Description
Country house comprised of late 18th (possibly incorporating earlier work) and early 19th century 2-storey and attic over concealed basement cruciform-plan core, with present principal 3-bay elevation to N; S jamb of core extended to S with 2-storey, 2-bay parapetted wing; mid 19th century single story over basement bow-ended drawing room wing infilling re-entrant to W with late 19th century single storey smoking room wing extending SW from W elevation. Harled walls with droved sandstone ashlar margins to openings, stugged sandstone ashlar dressings elsewhere, and brick dentilled eaves course.
N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: symmetrical; advanced and gabled centre bay, forestair rising to margined and corniced entrance door at principal floor; glazed upper panels to 4-panel timber door with 5-pane fanlight above. Centre bay blank at 1st floor; regular fenestration at each floor of side elevation small basement windows and cat-slide dormers breaking eaves at attic. Windows centred in outer bays; smaller windows at 1st floor off-set closer to centre of elevation.
W ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-bay end gable of principal elevation to outer left with windows in left, right, and left bays at basement, principal and 1st floors respectively. 2-storey 3-bay drawing room wing extending to right; regular fenestration in bay to left, 2-storey pedimented entrance porch with vertically-boarded timber door in bay at centre; right bay obscured by smoking room wing advanced at angle to right comprising single window in NW elevation (with gabled stone dormerhead breaking eaves) adjacent to re-entrant, and single window to left in SW elevation.
S (GARDEN) ELEVATION: asymmetrical, 2-bay gable end of S jamb to right with windows at principal floor only. 3-bay bow-end of drawing room adjoining to left with regular fenestration at basement and (lower) principal floor. Smoking room wing extending at angle to left; window with gabled dormerhead breaking eaves to outer left; elevation to right obscured by 5-bay timber conservatory, gabled, with cast-iron finials and cresting to ridge.
E ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2-bay end gable of principal elevation to outer right, blank except for windows at basement; elevation of S jamb recessed at left, irregularly-fenestrated bay with gable breaking eaves adjacent to re-entrant angle; 2-bay elevation of S jamb extension to left; piend-roofed single storey, single bay wing at SE corner, bays at principal floor offset to left.
Timber sash and case windows; mainly 12-pane to principal elevation and gables, mixture of 12, 4, and 8-pane patterns to rear elevation and wings. Pegged stone slab roof to principal ranges, purple-grey slates to S jamb extension and smoking room wing (piended), cast-iron gutters and downpipes with hoppers (E hopper on principal elevation reads JB 1835). Harled apex stacks to gables and wallhead stacks to S jamb extension parapets; octagonal cans to brick-dentilled stone copes; harl-pointed ridge stack with circular cans to smoking room wing.
WALLED GARDEN AND FOLLY: series of drystone walls to S (some are mid- 20th century), forming enclosures including semi-circular "dear walk" at S end, eye-catcher centring garden in form of wallhead built up as stepped rubble gable with brick arches and copes. 2-storey square plan rustic folly; vertically-boarded timber door and infilled window centring E and W elevations respectively; string course around 1st floor, 2 round-arched openings to each face above, brick-dentilled cornice at eaves.
GLASSHOUSES: 2 monopitch structures to W side of garden. N glasshouse linked to smoking room wing by latticed timber gate; harled rubble N wall with vertically-boarded timber door at centre, 4-pane fixed-light centred above and narrow round-arched window to right, boulder ball- finials at wallhead; timber S wall with vertically-boarded timber door to right, 2 windows to left, each with 8 tall panes of layered glass. S glasshouse; N wall with boilerhouse and wallhead stack at centre, layered glass on timber glazing bars to roof and S and side elevations.
STEADING AND COTTAGE: to E of house, comprising 3 separate gabled ranges with courtyard partially enclosed to S by L-plan cottage forming quadrangle, additional gabled barn (now garage) to S and pigsty to E.
W range and cottage; harl-pointed rubble walls with purple-grey slate roofs. W elevation of 4 widely-spaced bays with narrow openings in each bay at 1st floor only; full-height timber door in bay to right of centre; N gable, concrete steps to round-arched vertically-boarded timber loft door; single storey and attic 3-bay cottage elevation to S comprising door at ground in centre bay, regular fenestration with modern glazing in gabled bay to left, dormer breaking eaves in bay to right. E elevation; modern addition in re-entrant angle at outer left, 5-bay barn elevation to right, 2-leaf vertically-boarded timber doors with 4-pane fanlights in penultimate bay to left and outer right bay, 4-pane windows in other bays.
E range: comprises 6-bay principal barn with loft and gabled projection centred to E giving T-plan, 2-bay jamb with loft in shallow-pitched roof extending to N. Harl-pointed rubble walls with stugged sandstone dressings and stone slab roof. Principal range; full-height sliding timber door in bay to right of centre, cart-arches in bay to right, narrow window in penultimate bay to left with doors in flanking bays. Segmental-arched window and door in right and left bays respectively
of N jamb. Rubble steps to segmental-arched vertically-boarded timber loft door in N gable. E elevation; gable advanced at centre, blank elevation except for 8-pane timber fixed-light to outer right. Brick-infilled opening centring S gable.
Pigsty: drystone walls and stone slab roof, gabled to E and W, with
2 enclosures fronting S elevation.
Garage: harl-pointed rubble walls with shallow-pitched roof (modern cladding); vertically-boarded timber doors flanking centre of N gable, E elevation adapted for garage door, vertically-boarded timber doors to right of centre and at outer left in W elevation.
DOOCOT AND SUNDIAL: 2-storey, single bay symmetrical doocot centred to N of house. Harl-pointed rubble walls with dentilled brick eaves cornice. Principal elevation to S comprising door at ground, vertically-boarded infill with round-arched flightholes to square opening at 1st floor with brick margin. Roofless single storey monopitch lean-to to rear, in re-entrant angle to E. Grey slate bell- cast pyramidal roof with ball finial at apex. Pedestal sundial of 1789 centred to S of doocot.
BOUNDARY WALLS, GATES AND GATEPIERS: series of enclosures to N and W of house in a combination of harl-pointed and drystone rubble walls. Principal enclosure symmetrically disposed to N (principal) elevation of house; doocot (see above) at centre, flanked by wall curving to S and meeting corners of E and W walls with gates adjacent. W gatepiers of sandstone ashlar, comprising rusticated square shafts each with moulded base and cornice over frieze surmounted by ball finials; vertically-boarded timber gate. E gate of harl-pointed rubble with brick quoins comprising ashlar-margined vertically-boarded timber door at centre with brick string course and dentilled cornice at wallhead, gatepiers flanking with dentilled corniced caps, stepped to boulder ball finials. Secondary enclosure to W with low harled walls with concrete copes to wallheads and piers (with ball finials) at S gate and steps to W. N boundary wall (to sea) extending W from principal enclosure; small wrought-iron gate with semicircular rubble wind-break at E end; wallhead stepped up to brick and rubble ball-finialled piers flanking crenellated semicircular rubble recess for flagpole; boundary wall extends SW to concrete entrance gatepiers at N end of W boundary wall. Additional gatepiers to S of squared rubble.