Description
1830-31. Probably William Robertson, Elgin. 2-storey over
raised basement, 3-bay house with later 19th century rear
wing (probably A and W Reid, Elgin) forming L-plan. Harled
rubble with tooled and polished ashlar margins and dressings. Symmetrical frontage with centre entrance with bracketted
cornice and panelled door; deep ashlar base course; long
ground floor windows. Single centre ground and 1st floor
window in NW gable, similar blocked windows in SE with later
19th century additional fenestration. Projecting bowed
stairwell in centre of rear rising above wallhead to
terminate as bowed and piended roof.
Later rear piended dormer; also late 19th century canted rear
dormer contemporary with 2-storey, 2-bay rear wing.
12-pane glazing to original house, 2-pane to later wing.
Coped end and wallhead stacks; slate roofs with projecting
eaves front and rear. Decorative (circa 1830) cast-iron
spearhead railings enclose lightwell and access to raised
basement; fluted stiffeners with fluted finials.
INTERIOR: entrance lobby leads to stairhall; drawing room and
dining room left and right; deep moulded and panelled
skirting boards; beaded panelling to windows and doors;
simple ceiling cornices; no original chimneypieces survive in
principal public rooms. Curved staircase with simple
balustrade.
STEADING: 1830-31. Single storey, U-plan range of byre,
stables and gighouse. Entrance to court flanked by square
tooled rubble gatepiers with flat caps; slate roofs.
WALLED GARDEN: 1830-31. Rubble rocked garden; roughly
dressed cope to walls.
Statement of Special Interest
The move to transfer both church and manse is recorded in
Presbytery Records by 1826. Problems arose over the 'examb'
of land by the Heritors. The manse was constructed to a plan
of the manse 'now erecting at Fyvie' and the steading similar
to that at King Edward manse (1829).
The architect(s) for these buildings is unknown though Gamrie
Manse, together with neighbouring Tyrie manse, are very
similar to the former Church of Scotland Manse at Aberdour
designed by William Robertson with Alexander Laing in 1815-20
and completed 1822.