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Summary

Description

Late 19th century. Well-detailed 2-storey and attic square-plan 3-bay villa with lower 2-storey servants' wing to E and distinctive central square cupola with iron finial detail. Pink coursed granite with Aberdeen bonding. Ground cill course. Deep eaves. Central timber pedimented roof dormers to S and N with timber detailing.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: S (Principal elevation): central entrance porch with with slim cast iron columns and balcony with finely detailed cast iron railing (see Notes). 6-panelled timber door set in pilastered doorpiece with narrow sidelights with narrow fanlight above. Flanking advanced 2-storey gabled tripartite bay windows with finely decorated bargeboards.

W. Elevation: Central slated lean-to porch with slim, decorative iron columns (see Notes). Flanking advanced gables rising from ground and breaking eaves.

Predominantly timber sash and case windows, some with 9-pane over plate glass. Timber sash and case to E. Grade grey slate. Coped wallhead stacks to W and E. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: original room plan largely extant. Elaborate decorative cornice plasterwork to main public room. Simple cornicework elsewhere. Timber 5-panel doors. Timber and porcelain 'pull and let go' lavatory by Shanks, Glasgow. Timber dado-panelling in wing to E.

BOUNDARY WALL: low granite rubble with rubble coping and square gate piers to N with square coping.

Statement of Special Interest

This is a well designed villa, set within its own grounds, distinguished by its fine decorative iron work by Walter McFarlane and Co, Glasgow. The decorated balcony above the porch can be found as Pattern No 155 in McFarlane's Castings Pattern book, and the column brackets as Pattern no 31. The timber gable bargeboards and distinctive glazing pattern are characteristic of the late 19th century. Typically, the formal areas are much more finely detailed compared to the service quarters. The house has the unusual feature of being the only house on the Braemar Road to be orientated S.

Braemar Road underwent transformation in the late nineteenth century from wooded countryside to elite suburb. A succession of prestigious houses were built in spacious plots along the road, reflecting Ballater's popularity with the wealthy as a summer base for exploring the Highlands. This popularity was due in part to the proximity of Balmoral and the strong connections of Queen Victoria to the area, and also the arrival of the railway to Ballater in 1866.

Scotland had a thriving, productive ironfounding industry in the latter half of the 19th century and Walter McFarlane and Co, Glasgow was an architectural ironfoundery with an international reputation, whose designs found their way to countries across the globe.

References

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