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Summary

Description

Early 19th century with James Gillespie & Scott addition and alterations 1903, 1909 and 1931; further out-of-character modern additions. Original 2-storey, 3-bay house on corner site with large house adjoining to S, all converted to hotel (probably 1931). Earlier building harled with some stone margins, base and eaves courses. Later building of squared rubble with polished ashlar dressings. Chamfered cill courses and eaves cornice; stone parapets with urn balusters, square and curvilinear corner piers, and ball, spike, floreate and thistle finials. Chamfered arrises and stone mullions.

CIRCA 1800 HOUSE:

N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: symmetrical, bays grouped toward centre. Door at centre with modern timber canopy obscuring pilastered and corniced doorcase, windows in flanking bays and regular windows at 1st floor. Ropework detail scrolled-skewputts to right and left. (Flat-roofed extension to outer left not included in listing).

W ELEVATION: gable to left with door at ground right and window above; slightly lower wing to right with window at ground and 1st floor. (Stepped, flat-roofed extension beyond adjoining rear of later building not included in this listing).

1903 BUILDING:

E (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: ground floor of rectangular block to left with step up to almost full-width advanced quadripartite window on slightly advanced centrepiece with windows on return to right and left (latter converted as door); 1st floor as ground but with windows to both returns and stone balustraded parapet above with square dies and ball finials, dies scroll-flanked with pyramidal finials to rear: ball finialled skewputts to outer right and left. Lower and slightly advanced gable clasping corner to right with full-height canted window below stone balustraded parapet; thistle finial to gablehead and floreate skewputts. Flat-roofed extension to outer right obscuring all but gablehead and stack of recessed E elevation of earlier building.

W ELEVATION: largely obscured by modern extensions; 1st floor with projecting round landing tower (originally cantilevred) at centre with tripartite window and ogee roof with cast-iron finial. Modern flat-roofed extension to right clutching SW corner (originally window), obscured to left (originally small bipartite window). Small rooflight and ball finial skewputts to right and left.

Mainly plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows. Upper sashes of quadripartite and return windows to E with fine leaded and coloured glass of various Art Nouveau designs; stair windows also coloured and leaded. Ground floor to N and W with plate glass glazing in fixed windows, 1st floor right to W with top-opening modern window. Graded grey slates. Coped ashlar stacks with some cans, ashlar coped skews, skewputts and finials. Square-section gutters with cast-iron downpipes, decorative rainwater hoppers and brackets.

BOUNDARY WALLS: low coped rubble boundary walls.

Statement of Special Interest

Comprised of 3 different but interesting blocks, Laurel Bank is focally sited on the square; its character could be improved by the removal of the flat-roofed modern additions. It is first mentioned in the Valuation Roll of 1893, owned by Adam Carmichael of Bridge of Allan and occupied by John Dixon papermaker. Soon after Provost Dixon, who presented the burgh with a public park in 1919, commissioned James Gillespie & Scott to build a large additional wing with principal rooms of billiard room and dining room at ground below drawing room and bedroom at 1st floor. Sectional drawings detail Greek-key panelling and timber over mantle with flanking windows in recessed alcove to S for the billiard room, and panelled and balustered scale-and-platt stair with finialled newels. Exterior detail to the W elevation included a low centre gable with ball-finialled skewputts and small round-headed windows flanking a hidden stack which curves around a pilastered datestone (1903) and gablehead arrow slit (the latter just visible today). Gillespie & Scott?s design extended to a formal garden with croquet and tennis lawns and a highly decorated cast-iron gate with flanking, ball-finialled gatepiers. Laurel Bank was converted to a "Temperance Hotel" in 1945 and altered again in 1960 by the Markinch and District Co-operative Society.

References

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