Description

Later 19th century. 2-storey, attic and roof terrace, 2-bay, T-plan gabled villa. Tooled, coursed pink granite with ladder snecking to N elevation; granite rubble to remainder; tooled dressings, finely finished to margins. Battered base to N; decorative ironwork finials to apex of N gables; overhanging eaves with timber barge boards.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gableted porch advanced to centre of ground floor, with decorative king-post piercing, pointed-arched stop-chamfered doorway with 2 granite steps, flanked by iron bell-pull, pointed-arched rib-panelled timber door, pointed-arched diamond-pane window to right return, 4-pane window above porch to right; roof swept down to 1st and attic floors of centre, tripartite gableted dormer to attic. 4-light canted window to ground floor of flanking bay to right, forming balcony to piend-roofed tripartite window breaking eaves at 1st floor. Bipartite window to ground floor of bay to left, under slate-roofed canopy with decorative timber brackets, tripartite window to 1st floor above. Circular tower adjoining to outer left angle, 2 windows to ground and 2 to 1st floors, conical fishscale tiled roof with weathercock finial to apex.

W ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 3-bay; gabled bay advanced to left, gableted porch advanced to left of ground floor with window to left return, 4-pane window above porch to right, window to right return of bay; window to ground floor of centre bay, bipartite stained glass window to attic, with catslide roof; tripartite window to ground floor of flanking bay to right, gableted window breaking eaves to 1st floor.

S ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-bay; gabled bay advanced to left with lean-to addition to ground floor, timber door to left return, 2-pane skylights to roof; 4-pane window off-centre to left above lean-to. Decorative gableted window to 1st floor of bay to right, breaking eaves; tripartite dormer with catslide roof to centre of attic floor.

E ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2 gabled bays; window off-centre to left of ground floor of bay to right, tower adjoining to outer right (see above); 6-pane window off-centre to right of ground floor of bay to left, 4-light canted oriel window with dentil-moulded cornice off-centre to right of 1st floor, 6-pane window set in gablehead of attic floor.

Variety of small-pane timber sash and case and casement windows. Green-grey slate roof with lead ridge. Coped granite gablehead, wallhead and ridge stacks with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 1999.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND ANCILLARY STRUCTURE: harl-pointed granite rubble boundary walls with rubble coping. Boarded timber ancillary structure set in wall to SW of house, 2-leaf large timber door, grey slate roof with rosemary tiled roof.

Statement of Interest

Birsemore is a small settlement on the slope of Birsemore Hill on the S bank of the River Dee. The Alt Dinnie Burn runs to the W of the settlement, over what Dinnie describes as "good granite.....of similar colour to that of Peterhead" (p44). The remains of at least one quarry on the hill suggest that perhaps this was one reason for the development of this southern suburb of Aboyne. Cairnrobin is one of the more unusually detailed "well-built villas" (3rd Statistical Account p420) overlooking the Dee. The iron finials, pierced timber and oriel window being among its finest features.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77773689

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
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  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
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  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings