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Summary

Description

Late 16th to early 17th century. 3-storey, 3-bay rectangular-plan laird's house with staircase tower to N; 17(?)th century single bay addition to E (extending house to 4 bays); late 18th to early 19th century Georgian alterations enlarging windows and altering floor heights (now piano nobile); 20th century 2-storey extension to NW angle. Harled rubble; stone cills; painted margins.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 4-bay, generally arranged 3-1. Ground floor bays evenly spaced: window to outer left; part-glazed timber panel door to left of centre; window to right of door; timber boarded door to far left. 3 large 1st floor windows to left, window to outer right bay. 4 2nd floor windows close to eaves (penultimate right out of line).

E ELEVATION: windows to left at each floor level (ground and 2nd floor windows inserted after 1991).

N (REAR) ELEVATION: full-height central projecting piended square-plan stair tower (elliptical plan to interior); 1st floor window with bolection moulded door architrave (possibly re-set); 2nd floor window above, small square window to left return. Advanced 20th century 2-storey single pitch extension to right; 2nd floor window to right of stair tower above modern extension. Remnants of single and 2-storey former outbuildings to left of stair tower with central low timber boarded door.

W ELEVATION: small central ground floor window; 1st floor window to right; 20th century 2-storey extension to left; advanced modern shed in front of 20th addition.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Pitched roof; grey slates; coped ashlar gablehead stacks; ridge stack over cross-wall dividing East-most bay from original house; circular clay cans.

INTERIOR: some surviving late 16th to early 17th century features, including kitchen in west-most cell at ground, with large arched range/fireplace recess of near full depth on plan and stone oven to right; deep-splayed reveals to windows and doors to E. Corner mid to late 17th or early 18th century chimneypiece at ground floor (to right on entering) covered by modern gas fire. Internal ashlar and timber staircase with moulded bowtell risers, slightly later, possibly of mid 18th century date (former door entry to 1st floor landing). 2nd floor bedrooms retain late 18th to early 19th century Georgian shutters and fielded panelling.

GATEPIERS: late 18th to early 19th century square-plan piers with shallow pyramid caps; coped random rubble boundary to W.

Statement of Special Interest

Spencerfield was built by Henry Scott (d.1616) probably shortly after his marriage in 1592 to Elizabeth Henderson of Fordell (d.1622). The house remained in the Scott (Henderson) family until 1706 when it came into the hands of James Craig, writer. Successive owners were Sir John Shaw of Greenock, 1710; John Dundas of Duddingston, 1712; Brigadier General Preston, 1721; William Erskine, 1797 (who was possibly responsible for Georgian alterations to house). The house was known to have been raided by Cromwell's troops during the Battle of Inverkeithing (1651), steeling "a great quantity of silver plate, arras, hingings [sic], carpets, and other household plenishings" (Stephen).

References

Bibliography

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