Boundary walls, Braehead Lodge, Main Street, St Boswells, Jedburgh and District, Scottish Borders

Description

Braehead Lodge was built around 1906 and is a detached three-bay single-storey lodge with an attic. Designed by Francis W. Deas in conjunction with Braehead House, the lodge is executed in a similar Scottish Renaissance revival style, with detailing that includes crowstepped gable ends, skewputts and corbelling. Rectangular in plan and fronting Main Street, the lodge is adjacent to the entrance archway of Braehead House, which is located to the north. The walls are harled and painted with dressings in ashlar stone. The building has been extended by a single-bay two storey addition to the southeast, with a later single-storey bay. The property is currently in use as a domestic dwelling with some alterations to the internal layout (2018). 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 conservatory to the west, the single-storey extension to the east and the garage to the north.

The main (south) elevation has three window openings, which are of varying sizes and are unevenly-spaced. The southeast corner is corbelled. The west elevation is gabled with an attic window over a later conservatory. The rear (north) elevation has two wall-headed dormer windows to the attic level, with a crowstepped-gablet over the parapet. The upper floor of the gabled east elevation projects on corbelling and there is a single window opening to each floor. The northeast corner is abutted by the later extensions, which have a projecting attic window to the north carried on ashlar sandstone piers, and the (relocated) entrance doorway to the south, which has an ashlar sandstone pediment.

The roof is pitched and slated with diminishing courses to the front (south) and replacement slates to the rear (north). The later extensions have flat roofs concealed behind masonry-topped parapets. The large chimney is harled and is centrally placed on the rear pitch, with coping and four clay cans. The window openings vary in size and have plain surrounds with oversized painted cills. The windows are a combination of original small-paned sliding timber sashes and recent double-glazed replacements.

The interior (seen in 2018) comprises a kitchen and sitting room to the south, a former parlour to the northwest and a bathroom in the east extension. A staircase to the north leads to three bedrooms at attic level. The internal layout has been partially altered but some features of the early 20th century decorative scheme are apparent. These include a simple timber stair, timber skirtings, door and window architraves and panelled doors. There is a green and white marble fireplace in the sitting room and a cast-iron surround in the former parlour.

A low-level rubble whinstone wall with pink sandstone coping lines Main Street, curving towards the adjoining entrance arch of Braehead House. This incorporates a rubble coal shed with timber coal hatch, a concrete roof and a curved east wall. The rear garden is terraced by rubblestone walls with pink coping, and is enclosed by the matching boundary walls of Braehead House. There is an iron bootscraper to the south yard and the timber entrance door has a variety of ironwork including strap hinges and a matching letter slot.

Statement of Interest

Dating from around 1906, Braehead Lodge was designed by the architect of the associated Braehead House, F.W. Deas, and displays similar massing, materials and detailing. Designed in the Scottish Renaissance revival style and displaying good detailing, Braehead Lodge is special example of a common building type. While the lodge is a prolific building type within the context of country houses and estates in the early 20th century, it is of interest as it forms a coherent and well-retained group with Braehead House and its other ancillary structures. Braehead House is an outstanding example of an early 20th century small country house and the lodge contributes to the integrity and special interest of the group as a whole.

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 conservatory to the west, the single-storey extension to the east and the garage to the north.

Age and Rarity

Braehead Lodge was built around 1906, in conjunction with Braehead House and its other associated buildings. The original owner who commissioned the house, either John Cuthbert Spencer or Seymour Spencer, died before the house was fully completed (in 1906 and 1907 respectively). The house and grounds were then purchased by Major Edwin Paton, who had previously farmed in Hawick (Southern Reporter, 2nd April 1931). As a keen horseman, Paton thought the existing stables next to the house were insufficient and had an additional stable block built to the southwest of the house (case ref: 300030235).

St. Boswells is a small village and parish in north Roxburghshire, and was previously known as Lessudden. It is a place of some antiquity and was noted in Froome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-85) as having 16 bastle houses (a fortified house) in 1544. St Boswells and the nearby parish of Newtown St Boswells are now linked with the combined parish of Maxton & Mertoun.

Braehead House and lodge are named after the 'Brae Heads' area in St Boswells, which is the elevated ridge of land between Main Street and the River Tweed on which the house is sited (Ordnance Survey Name book: 1858-60). Prior to the construction of the house, this land was mainly agricultural, except for some earlier large villas to the west, which were dotted along the ridge. The Ordnance Survey map of 1907 suggests that three small dwellings along Main Street were removed around 1905-06, to allow for the construction of the present entrance arch and the lodge building.

The continuing growth of the middle class in Scotland and the relatively buoyant economy from the late 19th century up to the beginning of the First World War led to a boom in the construction of large suburban villas and smaller country houses.

Braehead House and its associated structures were built as a coherent group, to the designs of the noted architect, F.W. Deas. The lodge is first shown on the 1921 Ordnance Survey map, with a small return to the west elevation (now gone) and the detached coal shed fronting Main Street. Contemporary maps show that the footprint of the building has changed, with a two-storey single-bay extension added to the northeast corner in the 1950s and a further single storey bay added in the 1970s. There is a late 20th century conservatory to the west and detached garage to the north (both excluded from the listing). When the first extension was added, the entrance hall to the north was extended eastwards and the main entrance door relocated. The internal layout has also been altered with some openings now blocked and an open-plan kitchen in place of the former scullery and lavatory.

Buildings constructed after 1840 must be of special architectural or historic interest and of definite character and quality to be listed.

Early 20th century lodge buildings associated with country houses are not a rare building type in Scotland and many of the country villas and houses built in the Scottish Borders at this time had accompanying lodges, of which a substantial number survive.

