Description

Probably John Thomas Rochead, later 19th century. Single-storey and attic, L-plan, Baronial former gate lodge, with crowstepped gables, steeply pitched roof, and finialled, conical-roofed corner stair tower. Lightly stugged yellow sandstone ashlar with polished dressings. Base course; eaves cornice. Chamfered margins.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: 2-bay principal (Havelock Street) elevation: timber-boarded door in shouldered, double-chamfered margin to right; tripartite bow window with shallow conical roof to left; arrow slit window in gable above. 3 arrow slit windows to gabled W elevation, with twinned, diagonally-aligned gablehead stacks, and single-storey, crenellated wing to outer right. Gabled S and W elevations; stair tower at SW corner.

Non-traditional uPVC glazing. Graded grey slate roof with metal ridge. Scrolled skewputts. Decorative ashlar gablehead stacks (see NOTES).

Statement of Interest

A picturesque, Scots Baronial gate lodge with some fine exterior and interior detailing, which retains its relationship to the associated gatepiers (listed separately), demarcating the southern boundary of what was one of Hawick's larger estates. It makes a strong contribution to the streetscape.

The lands of Silverbuthall were purchased by Thomas Laidlaw, owner of the tweed (formerly hosiery) manufacturers William Laidlaw & Sons, in 1861, and the mansion (also known as 'Sillerbit Hall' or 'Sillerbuthall'), designed in the Scottish Baronial style by the Edinburgh-born but Glasgow-based architect John Thomas Rochead (1814-78), was built between 1863 and 1866. The lodge and gatepiers were presumably built around the same time as the mansion, which stood some distance to the north-east, and were linked to it by a long and winding driveway; it seems likely that they were by the same architect. The land was bought by the Council in 1945 to be the site of a new housing estate, resulting in the demolition of the mansion. Prefabricated dwellings appeared first, with more solid housing being built from the mid-1960s onwards.

The stacks to the west gable of the lodge are original, but that to the east gable has been rebuilt. The timber shutters to the upper rooms are still in working order, whilst those to the principal ground-floor room have been painted in. None of the original glazing remains.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17834968

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

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper