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Summary

Description

Circa 1810 with additions by John Smith of Darnick 1818, 1824, 1844 and 1854; late 20th century additions and alterations. 6-bay, 2-storey and attic, roughly L-plan house comprising 3-bay S facing original house with crowstepped gable to central bay; 1824 2-bay, piend-roofed E facing section with balconied windows adjoining original house at NE corner; 1854 3-bay addition adjoining original house to E with flat-roofed stairwell in re-entrant angle with 1824 wing. Neatly coursed rubble to original building, roughly-coursed rubble to E elevation, sandstone ashlar to S front of 1854 wing, red sandstone ashlar dressings to all sections. Eaves course; projecting window cills. Long and short quoins and window margins. Regular fenestration.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: timber panelled front door with sidelights and arched fanlight in slightly advanced chamfered, corniced architrave to left bay of 1854 wing; shallow crowstepped gable to attic; regular fenestration. 3-bay original house to left: advanced central crowstepped gable with corniced window in former doorway at ground and arched window to gable apex with blind side-lights; regular fenestration to bays with 1854 tripartite window at ground to right; piend-roofed dormers to attic.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: stepped composition. Advanced single-bay 1854 wing to left; flat-roofed stairwell to centre with tall window and chamfered corner; recessed 2-bay, 1824 wing to right with cast-iron balconies to 1st floor windows.

W (SIDE) AND N (REAR) ELEVATIONS: irregular fenestration to W; piend-roofed outshot behind copped screen wall at ground to left; wallhead stack. N elevation: fairly regular fenestration to original house; single-storey 19th and 20th century additions at ground.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Corniced stacks with red clay cans. Graded grey slate.

INTERIOR: largely modernised; some cornicing and shutters. Curved stone staircase with decorative cast-iron baluster and mahogany handrail.

WALLED GARDEN AND COTTAGE: walled garden to SE of house, open to SE; brick-lined, ashlar-coped random rubble walls. 2-storey, 4-bay, piend-roofed cottage in W wall; irregular fenestration to W with 3 blocked doorways at ground.

MOUNTING BLOCK, FORMER STABLES AND COTTAGE: L-plan remains of stable block, modernised with 20th century openings. Random rubble with sandstone dressings; slate roof. Single-storey and attic gabled wing to E with former hayloft opening; single-storey, piend-roofed wing to N. Sandstone mounting block lying to S of stables. U-plan former double cottage with forward-facing gables and piend-roof to rear; late 20th century porches in re-entrant angles. Rubble to gables; sandstone dressings; rendered sides and rear.

Statement of Special Interest

An early nineteenth century country house once owned and extended by Sir Walter Scott, adding considerably to its associative historic interest. The principal elevations, with tall crowstepped pediment with tripartite window, have been little altered since the mid 19th century. When Scott purchased the recently erected mansion house in 1817, it was called Toftfield. He settled his friend Adam Fergusson and his sisters there, and at the request of the sisters, renamed it Huntlyburn. The 1824 wing was built for Sir Adam Ferguson, one of Scott's greatest friends and the eldest son of the philosopher Professor Adam Ferguson. The house was subsequently let to Lord Henry Murray for whom further additions including the SE wing were carried out. The additions for both Ferguson and Murray were designed and constructed by John Smith of Darnick who was the builder at Abbotsford (see separate listing). Toftfield was originally a farm, and the 1st and 2nd Edition OS maps suggest that the old stable was once part of the steading.

List description updated at resurvey (2010).

References

Bibliography

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