Farmhouse, Home Farm, Glen Tanar House, Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside, Aberdeenshire

Description

George Truefitt, circa 1880. U-plan farmhouse range with ancillary structure to N; cattle court and granary range to SW of farmhouse, with adjacent implement shed; H-plan range of ancillary structures to SW of cattle court with further ancillary structure to NW and NE. Squared and snecked granite, rough-faced dressings finely finished to margins; coursed rough-faced granite to farmhouse. Sloping cills; long and short dressings and quoins; crowstepped gables.

FARMHOUSE RANGE

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-storey and attic, 3-bay farmhouse, small-pane glazed timber door to centre of ground floor flanked to right by window, windows to centre and right bay of 1st floor; projecting tripartite window to ground floor of bay to left, through 1st floor, 2 windows, to crowstepped gable with spherical finial; windows to left return.

NE ELEVATION: farmhouse obscured by adjoining range. Single storey, 6-bay range, openings breaking eaves; boarded timber door with single pane fanlight to 3rd bay from right, 2 windows to flanking bays to left, window to flanking bay to right; pyramidal-roofed timber ventilator with fishscale slates and decorative ironwork thistle finial to ridge of bay to outer left; blank slightly recessed bay to outer right. 2 coped ridge stacks, wallhead stack to outer right, circular cans. Right return blank with coped wall advanced to left. Left return not seen 1999.

NW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 3-bay farmhouse. 2-storey porch addition with dividing band course to centre, boarded timber door with stained glass panels, flanked to left by single widow, stained glass window to 1st floor, windows to right return. Window to 1st floor of flanking bay to right; 2 canted dormers to attic floor with 2-pane skylight to centre. Piend-roofed to 2-storey, 2-bay addition to left; bipartite window to right bay at ground and 1st floors, window to ground floor of bay to left, flanked by boarded timber door with glazed panel, window to 1st floor above. Adjoining range to outer left, irregular fenestration to right return; piend-roofed garage advanced to NW with convex-shouldered doorway, 2-leaf boarded timber door.

SW ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; gabled.

Predominantly replacement timber casement windows with top hoppers, some timber sash and case windows. Graded grey slate roof. Coped gablehead stacks with decorative caps; coped wallhead stack to NW addition with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods in places.

INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

ANCILLARY STRUCTURE: single storey, rectangular-plan structure to N of farmhouse range, doorways flanked by tripartite horizontal openings; fishscale banded piended roof with glazed and corrugated fibreglass plastic skylights; coped boundary wall extends to NE and SW.

CATTLE COURT AND GRANARY RANGE INCLUDING IMPLEMENT SHED

NW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 6-bay. 4-bay granary block stepped-up to right; 2-leaf boarded timber door below eaves to centre, flanked to left and right by bipartite openings at ground floor level and tripartite openings above; 3-light segmental arched window below crowsteps to outer right. 3-bay block to left; 2-leaf boarded sliding door breaking eaves in catslide roof, pyramidal ventilator to ridge above; 2-leaf boarded timber door breaking eaves with piended roof to flanking bay to left; boarded timber opening breaking eaves with piended roof to flanking bay right; skylight to outer left.

SW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 6-bay; 5-bay addition under swept down roof to left; broad opening to centre breaking eaves in catslide roof, flanked to left by infilled doorway and bipartite window, flanked to right by 2 bipartite windows, 3-pane skylight; curved coped boundary wall extends from outer left angle to form enclosure in front of elevation. Gabled shelter advanced to right, with boarded timber gable, right return blank.

SE ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 8-bay. 3-bay granary block stepped-up to left, 2-light bipartite windows to centre and left bays of ground floor, boarded timber sliding door to bay to right; large fan to centre above; band of 8 boarded openings below eaves; hexagonal ventilator to ridge. 2-bay block advanced to centre, obscuring corrugated-roofed infill; horizontal windows to ground floor, piend roofed 4-pane horizontal dormers to attic, flanked by skylights; jerkin-headed roof with coped ridge stack; crowstepped wall to outer right and left, wall extends to far left; boarded timber door flanked to left and right by bipartite windows and cattle court to right of right return. 3-bay recessed block to outer right, boarded timber door to centre bay flanked to left by quadripartite window; bowed bay advanced to flanking bay to right, glazed panelled timber door to centre, flanked to left and right by bipartite leaded windows, decorative finial to apex.

NE ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-bay. Gabled bay to right, 2-light bipartite window off-centre to left of ground floor of bay to right, large boarded opening to centre of gablehead flanked to left and right by 2 small boarded openings, wallhead stack to left; bipartite window to centre of bay to left, bowed to outer left (see above).

Predominantly timber single pane pivoting windows. Variety of roofing patterns, mainly purple-grey slate piended with fishscale banding and lead ridges. Variety of coped granite wallhead and ridge stacks, with decorative caps. Cast-iron rainwater goods in places.

INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

IMPLEMENT SHED: to N of cattle court and granary range; piend-roofed, granite rubble implement shed with boarded timber sliding doors; rough-faced supporting columns; timber partitions walls. Graded slate roof. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

ANCILLARY STRUCTURES

Single storey, 3-bay, rectangular-plan structure to SE of cattle court and granary range; small piend-roofed, rectangular-plan block; rough-faced, squared and snecked granite; tripartite window in gable breaking eaves to NW, flanked by 2 boarded timber doors; band of windows to SE, flanked to right by addition. Purple-grey slate roof with fishscale banding, timber ventilator.

Single storey and attic, rectangular-plan structure to SW of cattle court range, attached to single storey bock by covered walkway, forming H-plan; irregular fenestration, corrugated fibreglass and glazed skylights.

Single storey, rectangular-plan block to NW of previous structure, irregular door and window openings; piended grey slate roof; tall octagonal coped stack breaking pitch to NE.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: variety of rough-faced coped boundary walls and steps; square-plan piers and gatepiers with semi-spherical caps.

Statement of Interest

The Glen Tanar Estate was originally a deer forest which was part of the Aboyne Castle Estate. In 1869 Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, a Manchester banker and MP, bought the estate from the 10th Marquis of Huntly. He employed Thomas Mawson to layout the garden and estate, George Truefitt as architect, and 250 masons to construct the buildings, built of granite quarried locally. Truefitt designed a variety of quirky, originally detailed buildings including the Farm Offices, Estate Craft Workshops, Garaging, Stables, Storehouses and Game Larder, Cottages, Kennels and Home Farm itself. The presence of buildings (called Bellastreen) on the same site on the 1st Edition OS Map suggests that Truefitt was in some cases demolishing, altering or adding to existing buildings. The home farm is particularly unusual, combining many of the details seen throughout the estate.

External Links

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