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Summary

Description

A later 19th century villa with significant early 20th century additions, situated on a small hill overlooking Carrick Castle, on a large plot with mature planting. Craigard is a multi-phase building with interesting and unusual use of Scots Baronial, castellated and Art and Crafts detailing, with a well preserved interior.

DESCRIPTION AND DEVELOPMENT

The oldest section of Craigard was originally built as a roughly square-plan 1 ½ -storey villa, with a battlemented and machicolated 3-stage square-plan tower set diagonally at the NE corner, to make the most of views over the loch. The SE facing 3-bay entrance front has a central door approached by off-set steps; this gives access to the large hall which was designed to act as a reception room, rather than just a means of entry and access to other rooms. The majority of the 1st floor windows are dormer-headed, breaking eaves, with crow-steps and ball finials. The window margins are chamfered and the openings of the south east and north east elevations have shaped heads, very shallow pointed arches to most, and semi-hexagonal to the dormer-headed windows. The ashlar quoins and window margins are raised.

The major early 20th century addition to Craigard took the form of a tall 3-storey wing, built on as a continuation of the entrance front, with a conical roofed round stair tower at the junction between the two phases. This addition, although largely reflecting the Scots Baronial aesthetic of the original villa, also shows Arts and Crafts influence in the use of leaded timber casement windows. This wing contains only one room on each floor, with the top floor apparently having been designed for use as a chapel.

The 2nd edition OS map shows that to the rear of the original house, (the NW elevation), there was a small, narrow wing projecting towards the southwest; this would have been, as it is now, the kitchen and service area, and was probably single storey. At some point between 1900 and the 1920s, it was extended across the south-west gable of the original villa, and a 1st floor was added in the form of a dormered mansard-like platform roof. Internally, this extended the service accommodation on the ground floor. Access to the 1st floor level was separate, formed by slapping through the original wall at the half-landing of the main staircase; the additional 1st floor accommodation was therefore intended for the use of the owners rather than servants. In the later 20th century there were further alterations and extensions to this section of the house, with the addition of a flat-roofed glazed section.

It is unclear in which order the various additions and alterations to the original villa took place. However, as the stair tower of the large addition gives access to that part of the house only, it seems that there could have been no internal interconnection between the two major phases of the house unless the service wing had already been extended. It seems unlikely that both were added at the same time, as they are stylistically so different.

INTERIOR

The oldest part of the house has good plasterwork, several good timber and marble chimneypieces, and a large ½ turn timber stair with turned balusters and newels. The three-storey extension has a timber spiral stair; all three rooms have timber-beamed ceilings of varying designs, there is a timber chimneypiece and built-in timber shelving to the ground floor, and the chapel has a stained glass window, which may be of some significant age, depicting St Paul, and exposed masonry walls.

MATERIALS

Random rubble, (some sections painted) with ashlar dressings. Excluding those described above, roofs are pitched with graded slates and crowstepped gables. Majority of the original 2-pane timber sash and case windows remain; a few replaced with modern timber and metal windows. Cruciform windows to stair tower Mostly plastic rhones, but down pipes and hoppers mostly cast iron, including ornate gargoyle-embellished hopper to entrance elevation.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS

At the foot of the drive to Craigard are a pair of square-plan gatepiers with castellated caps. Rubble walls form the north-east boundary.

Statement of Special Interest

In the garden of Craigard, just to the SW of the house, is an interesting and distinctively designed corrugated iron and timber building; it may have been reconstructed here after being removed from an original site elsewhere.

The present owner (2004) believes that Craigard may have had connections to Princess Louisa, daughter of Queen Victoria, and that she made several visits. Louisa married the Marquis of Lorne, and later (1900) became the Duchess of Argyll.

References

Bibliography

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