Coach house, Bannockburn House, Bannockburn, Stirling

Description

The coach house and workshop at Bannockburn House were built around 1884. The principal elevations are of stugged and snecked sandstone ashlar.

The coach house range to the north has a single-storey central section, flanked by slightly advanced two-storey wings, both with crowstepped gables. Both gables have steeply pitch roofs with spike finials and ornamental cast iron brattishing to the ridges. There is an oculus window in the left gable. There is a full-height vehicular entrance with a timber boarded door within the central section. The windows are a mix of four, six and eight-pane glazing in timber sash and case frames, with some fixed pane windows with top-hoppers. The building has shouldered gablehead and ridge chimney stacks. The rainwater goods are cast iron with decorative hoppers. The roofs have graded grey slate.

Opposite the coach house, to the south against the west garden wall, is a single-storey, five-bay workshop range of sandstone rubble with a piended roof. The outbuildings have an irregular window pattern with irregularly spaced double-leaf timber boarded doors. The range has spike finials on the roof and ornamental ridge brattishing. The roof has graded grey slate.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the outbuilding to east.

Statement of Interest

The coach house and workshop at Bannockburn, dating to 1884, are important ancillary buildings of Bannockburn House. They are situated to the northeast of Bannockburn House adjacent to the main driveway and retain a visual relationship with their associated country house. The buildings have notable decorative architectural details including crowstepped gables, shouldered chimney stacks, and steeply pitched gable roofs. The broadly symmetrical crowstepped gable wings to accommodate a groom and/or coachman mirrors the design of the 17th century core of the house. The footprint and exterior of these buildings are largely intact.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the outbuilding to east.

Age and Rarity

The workshop and coach house at Bannockburn was developed during the late 19th century, during the time that Bannockburn House was owned by the successful local textile manufacturer, Alexander Wilson. The 1860 Ordnance Survey map indicates that there was a small square-plan building at this location prior to the construction of the surviving workshop and coach house in around 1884. The workshop and coach house are first shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map, published in 1895, occupying the same footprint as the buildings today.

Bannockburn House itself has a long and significant history. It is an outstanding example of a late 17th century country house in central Scotland. The house is one of the earliest to evidence the revival of classicism in architecture, in the wake of the Restoration of the Stuarts to the throne in Scotland in 1660. In 1883 the house was purchased by Alexander Wilson who had made his name as a producer of tartan and whose family had previously transformed Bannockburn village into a centre of weaving. Wilson made a number of changes to the house and grounds including the addition of the present coach house cottage and workshop.

Coach houses were an integral part of a country house estate in the 18th and 19th centuries, when transportation relied heavily on horse and carriage. The building of a decorative or picturesque stable block along the approach drive to the main house, as seen at Bannockburn House, had long been seen as a way to increase the status of an existing country estate. With the exception of the house itself, coach houses were amongst the most architectural buildings on an estate, and were often built to reflect the wealth of the owner. They provided accommodation for horses, carriages, groomsmen and stable hands, and storage for feed and tack. The coach house and workshop at Bannockburn, dating to 1884, are important ancillary buildings of Bannockburn House.

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior was not seen in 2017 and has not been assessed.

Plan form

The buildings are two parallel rectangular plan ranges facing each other and this arrangement is not unusual for its date or building type. The lower workshop range and adjoining garden wall partially hide some of the utilitarian aspects of these ancillary buildings, but the more decorative architecture detailing can still be seen from the house and approach drive.

There is a small, late 20th century, lean-to addition to the external southwest corner of the building, but otherwise, the plan form is the same as that shown on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map.

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

Coach houses are built in a variety of styles and materials, sometimes highly detailed. They are often built in a similar style to the main house to reflect the taste and wealth of the owner.

The coach house at Bannockburn is broadly symmetrical with slightly advanced crowstepped gabled outer wings, and deliberately imitate the design of the 17th century house. It has notable and distinctly 17th century Scottish decorative architectural details including shouldered chimney stacks, finials and steeply pitched gable roofs. The workshop is plainer in design terms but like the coach house is built of stugged sandstone ashlar, and is an important functional component of the estate.

The design of the coach house and workshop accords with Victorian tastes for both the picturesque and the practical. The wing to the left has an oculus window in the gable which is aligned with the entrance elevation of the house. This may have been used by the coachman to see the comings and goings at the house and also indicates the functional relationship between this ancillary building and the main house.

Setting

The coach house and workshop lies to the northeast of the house. The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map shows the workshop and coach house adjacent to the main north drive into Bannockburn house, and this drive remains the main access route.

It is visible from the house and is part of a group of associated estate structures that are typically found on country estates. This group includes a 17th century doocot (LB15278) and 17th/early 18th century gatepiers (LB15279). The survival of these ancillary buildings aids our understanding of how the estate functioned.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations.

Close Historical Associations

Bannockburn House has changed hands on a number of occasions throughout its history.

External Links

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.