Apple House And Walled Garden With Garden House, Fasque, Fettercairn, Aberdeenshire

Description

Probably John Paterson, 1792, bowed N elevation and towers possibly added mid 19th century; exterior restored 2007-08. Unusual survival of rare 2-storey, pyramid-roofed Apple House with flanking polygonal 3-stage towers built into centre of cross-wall of large subdivided walled garden with crenellated tower at S gate and later 19th century garden house incorporated at SW. Sited to S and slightly W of Fasque House (see Notes) in extensive wooded grounds. Apple House of squared and snecked rubble with some Aberdeen bond and areas of cherry caulking, roughly squared dressings and voussoirs. Band and string coursing. Decoratively-astragalled round- and pointed-arch windows, and blind quatrefoils to towers. Flat-coped, red brick garden walls, stepped and flued at N.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION:

APPLE HOUSE: symmetrical S elevation with 2 square-headed windows to each floor and stack rising from centre of wallhead. Flanking set-back towers abut subdividing garden wall. Each tower with pointed-arch window at 2nd stage below quatrefoil at 3rd stage, stair tower to left with door. N elevation with replaced loggia and trelliswork (2007-08), set-back face with pair of 6-panelled timber doors flanking boarded timber dado. Each flanking tower with window at 1st stage, that to right round-headed, that to left square-headed; upper stages mirror S elevation.

APPLE HOUSE INTERIOR: turnpike stair to W tower with simple timber baluster at landing and domed ceiling. See Notes.

8- and 12-pane glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. Small grey slates. Coped ashlar stack.

WALLED GARDEN: built in 3 stages. SE wall with square-plan castellated entrance to centre comprising round-arched doorways and blind pointed arch recesses to each return. Subdividing wall with pedestrian opening immediately to W of apple house, oval pond with ironwork railings retained to S garden (see Notes), and remains of glasshouses to inner elevation of brick-lined, flued N wall with evidence of decorative ironwork. Coursed rubble.

GARDEN HOUSE: single storey and attic, gabled, L-plan garden house with single storey lean-to wing, all N elevations form garden wall.

Statement of Interest

'A' Group with Fasque House and Stable Block.

The Apple House, sometimes referred to as the pavilion, at the centre of this fine walled garden is both a rare and important survival of an early type of garden building, and although altered during the early years of the 19th century, the original simple pyramid-roofed structure is clearly evident from the S elevation. In 2006 the later bowed elevation collapsed largely due to rotting roof timbers. Together with the loggia, these have now (2009) been repaired and replaced where necessary. The walled garden formerly comprised three sections, but a lower dividing wall has been removed.

In 2006 the single room interior retained simple plasterwork cornices with fine timberwork including panelled doors and shutters, fluted architraves with delicate floral carving at lugs and a window seat. A fireplace at the south wall had a cast iron fire basket, slate slips, fluted pilasters, frieze and mantel shelf.

John Paterson is acknowledged as the architect of Fasque House, and stylistic similarities lead to the attribution for the Apple House and Walled Garden as well as the South Lodge and Octagon (both listed separately). Comparative work by Paterson can be seen at the separately listed distinctive D-plan Gothic Fetteresso Church in Stonehaven, and alterations to the 17th century Fetteresso Castle which included a central castellated tower.

Fasque House, built in 1809 by Sir Alexander Ramsay of Balmain, replaced an 18th century house which stood slightly to the west of the new building. Extensive tree planting during the 1730s was aligned on the earlier house, and would have placed the walled garden more centrally in the plan. The walled garden was a vital element and would have been central to the successful running of this large estate. Buxbaum discusses the variety of buildings popular in the walled garden, including "pavilions, apple houses, growing houses, conservatories, orangeries and gardener's houses". He continues "Among the earliest of such structures is the apple house. Usually simple pyramid-roofed, two-storey structures". At Fasque the Apple House may have originally provided first floor accommodation for the gardener as was common enough, but the quality of the interior detail, as well as the exterior design, compares more closely with the following description by Buxbaum. "The twin octagonal pavilions built in 1795 at Preston Hall, near Edinburgh, are among the most pleasant garden pavilions in Scotland......they are built into the wall that subdivides the garden.......One pavilion contains an elegant staircase and the other, ....., acts as a fruit room, tea-room, library or small horticultural museum......Rooftop weather-vanes project into the ceilings below to inform those inside as to the state of the weather". Rust marking (seen 2007) at the centre of the domed ceiling of the Apple House stair tower may have been made by a weather vane.

The walled garden at Fasque was described by Patrick Neill "as the finest in the Mearns" [and] had five hot-houses for pineapples, grapes, peaches etc. And a greenhouse extending in all to 255 feet in length of glass. The hot-walls are 240ft in extent". Robertson in his Agricultural Survey of Kincardineshire says that the hot house "is well stocked with a choice collection of Exotics; and in particular with the delicious Anana, or pine apple; the crop of which last season, was abundant almost to profusion". Robertson also notes that the estate is "highly ornamented with plantations, and has been the scene of much agricultural improvement." Marcus Binney mentions 'an oval pond ringed by railings to each half of the Walled Garden', only the south garden pond retains its railings.

Also listed on the Fasque Estate are Fasque House, Stable Block, South Lodge and Gates, Octagon, Home Farm Bothy, Mains of Fasque House, Old Mains Cottages and Bogendollo.

External Links

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