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Summary

Description

1810, extended and remodelled by James Findlay, 1902. Originally 2-storey, basement and attic, rectangular-plan with canted centre-bay, classical-style house sited on falling ground; extended to E and embellished to form irregular-plan, Arts and Crafts/baronial-style house, now a roofless shell (1991). Harled rubble, ashlar and bull-faced dressings, formerly Caithness stone slate roof. Band course at ground floor, bull-faced irregular crow-stepps at gables, ashlar coped stacks; thin ashlar window margins, mainly 12-pane sash and case frames, especially at earlier part of house, some casements at additions, most now missing and some windows bricked up.

N ELEVATION: round-headed entrance arch with hoodmould and label stops at advanced gable at centre of original house to right, window at 1st floor; 2 windows at ground floor right, 1 at 1st (blocked at right), both with continuous cill band, 2 similar bays at left; later recessed bay at far left with bipartite window at ground and 1st floor, segmental bay corbelled at 1st floor at left re-entrant angle, advanced gable at outer left with 3 asymmetrically placed windows.

E ELEVATION: advanced gable at right with further single storey gable advanced at angle at right, door at basement, window at ground floor, bipartite and single window at 1st, window at gable, truncated corbelled bartizan at 1st floor left; narrow recessed bay at left with window at ground, 1st and attic floor; advanced bay at outer left with 2 large gunloop openings at ground floor, roof swept down to 1st floor level.

S ELEVATION: full-height canted bay corbelled to crowstepped gable at centre of original house at left, 3 windows at basement, 1st and 2nd floor (windows at left and right partially blocked to multi-pane at 2nd floor); forestair to balcony (later bricked up and roofed) at left, window at 1st floor; round tower corbelled to square and gabled at angle at left, 3 windows at ground and 1st floor, various openings at basement; 2 windows at basement, ground and 1st floor at right; later advanced gable at outer right with 4 windows at basement, 4-light window at ground floor, recessed shallow-canted tripartite at 1st, window at gable, gable stack; segmental bay corbelled at ground floor and gabled bay advanced from original house at left re-entrant angle with window at each floor.

W GABLE: 2 windows at ground and 1st floor, each of different size, gable stack.

INTERIOR: most floors collapsed but canopied and moulded, sculpted chimney pieces remain at principal floor.

Statement of Special Interest

Ballumbie House was built for David Miller in 1810 and sold to the McGavin family in 1847. The house was extended and embellished for the merchant Alexander Gilroy. The photograph in Nicoll shows that the canted bay on the south elevation of Ballumbie House had a crenellated parapet before 1908 (now corbelled to crowstepped gable). There is a circa 1810 ice house to the north of the castle ruins which appears to have been rebuilt for a different purpose.

References

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