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Summary

Description

George Washington Browne, 1890-1; additions by Peddie and Washington Browne, 1899 and Ian G Lindsay & Partners, 1964. Roughly Z-plan Scots 17th century revival country house composed of original 2-storey and attic L-plan house with semi-octagonal entrance tower, 2-storey canted bay window and crowstepped gables; 1899 single storey and attic service wing with pedimented dormer windows adjoining N gable of house; 1964 2-storey and attic addition to E gable of house, forming Z-plan, with bow window to S gable; 1964 garage and service courtyard adjoining service wing to N. Roughcast rendered whinstone rubble with red Corsehill sandstone ashlar dressings to 19th course; flush sandstone window margins (except to 1964 addition which has projecting sandstone cills).

DESCRIPTION: entrance elevation to S with half-glazed door in open pedimented doorway at base of central octagonal entrance tower with tall finialed roof; regular fenestration to flanking bays with pedimented dormers to attic; 1964 gable advanced to outer right with 2-storey bow window. Long garden front to W: original 4-bay house to right with 2-storey canted window to 2-bay gable; 2-bay service wing to centre with pedimented dormers; 1964 single storey garage and service range with steep roof and irregular fenestration to left. L-plan arrangement to E with 1964 wing advanced to S and irregularly fenestrated 19th century range to W with pedimented dormer windows; 1964 lean-to rubble entrance porch adjoining W range; wall concealing service courtyard extending N from W range. Irregularly- fenestrated courtyard with boiler room and garages extending from right gable.

12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Coped rendered stacks with red clay cans. Graded green/grey slate roof (see Notes).

INTERIOR: largely modernised in the 1960s. Cantilevered grey stone staircase with timber handrail and newel posts and decorative wrought-iron balusters. Upstairs drawing room containing bowed recess, decorative timber chimneypiece with white marble inset and fender, and compartmented ceiling. Plaster cornicing, timber shutters and timber panelled interior doors throughout.

TERRACE AND BALUSTRADES: terrace to S and W of house with balustraded red sandstone retaining walls, ball finials and steps LODGE (FORMER STABLE): Peddie and Washington Browne, 1899. Single storey and attic, L-plan former stable (probably incorporating groom's cottage) with deep eaves. Roughly snecked whinstone with red sandstone window margins. Irregularly fenestrated with pedimented dormers rising from eaves. Half-glazed timber-boarded front door in re-entrant angle. 3 Shallow-arched lights below eaves to N elevation.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Brick stacks with red clay cans. Graded grey/green slates.

FORMER COACH HOUSE (OR GARAGE), WALLED GARDEN, BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: 1920s or '30s former coach house or garage opposite lodge; random rubble with sliding timber-boarded doors. Partially walled garden to N of house. Coped rubble gatepiers and short curved boundary wall by lodge. the father of Elizabeth B Mitchell, one of the first women Town Planners in Scotland. Elizabeth Mitchell was very well-regarded in her day, and made a considerable contribution to the development of East Kilbride New Town. After her father's death she lived at Langlees from 1916-1964, when it was sold to the present owners.

Ian Gordon Lindsay was extremely influential during the early years of the movement to preserve historic buildings in Scotland. During the 1930s he assisted the Marquis of Bute in drawing up lists of buildings that should be protected (which later became the basis of the statutory lists), and was appointed Chief Investigator of Historic Buildings after the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act was passed in 1945, a post he held in conjunction with running his architectural practice. Langlees was probably one of the last houses he would work on; he died in 1966.

Statement of Special Interest

A relatively important house by the prominent architect Sir George Washington Browne. Drawings of the house appeared in at least 2 contemporary publications (see References) soon after it was built and were exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy. The domestic Scots detailing of the house is strongly influenced by the work of Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, particularly Allermuir, the house Anderson built for himself in Colinton (Edinburgh) in 1879. After working in the offices of a number of distinguished architects in both Scotland and London, Browne had worked as Anderson's assistant and then partner from 1879 until 1885 when he set up his own practice.

Langlees was built for Andrew Mitchell in two stages: the tallest part of the house was built in 1890-1 (see Jean Lindsay), and the service wing was added in 1899. Although the walled enclosure around the front door is contemporary with the 1st phase of building, the terraces were not built until the turn of the century. Like Allermuir, the principal rooms were originally panelled in pine.

References

Bibliography

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