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Summary

Description

Circa 1790 with later alterations and additions of various dates. 2-storey and basement 3-bay, symmetrical classical house. Front (south elevation) is rendered with ashlar dressings, including string course between basement and ground, moulded cill course at 1st floor, deep cornice with blocking course above and pilastered ends. Slightly advanced centre bay. Entrance door with segmental arched fanlight and flanking sidelight all under porch with Ionic columns and corresponding Ionic pilasters, supporting entablature with rosette motif and accessed by steps oversailing the basement with decorative cast iron balustrade. Ground floor windows and central window at 1st floor with moulded architraves. Side and rear elevations are rubble with ashlar margins and lined out render to later additions. Semicircular stair tower at centre of rear (north) elevation with very tall window. Mid-late 20th century additions flanking stairtower. 2001 single storey and basement, piended roof addition to west elevation.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Piended slated roof. Rendered and cope stack to east elevation with cans.

The interior was seen in 2014 and is characterised by a decorative classical scheme in a 19th century period style. The internal arrangement of rooms and openings, particularly at ground floor and basement, predominantly dates from late 20th century and circa 2011. Some 19th century detailing including cornicing to a room at first floor and window shutters. The stone stair has a cast iron decorative balustrade, which was repaired in 2011.

Statement of Special Interest

Springfield House dates from the late 18th century and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the Cookston area of Brechin. It first appears on Wood's plan of 1823. It is a well-portioned Georgian house in the classical style, which largely retains the symmetry of its principal elevation, including original openings and an uninterrupted roofline. The building has a number of distinguishing architectural features, including the splayed entrance steps oversailing the basement, doorpiece with fanlight and sidelights and columned porch. The building has been altered by a number of 20th century additions however its late 18th century rectangular plan form with rear stairtower is clearly discernible.

Springfield House is located to the north west of the centre of Brechin. The previous listed building record written in 1971 dates Springfield House to circa 1790. The design of the property, particularly the spacing of the windows at 1st floor and their position very close to the eaves, supports this late 18th century date. The house is first mapped on Wood's 1823 Plan of Brechin, where it is shown as being owned by David Scott Esq, a distiller who owned Glenacadam distillery in Brechin from 1827. On this map the building is shown as rectangular with a circular tower to the rear, and is positioned close to the northern edge of a large plot of land with fountain and driveway to the west. In the early 19th century this area of Brechin was characterised by detached villas set within their plot of land.

The various Ordnance Survey maps show that the plot of land which Springfield sits within remained largely unchanged until the 1950s, when housing was constructed to the north, west and south. The footprint of the house appears to have been unchanged until the late 20th century when it was used as a public house and restaurant with a flatted dwelling on the first floor. A pair of lean-tos were added to the rear elevation and in 2001 a single storey and basement extension was added to the west elevation. In 2011 the property was returned to a single dwelling and the interior classical decorative scheme largely dates to 2011, although some details date to the 19th century.

Category changed from B to C and listed building record updated in 2014.

References

Bibliography

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