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Summary

Description

Circa 1850 with later additions and possible earlier fabric. Large 2-storey, 4-bay with basement, gabled T-plan Scots Revival former manse on gently sloping site with early 19th century ancillary courtyard range to rear (N) and separate walled garden linked to outbuildings to NE. Later advanced gabled bay to left with canted windows; ballustraded stone steps to entrance in re-entrant angle; pedimented breaking eaves dormers; curved stair to rear re-entrant angle. Stugged coursed blonde ashlar with droved margins; coursed rubble to secondary elevations. Chamfered arises to window openings; blank plaques to dormers; ball finials to canted bay.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows with iron bars to basement level; graded grey slates; diamond section skews with stepped detail; corniced ashlar end and gable stacks, tall clay cans; cast-iron gutters spanning windows; cast-iron downpipes; lead hoppers, ridge and flashings.

INTERIOR: good late 19th century decorative scheme in place. Glazed, panelled entrance screen, 6-panelled doors to principal rooms, dado rails to ground floor. Includes a number of plain classical marble and timber fireplaces; highly decorative foliate cornice to principal E room. Heavy curved ashlar stone stair with stone newel post, banister and skirting. Basement retains flagstone floor, servant's quarters, 2 small cold store rooms with stone shelving and half boarded shutters to windows, large former kitchen to front.

NORTH COURTYARD RANGE AND WALLS: enclosed courtyard range linked to N with granite setts and boarded doors: mono-pitch range with single stalls and steps to hen-house; smaller pantiled range with timber doocot linked to N wing of house; later piended stable with arched cartshed opening to E.

WALLED GARDEN AND OUTBUILDINGS: piended stable with arrow-slit windows, slate roof and brick cobbled floor linked to SW corner of large walled garden to NE of house. Small adjoining rear store with stone fireplace to inside SW corner of walled garden.

ENTRANCE GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: rubble stone boundary wall to SE linking garden walls to lower curved snecked ashlar coped walls flanking solid stone square gatepiers with shallow pyramid capitals to form S gateway.

Statement of Special Interest

Abercorn Manse, built as part of the Hopetoun Estate, is a good example of a manse with good stone detailing and a good internal decorative scheme. The current house is an adaptation and extension of an earlier building, there has been a manse on the site since the Roy map of 1755 (the detailing of the link with the range to the N also appears to be from an earlier date). The manse appears on the first edition map of 1854 as plain rectangular with the advanced canted bay to the E not appearing until the 2nd edition map of 1896. It is likely that the interior decorative scheme and the tripartite window to the N are concurrent with the later additions.

The manse holds a strong historical link to the A-listed Abercorn Kirk sited slightly to the N; a manse is noted on the site on Forrest's map of 1818 and Adair's early map of 1737 notes 'kirkhouses' on the same site.

The N range is linked by a small lean-to to the N to 'Beadles Cottage'. A late 20th century rendered single garage adjoins the garden wall to the SE of the house.

References

Bibliography

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