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Summary

Description

Predominantly mid 19th century with some earlier fabric and early 20th century additions. Mainly 3-storey, 11-bay, roughly rectangular-plan, asymmetrical, classical country house with Tudor revival additions, balustraded parapet with urn finials at wallhead of main blocks, projecting windows and porches. Ashlar-lined stucco with ashlar dressings. Deep base course, band course, and remains of string course (originally eaves course until extra storey added). Rusticated quoins. Generally regular fenestration with ashlar margins; some ground floor openings hood-moulded with label stops; some 1st floor windows corniced; pedimented dormers with finials.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 3-storey, 3-bay core block with projecting single storey porch flanked by projecting 2-storey bays with bipartite windows. 2- and 3-storey additions stepped back to right and left.

Predominantly plate glass in timber sash and case windows. Ashlar- coped gable stacks with red and yellow clay cans. Grey slate roofs with zinc ridges.

STABLE COURT OUTBUILDINGS: a variety of dates from early to late 19th century. Single and 2-storey piend-roofed stable and coachhouse range with timber boarded carriage doors. Squared rubble with droved ashlar dressings. Grey slates with zinc ridges.

STABLE COURT ENTRANCE: 1904. Single storey, curved U-plan, Scottish Baronial style block enclosing E end of service court with round-arched pend in crowstepped gable. Mostly squared and coursed sandstone with droved ashlar dressings. 2-leaf timber-boarded gates to pend; clock and date stone to ball-finialed gable above. Curved leg to right built into the slope of the ground with pedestrian door; curved leg to left. Timber-boarded doors to courtyard. Weathervane to gable apex. Ashlar gablehead stacks with octagonal yellow clay cans. Grey slates.

Statement of Special Interest

Castlebank is an interesting house with many different phases of work and some good classical details. The significance of the house lies largely in it being part of the Castlebank estate. The estate is one of the main components of the Falls of Clyde designated Designed Landscape and contributes to the outstanding scenic qualities of this part of the Clyde valley.

Castlebank House seems to have been built in or around 1760 for Mr John Bannatyne, provost of Lanark and commissary of the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire (with whom David Dale negotiated for ground at New Lanark) and has since had a succession of owners. The original house is likely to have been of 2 storeys (as evident on Forrest's map, 1816) with contemporary or later single storey wings, set back from main part of the building. It was progressively enlarged from the late 18th and early 19th century onwards. The central block was raised to 3 storeys by the beginning of the 20th century.

The Castlebank stable entrance, which was added in 1904, forms part of the good group of service buildings at the rear of the Castlebank House. The stable court is unusual in shape being long and narrow and this is dictated by the steep upward slope in the ground at the N side of the house.

A little before 1825, at the time of John Wood's survey, the property was in the hands of Mrs Milliken. By 1858 it had passed to John Neil Dyce, Sheriff Substitute for the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, who greatly improved the grounds, gardens and house, constructing a conservatory in the formal gardens. He was also an accomplished artist and his views of the house give evidence of its evolution: his sketches from 1857 and 1864 reveal that the entrance porch was built between these two dates.

In 1883 the property was purchased by James Houldsworth, whose family owned the Coltness ironworks. Both he, and later his son, carried out a number of improvements to the estate, including the avenue from the gate lodge at the E to the house and the new parkland planting. In the late 19th and early 20th century a rock garden and pond were created in the grounds on the NW side of the house, but the pond was subsequently infilled.

In 1950, following the death of the last Mrs Houldsworth of Castlebank, the property was acquired by a development company, and in 1951 by the District Council. The estate was shortly afterwards opened as a public park. For a time from 1951 the stable court entrance accommodated toilets and kiosk in connection with Castlebank Park and putting green and the pedestrian doors to right and left from the entrance side are probably alterations for access to ladies' and gents' toilets at this time. The house was converted into council flats that were refurbished in 1996.

Category changed from C(S) to B (February 1995).

The previous category B listing 'Castlebank House Castlebank Park' and category C(S) listing 'Castlebank House Stable Entrance' were merged into this one category B listing (2009).

References

Bibliography

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