Designed in the Scottish Renaissance revival style and displaying good detailing, Braehead Lodge is a notable example of a common building type. The lodge is of special architectural and historic interest as it complements Braehead House and forms part of a cohesive group that was designed by a noted architect. The integrity of the lodge has been partially affected by the incremental changes and additions but, as these are largely concealed from view, this has had only a minor impact on the historic character of the lodge. As a whole, the group is little-altered and together it represents an exceptional example of a smaller country house or villa in the Scottish Borders.

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior has been altered by incremental changes to the layout and the addition of the various extensions. In particular, the entrance hall and present kitchen have been significantly remodelled since the lodge was first built.

Some features of the early decorative scheme do remain including the simple timber architraves, doors and skirtings. The timber staircase is likely to be original but it is of a standard design for a lodge of this date. The stripped-back Arts and Crafts style does echo the internal scheme of Braehead House but this is typical for a lodge of this period that was designed in conjunction with a small country house. The two fireplaces are of some interest, as they add an element of refinement to what is a simple and largely functional interior.

Plan form

Originally rectangular in plan, this is typical for lodge buildings associated with smaller country houses. The plan form has been altered by the mid to late 20th century extensions, which have been added to the west elevation and to the northeast corner. However, it is common for lodges of this period to have been extended to increase living accommodation. There has been some interior remodelling to accommodate these additions and to alter the connections between rooms. This has had some impact on the integrity of the interior. There is no special interest in listing terms known at present under this heading.

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

Executed in a Scottish Renaissance revival style, Braehead Lodge is well-detailed displaying characteristic crowstepped gables, skewputts and corbelling to the upper levels. This gives the lodge a distinctive presence on the skyline of Main Street, emulating the varied picturesque roofline of Braehead House, which can be seen to the rear.

Noted as one of the key examples of smaller country houses and villas in the Scottish Borders, Braehead House and its associated structures are all attributed to the architect F.W. Deas (1862-1951). Although not prolific, Deas gained a reputation as one of the finest, one-off house designers of the period (Strang 1994: 158). Noted examples of his work include his own house The Murrel in Fife (LB3598), Fyndynate House in Perth and Kinross (LB11861) and Kellas House in Moray (LB2345).

Along with the original stables (to the west of the house) and engine house, the lodge was part of Deas's original scheme and was designed to complement the main house and its surroundings. In terms of its massing, style, materials and detailing, it forms a cohesive architectural group with the house and its other ancillary structures and boundary features.

The lodge's functional and stylistic relationship between the various components of the group are of special interest in listing terms.

Like the main house, the arrangement and design of the ancillary structures and the gardens of Braehead House were influenced by the Arts and Crafts ethos, which, according to Lorimer, should be an integral part of the house with the garden in particular acting as a sanctuary (see A History of Scottish Architecture). This is particularly evident in the design of the rear garden of the lodge, which is fully secluded from the street by high boundary walls, while the use of rubble terraces emulates that of the main house.

Large houses with associated lodges are not rare building types in this part of Scotland and were built in a variety of architectural styles. The use of a stripped back Scottish Renaissance revival style at this date was consistent with the current interest in the return to a national architectural style that was based on architecture of the 16th and 17th century. Styles of lodges varied according to the house they were meant to complement and other examples of lodges in the area include Blackadder North Lodge of 1878 (LB44476), the Spitalhaugh Lodges and Glenormiston Lodge of around 1850 by William Chambers (LB8319). Like Braehead Lodge, these all have been altered to varying degrees but they remain important components of their associated houses or estates.

Francis W. Deas trained under Robert Rowand Anderson, who was largely responsible for renewing interest in traditional Scottish architecture during the second half of the 19th century. By the late 19th century, the Scottish Renaissance style had developed out of Baronialism and the Arts and Crafts movement. It rejected what they considered to be the often clumsy and false ornamentation of the Baronial style, in favour of more simple facades and the use of skilled craftsmanship and historical accuracy in the detailing. This gave rise to the design of 'artistic' villas in middle-class suburbs and in fashionable towns and villages such as North Berwick and St. Boswells and is exemplified by Deas's Braehead House.

Deas's practice was never extensive and instead he relied on a small number of wealthy clients, such as the Earl of Moray. Deas was a close friend of Robert Lorimer, who was widely regarded as being the leading Scottish architect of the period. It was Lorimer who persuaded Deas to pursue a career in architecture, rather than interior design. As a result of their friendship, Deas's work, including that at Braehead House, was heavily influenced by Lorimer and his distinctly 'Scottish' interpretation of the Arts and Crafts movement.

After his death, Deas was described as having had '…a profound respect for the Scottish mason…' and he succeeded '…in producing that grandeur in Scottish domestic stone design which alone can be achieved through a combination of complete knowledge and sympathetic understanding with the practical.' (RIAS Quarterly Journal: 1951). This skill is clearly evident in the intricate stonework detailing which adorns the exterior of Braehead House but is also shown in the use of dressed stonework detailing at Braehead Lodge.

Setting

Located on the north side of Main Street in the village of St. Boswells, the lodge is set back and elevated from the street behind a curved rubble whinstone wall with integrated steps, which matches the boundary walls of the main house. The relationship between the lodge and Braehead House and its ancillary structures remains intact and this is of particular interest under this criteria heading. The boundary walls of Breahead House form the perimeter of the lodge's rear garden. Set immediately adjacent to the entrance archway for Braehead House, the pair form a coherent architectural set-piece along Main Street, marking the entrance to Braehead House. As the village has grown in the 20th century, housing developments have been constructed to the south part of St Boswells. However the immediate setting of Braehead Lodge has remained largely as shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1921, with late-19th century villas, terraces and cottages.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations

Close Historical Associations

There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2018).

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.