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Summary

Description

18th century classical town house in close incorporating significant later 19th century alterations. L-plan, 2-storey and basement, stugged sandstone ashlar to front, squared and snecked to rear.

E ELEVATION: 5-step flight to entrance on raised principal floor, window to left and right in basement, wrought-iron railings, dressed ashlar doorpiece slightly recessed, splayed reveals to door, flanking rectangular windows, full-width segmental 4-pane fanlight, tripartite centred at 1st floor with stone columnar mullions.

S ELEVATION: in close; 2 connecting sections, that to right with 4-step flight, wrought-iron balusters, corniced doorpiece and panelled door to left, windows at basement, raised principal and 1st floors to right. Section to left slightly advanced, bowed wall to right with window in basement, small additional window above, 3 bays to left symmetrical at raised principal floor and 1st floor, bipartite window with stone columnar mullion to right, 2 windows to left, that to centre on principal floor blinded, door to basement to left. Gable end of W wing to left, advanced, harled, rubble stone out-houses at ground and 1st floors, bowed window above.

W ELEVATION: raised basement, symmetrical 3-bay bowed section to right, round-arched windows at principal floor, single bay section to left, tripartite windows, canted at basement and principal floor.

N ELEVATION(in close to 154 High Street): adjoining No 154 to right, harled to left, window at 1st floor to right, blinded window at basement and principal floor to centre, window at principal and 1st floors in re-entrant with front block.

12 and 18-pane timber sash and case windows, plate glass at principal floor to rear, 16-pane to tripartite. Roof piended to E of W wing and conical on bowed section to W, grey/brown slates; rendered stacks, on party wall to N, on ridge to centre, and shouldered and coped to S.

INTERIOR: fine largely intact plasterwork and panelled doors throughout, rib-vaulted plaster ceiling to entrance hall, semi circular staircase at intersection of wings, dog-leg staircase at connection of 2-bay section to E and main block, cast-iron balusters, notable bow-ended dining room in E wing formed from partition walls and curved doors, partly corresponding with outer wall to SE, 2-bay section to right formerly separated from main block and with surviving Victorian sanitary fitments and stove in 1 room flat on principal floor.

BOUNDARY WALLS: rubble stone boundary walls enclosing garden to rear (west).

Statement of Special Interest

One of the original town houses of the Coutts of Hallgreen and Fullerton banking family. In1689 the house was the residence of Thomas Coutts, son of John Cout". The Coutts played an important part in the financial guidance of the burgh during the 17th and 18th centuries. Four members of the family were also Provosts of the burgh between 1677 and 1742; a memorial tombstone to the Coutts is in the churchyard. The house has been altered and enlarged in several stages. The dining room and bow fronted section to the rear are Regency in appearance, but the latter is not recorded on the 1st Edition OS map of 1862. The thick section wall in the basement would suggest that the outer wall was moved southwards into the close perhaps as part of these later 19th century "improvements". The entrance doorpiece and columned windows may also date from this time.

References

Bibliography

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