contrasting white granite long and short dressings, finely finished to margins. Rough-faced basement with segmental-arched windows; white granite band course; eaves course; overhanging eaves course; piend-roofed dormers to attic floor.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; 3-storey and basement and attic entrance bay slightly advanced to centre, stone steps, oversailing basement, up to pilastered, segmental pedimented doorpiece, panelled timber door, flanked to left and right by single pane narrow windows; tripartite window in hoodmould above with leaded glass; gableted bipartite window breaking eaves to 2nd floor, small corbelled balcony with decorative iron railings, blind shield set in gablehead; small dormer windows set in platformed pyramidal spire with iron brattishing. Gabled bay to right, 2 windows to basement floor, regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors, shouldered bipartite window set in gablehead of attic floor. 2 segmental-arched windows flanked to left by doorway to basement of bay to left; regular fenestration to ground and 1st floors, 2-light dormer with shouldered windows to attic floor. 2-storey and attic, 3-bay 1927 harled addition with finely finished granite margins adjoining main block to left, architraved granite Cowdray emblem to centre, flanked to left and right by bipartite windows, 3 regularly spaced windows to 1st floor, 3 rectangular dormers to attic floor. Gabled 2-storey and attic, single bay later 20th century harled addition adjoining to left. Flat-roofed porch advanced to ground floor, with decorative doorpiece and panelled timber door, bipartite window to right return; tripartite window to 1st floor; bipartite window to 2nd floor; blind shield set in gablehead. No 1 Fonthill Road: Duncan McMillan, 1874, 2-storey, attic and basement, 2-bay granite house now adjoining Cowdray Club to far left, regular fenestration, canted dormers with modern infill to attic floor.

W ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-bay; flat-roofed addition advanced to ground floor of bay to left, bipartite window flanked to left and right by single window at basement and ground floors, bipartite and single windows to left return, doorway to right return; tripartite window to recessed bay at 1st floor, window to right return, dormer to attic floor; canted porch to re-entrant angle to right, stone steps to 2-leaf panelled and glazed central doorway, flanked to left and right by single windows, second doorway adjoining to outer right; gabled recessed by to 1st floor, with single window off-centre to right and blind tablet set in gablehead.

S ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; 3-bay; window to each floor of centre bay; dormer to attic with shouldered window, modern window addition to right of centre bay at basement; gableted window 4-light window through basement ground and 1st floors, of flanking bays to left and right, forming balcony to segmental-arched window set in gablehead, decorative iron railings. 3-bay 1927 addition adjoining to right, bipartite windows to ground floor, regularly placed windows to 1st floor, rectangular dormers to attic, later 20th century bay to outer right obscured 1999. Canted window through ground and 1st floors of No 1 Fonthill Road adjoining to far right, remainder not seen 1999.

E ELEVATION: predominantly obscured by later additions terminating with No 1 Fonthill Road: asymmetrical; gabled; former entrance porch advanced to left, window to centre of ground floor, former segmental-arched doorway to right return with hoodmould, now window, window to 1st floor above; single window to ground floor of flanking bay to right.

Predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case windows. Piended grey slate roof with lead ridges. Corniced ridge and gablehead stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: low granite ashlar boundary wall to N, granite rubble wall with rough-faced coping swept down to W.

Statement of Interest

The Cowdray Club was formerly the College of Nursing Club owned by Viscountess Cowdray, and is now a nursing home. Despite the later additions the main block survives intact, the central entrance bay being particularly fine.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77776628

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.

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