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Summary

Description

Rowand Anderson and Paul & Partners, 1939-40 (Basil Spence principal architect), completed by W H Glover. Predominantly single-storey and attic, irregular L-plan Arts and Crafts style house with asymmetrical pitched roof and projecting gabled stair bay to entrance court elevation. Chamfered ashlar basecourse, harled brick construction, some artificial stone margins. Entrance in re-entrant angle, single timber door with diamond pattern in chamfered recess, artificial stone jambs; cat-slide dormer above. Irregular fenestration; flat-arched openings. Cat slide dormer windows.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 5 bays (2 bays to left advanced) with 2-storey, 3-bay return. Projecting gabled stair bay to centre of return with large 9-light window with cast stone mullions and transoms.

N ELEVATION: 8 bays (3 bays to left advanced and angled); 2-leaf timber and glazed door to outer right with moulded architrave and semi-circular exterior steps. Wide mid-pitch, 2-stage brick chimney stack to centre, moulded cope to 1st stage.

W ELEVATION: 4 bays; projecting 2-storey bay to left of centre (1st floor added 2005), tripartite window with artificial stone margins at both floors. Late 20th century conservatory to right.

Timber-framed casement windows. Steeply pitched, dark blue and black pantiled roof; flat roof to projecting bay of W elevation. Coped, brick mid-pitch with cylindrical clay cans.

INTERIOR (seen 2009): open stairwell with landings, timber balustrade with turned balusters. Large fire surrounds to principal rooms (stone to living room, marble to dining room). Predominantly original cedar doors with wooden latches.

GARAGES: abutted to S elevation and internally linked to house; additional garage to left (added 2005), stepped back. Shallow-arched opening with 2-leaf diagonally boarded timber doors and painted hinges. Steeply pitched dark blue and black pantiled roof.

ENTRANCE FORECOURT: stone setts laid in large circular patterns.

Statement of Special Interest

West Court is a good example of a modern inter-war Arts and Crafts house and is Spence's last pre-war house design. The design is characteristic of his expressionistic vernacular style, using predominantly white painted, harled brick construction and steeply-pitched tiled roofs. Internally the building retains much of its original features, especially high quality joinery such as internal doors with wooden latches and staircase. The house shares some features with the design for Spence's own unbuilt house of the same period, such as small pane casement windows, wide chimney stacks and gabled garages. The bent plan reveals the pre-occupation with orientation to sunlight, views and practical arrangement that was manifest in the designs for Gribloch and the original scheme for Broughton Place.

West Court was constructed for T E S Sandison, a tweed manufacturer. In the 1950s Spence designed the nearby 'Cottage', at Gosford Road, for his widow. Entries in the Rowand Anderson ledgers reveal Spence as the principal designer for West Court, with William Hardie Kininmonth taking over in 1939, after Spence was called to active service.

Sir Basil Spence was one of Scotland's most accomplished and prolific 20th century architects. He leapt to prominence during the Festival of Britain in 1951 as chief architect for the Exhibition of Industrial Power in Glasgow. Some of his most renowned works include Coventry Cathedral and the British Embassy in Rome. The practice was also profuse in the design of domestic commissions. This included single dwellings, such as Broughton Place, near Tweedsmuir (1936), Quothquan near Biggar (1937) and Gribloch near Kippen (1937), as well as municipal housing schemes such as Dunbar Harbour Housing (1949-52, extended 1953-6) (see separate listings).

Listed as part of the Sir Basil Spence thematic listing survey (2009-11).

References

Bibliography

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