Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

GATTONSIDE HOUSE INCLUDING CHAPEL, FORMER COACH HOUSE, COTTAGE, WALLED GARDEN AND BOUNDARY WALLSLB15103

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Group Category Details
100000020 - See Notes
Date Added
16/03/1971
Supplementary Information Updated
14/12/2017
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
Planning Authority
Scottish Borders
Parish
Melrose
NGR
NT 53780 34910
Coordinates
353780, 634910

Description

Circa 1808-11 with 19th and 20th century additions and alterations; most notably by John Smith of Darnick, 1824, and Robert Lorimer, 1913-14 (see Notes). 2-storey with attic and basement, 5-bay, bow-fronted Classical villa with recessed pavilion wings. Single-storey linking passage to east pavilion. 2-storey, 3-bay wing incorporating west pavilion. Whinstone rubble with cream sandstone dressings. Cill courses; moulded cornice and blocking course. In-and-out quoins. Chapel by Brother Columba Farrelly, 1921-72, adjoining to east.

Further Description:

South (principal) elevation: bow-fronted bay to centre: steps to semi-circular porch with tuscan-columned arcade and entablature; slender iron colonnettes inset; round-arched niches with oval panels above flank 2-leaf glazed-panel doorway with side lights. Tripartite window to 1st floor with balustraded parapet above. Outer bays slightly advanced with raised panels to blocking course.

North elevation: 3-bay projection (outer hall) with pedimented porch and low stone balustraded walls flanking basement wells. Advanced bay to centre with Diocletion window to attic surmounted by broad 8-stack chimney. Arched loggia to west elevation (now blocked). Predominantly 12-pane glazing to timber sash and case windows. Grey slate. Broad corniced stacks with clay cans. Cast-iron rain water goods predominate.

Interior: oval vestibule to south entrance leading to impressive square-plan inner hall with Ionic-columned arcaded gallery to upper floor, top-lit by large oval cupola. Some good plaster and vaulted ceiling work survives, principally within Robert Lorimer's west wing additions of 1913-14.

Chapel: by Brother Columba Ferrelly (see Notes). Rectangular-plan chapel with round-arched windows and pitched roof. Regularly arranged, rough-faced, square and snecked sandstone with polished ashlar dressings. Coursed ashlar base course. Chamferred cills. Pitched-roof porch with circular window to north (entrance) elevation. Tripartite window to south (chancel) elevation. Interior: polished ashlar. Romanesque chancel arch with chevron pattern. Stained glass nativity scene to chancel. Squared and polished timber 'cruck' trusses to ceiling.

Former coach/motor house and cottage: 1824, John Smith of Darnick; remodelled 1914 by Robert Lorimer; converted to accommodation by local architect, Duncan Cameron, 1980s. Rubble whinstone with pale sandstone ashlar dressings. Coach house: single-storey with attic and piended roof; segmental-arch opening to centre with multi-pane astragalled glazing surrounding door; bipartite dormer window breaking eaves above. 3 windows to ground floor right with single round-arch window breaking eaves. Advanced section to left, added 1914, with pair of motor vehicle openings, now bipartite windows. Cottage: set at right angle to former coach house forming L-plan grouping. Simple 2-bay garden cottage with further bay added 1914 to right, now with with lean-to double door addition to ground. Piended dormers breaking eaves. Walled garden: situated to west of former coach house; evident on John Wood's map of 1826. Simple, rectangular-plan walled garden with curved corners and low coped rubble walls to south. Later 20th century, T-plan building (for St Aiden's Care Home) abuts north wall within garden.

Statement of Special Interest

Part of a B-Group with Gattonside House, Lodge (see separate listing, LB51563).

A well-detailed early 19th century Classical villa with additions by distinguished architects, John Smith of Darnick and Robert Lorimer, located beside the River Tweed overlooking the Eildon Hills. The bow-fronted, arcaded porch provides a striking central feature to the principal south facing elevation while inside, a fine top-lit inner hall with arcaded upper gallery is an important centre-piece to the arrangement of interior spaces, adding to the building's special interest.

Between 1821-1824, Sir Adam and Lady Ferguson, close associates of Sir Walter Scott lived at Gattonside House. Following this the house was acquired by retired banker George Bainbridge who employed eminent local architect, John Smith of Darnick in 1824 to enlarge it with set-back piend-roofed pavilion wings, connecting to the main body of the villa by single-storey links. The 3-bay outer hall projection to the north elevation with pedimented porch and Diolcletian window was added circa 1860. Principal among Robert Lorimer's early 20th century additions were the west wing additions incorporating the west pavilion by John Smith, adding a 2-storey canted bay and an arched loggia to the west elevation (now blocked).

The building became the administrative headquarters of the Brothers of Charity in the early 20th century, operating as St Aidan's Care Home and remains in their ownership. The building is currently unoccupied (2009). The chapel adjoining the east end of the house was designed and built with great dedication, almost single-handedly by Brother Columba Farrelly over a 50 year period (1921-72).

The converted former coach/motor house, cottage and walled garden are contemporary with John Smith's early 19th century alterations to the house, adding to the wider contextual interest.

List description updated at resurvey in 2010. Minor updates to Description and Statement of Special Interest sections in 2017.

References

Bibliography

John Wood's Sketch Map of Melrose and Gattonside (1826).

RCAHMS, Plans and Elevations (1913-14), Lorimer and Matthew Collection, Ref G/1/1-5.

RCAHMS, Frontispiece of Catalogue of Antique Furniture and Plenishings, (1952) Ref: RAB 187FR, BibNo 9125.

RCAHMS, An Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Roxburghshire: Vol. 2 (1956) pp 295-6, no. 575, Ref: A.1.1.INV/14. C A,

Borders and Berwick: An Illustrated Architectural Guide to the Scottish Borders and Tweed valley (1994).

Kitty Cruft, John Dunbar and Richard Fawcett, The Buildings of Scotland - Borders (2006) pp. 318-9.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 05:44