Description

Mid 19th century (c1850). 2-storey, 3-bay rectangular-plan symmetrical villa, with single storey extension to NW. Squared whinstone, rubble to sides and rear. Buff sandstone ashlar dressings. Base course, 1st floor band course, stone-bracketed overhanging eaves. Banded surrounds.

FRONT (SW) ELEVATION: advanced central porch with cast iron balustrade to upper window, arched doorway. Bipartite windows to ground floor. Recessed extension to outer left with tripartite window.

Predominantly lying-pane timber sash and case windows. Tall casement window to centre of front elevation. Shallow-pitch piended slate roof. Corniced wallhead stacks.

INTERIOR: subdivided. Ground floor retains decorative plasterwork and original joinery.

BOUNDARY WALLS: rubble boundary wall with semicircular copes. Dwarf wall with chamfered copes to Abbotsford Road.

Statement of Interest

Pollenca is a good example of a mid-19th century villa, one of the best examples along the north stretch of Abbotsford Road and unusual for its simple classical symmetry, set among a series of largely Gothic villas. Complementing this simple design is the quality of the detail and workmanship evident, particular in the formal use of whinstone, here cut into perfect rectangular blocks and laid as ashlar. The house thus makes a notable contribution to the streetscape of this part of Galashiels.

Abbotsford Road is significant as a collection of houses built for mill-owners and other businessmen who wished to move away from the town centre and is thus an important part of the history of the town, reflecting the growth of the Textile industry through the middle of the 19th century. Later, from the 1860s, the mill-owners moved further afield to the series of more ostentatious houses further south along the road.

The single-storey extension dates to c1930. Pollenca has been subdivided to form an upper and lower flat. The upper flat is accessed by an external stair to the rear.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77779444

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

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)