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

WOOPLAW HOUSELB19115

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
B
Date Added
31/08/1988
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
Planning Authority
Scottish Borders
Parish
Melrose
NGR
NT 50051 41931
Coordinates
350051, 641931

Description

Dated 1842, incorporating earlier fabric (see Notes). 2-storey, asymmetrical Neo-Tudor gabled house in the manner of William Burn with distinctive tall diamond-plan shafted chimney stacks in groups of four. Droved pink sandstone ashlar to principal elevations with finely tooled dressings; whinstone rubble elsewhere. Chamfered arrises and Tudor hoodmoulds. Irregular fenestration. Shouldered pedimented dormers breaking eaves.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: S (GARDEN) ELEVATION: wide, advanced gable to centre with full-height canted window with shaped parapet; prominent fielded die finial to apex. Lower block to left (formerly service accommodation and stabling). E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: irregular 4-bay arrangement with projecting parapeted gabled bay and tripartite window to right of door; wide advanced gable bay to far left; wallhead dormers to recessed bays. N (REAR) ELEVATION: corbelled stack to centre, dated 1842, with clustered diamond-plan chimney shafts. Flanking wings of differing height. Large semi-circular-headed french window (circa 1911) with timber conservatory addition to W elevation.

Covered well to centre to courtyard with drystone lining.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing to timber sash and case windows. Grey slate. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: Gothic detailing to timber screen between vestibule and hall. Fine, S-curved cantilevered stair with shallow tread in the Edinburgh style with decorative cast-iron balustrade and timber handrail. Simply detailed principal rooms with plain marble chimneypieces with flagstone hearths.

Statement of Special Interest

Wooplaw is a good, well-detailed country house, located on high hill-farm ground with majestic open views southward toward the Eildon Hills. The striking arrangement of tall diamond-plan chimney stacks clustered in groups of four and other good stone details in the Tudor style add much to its character and architectural interest, setting it apart as an example of its building type.

Sheriff J A Lillie's autobiography 'Tradition and Environment' notes that he inherited Wooplaw from his uncle, Adam Tait, who had bought the farm and estate of Wooplaw (or Uplaw as it appeared in the Notices) from a family of Murray in 1910. Lillie mentions that Tait made a number of alterations to the house including adjoining the drawing room to the stable and then making the stable into a library and the loft above into an additional bedroom.

The farms lands of Wooplaw originally extended to 650 acres running from Stow to Hareshawhead to the Allan Water. A 17th century door was uncovered during renovations in the 1980s, suggesting that the core of the building is much earlier and there is some evidence to suggest that a fortified farm originally occupied the site.

List description updated at resurvey (2010).

References

Bibliography

1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1856). A Jeffrey, The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire : Vol 4 (1864) p99. John Adam Lillie, Tradition and Environment in a Time of Change (1970) pp49-53. Kitty Cruft, John Dunbar and Richard Fawcett, The Buildings of Scotland - Borders (2006) p764. Further information courtesy of the owner.

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.

Images

There are no images available for this record, you may want to check Canmore for images relating to WOOPLAW HOUSE

There are no images available for this record.

Search Canmore

Printed: 29/03/2024 14:43