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Summary

Description

Kinnear & Peddie, 1882, re-working and extension of earlier 19th century square-plan mansion house (see Notes), sub-divided in later 20th century. 2-storey and basement, 3-bay classical villa with shallow, bowed and balustraded portico. Narrow ashlar sandstone courses (yellow to earlier work, grey to later work); droved, stugged and polished ashlar dressings; broad pilaster quoins; base course; eaves course; stone mullions; chamfered arrises.

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical elevation. Centre bay with Doric-columned portico, 2-leaf panelled doors, additional glazed outer doors, segmental radial-astragalled fanlight, narrow flanking lights. Balustrade above with central 2-leaf French doors with 3-part fanlight. Flanking bays with full-height canted windows.

E ELEVATION: off-centre left bowed bay with altered ground floor French window and 1st floor broad tripartite window above. 1st floor window to right; later single storey bay below, 2 windows. Advanced bay to far right, 2 ground floor windows; dormer window as with W elevation.

N (SERVICE) ELEVATION: variety of elements to asymmetrically fenestrated elevation; ground floor boarded timber door with 2-part fanlight to centre; 1st floor dormer-headed windows.

W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 4-bay (arranged 1-3) stepped elevation; angled doorcase in re-entrant; part-basement to left. Advanced bay to left: boarded timber door to raised basement; 2 ground floor windows; segmentally-arched window breaking eaves with dormer gablet on moulded consoles, square-headed window breaking eaves with dormer gablet on moulded consoles to right return. Set-back bays to right: large ground floor window to bowed centre bay, broad 1st floor tripartite window above. Blank bay to right with blind ground floor window. 1st floor window to left over pedimented doorcase with deep blank frieze, stepped blocking course, moulded doorway, part-glazed panelled timber door, plate glass fanlight.

4- and 12-pane, and plate glass glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. Piended and platformed roof; grey slates; timber brackets to overhanging eaves; plain bargeboards; cavetto-coped ashlar stacks; circular clay cans.

INTERIOR: divided into 6 flats. Some decorative plasterwork cornices; grey marble and timber fire surrounds; sideboard arches; brass door furniture. Part-glazed screen door, decorative cast-iron balusters to dog-leg stair and arcaded (part-blocked) landing. Panelled doors (4- and 6- panel).

FORMER LAUNDRY: single storey dressed ashlar and squared rubble laundry with piended slate roof. 4 bipartite windows to S; panelled timber door with plate glass fanlight, flanking windows to E; velux rooflights.

WALLED GARDEN: roughly coursed rubble walls punctuated with larger stones, some squared. Semicircular coping formed over depth of wall. Potting shed incorporating stone inscribed and dated "J B DRUMMOND VINTNER Jany 17th 1766".

TERRACED GARDEN: terrace walls of regular squared rubble with stone steps to SE. High snecked rubble serpentine wall to S with balustraded ashlar parapet; monumental brick buttresses.

GATEPIERS, GATES AND RAILINGS: corniced, flat-coped (see Notes) rectangular-plan dressed ashlar gatepiers with fine decorative cast-iron 2-leaf gates bearing cast eagle and motto "NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET", and inset railings.

Statement of Special Interest

A carved stone dated '1821' sited at the entrance to Northcliff is thought to have been removed from the earlier building during the re-working. However in 1938, Stephen states that "the original part of the house was built by John Forsyth, Edinburgh, prior to 1816. Additions both to the land and the house were made by Captain W McConnachie, R[oyal] N[avy], the Captain apparently associated with the penal transport discussion, who entered into possession in December 1823, and further additions both to grounds and house by subsequent proprietors have left the property as it now is." The 1882 additions by Kinnear & Peddie consisted of a long 2-storey rectangular wing to the rear, the heightening of the canted windows to the front, the alteration of the fenestration to the upper level of the E and W bowed bays, the widening of the eaves and the introduction of a larger principal staircase to the interior. Originally, the principal elevation would have had a central pediment above the balustraded portico flanked by smaller pedimented windows above the ground floor canted bays. The main gates were formerly graced with stone eagles but these were stolen in the late 19th century. The gatelodge was designed by Kinnear & Peddie, but has had a large modern flat roof extension added to its SW corner, obscuring the original lodge from the Main Road.

References

Bibliography

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