Description

John Alexander Carfrae, circa 1907. 2-storey, 3-bay Arts and Crafts rectangular-plan house. Rendered; stone cills; ashlar dormer heads. Mansard gable and dormers; long square windows to ground floor; bellcast canted window to 1st floor. Panelled drawing room is of note (see Notes).

E (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: central timber panelled door with 2 small heart-shaped lights; flanking square windows (3-lights to vestibule left, 4-lights to dining room right). 4-light square window to drawing room set back to far left. Mansard gable with 3-light bellcast canted window to 1st floor right; 2 breaking eaves mansard-shaped dormers to left. Single-storey modern flat-roofed extension to right (former surgery).

N ELEVATION: single-storey modern flat-roofed extension to left (former surgery).

W (REAR) ELEVATION: central lean-to timber entrance porch with 2 windows, door to right return; window to left; small window to right; tripartite window to far right. 1st floor window set in mansard gable; 2 shallow lead-roofed dormer windows to right.

S ELEVATION: wide squared and splayed shaped gable; ground floor window to right; 2 bipartite 1st floor windows.

Predominantly 6-pane sash and case and casement windows with horns (some lower sash glazing bars removed and double glazing inserted into original timber frames). Mansard and platformed roof; grey slates; flat-headed ashlar skews; coped rendered S gablehead stack; circular clay cans.

INTERIOR: vestibule: oak-panelled. Drawing room: original African oak panelling (with some English oak replacement panels) to picture rail height; neo-Renaissance oak chimneypiece; yellow earthenware tile surround inset with tiles of Chinese figures; plasterwork relief of Tree of Life above fireplace; moulded cyma recta cornice. Dining room: original fireplace with slender oak chimneypiece, turquoise tile surround inset with 4 yellow-ground pink chrysanthemum tiles. Attenuated brass door furniture to vestibule and principal rooms.

Statement of Interest

This house was built for the Grant family of publishers circa 1907 and was provided with a fine drawing room interior which remains as it was originally designed. According to the present owner, this interior was designed with the input of an interior designer - a profession that was newly emerging at the turn of the 20th century. An article promoting the house's good design appeared in the Lady Magazine of 1911 (reference not found). Early photographs were taken prior to the Grants leaving the house in 1917 and can be viewed at the NMRS. Edinburgh architect, John Carfrae (1868-1947), specialised in schools and some of his most significant were Leith Academy Annexe (1903), Boroughmuir School (1911) and Tolcross School (1911).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77779085

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

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)