Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

FORD, FORD HOUSE AND WALLED GARDENLB756

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
22/01/1971
Local Authority
Midlothian
Planning Authority
Midlothian
Parish
Crichton
NGR
NT 38935 64359
Coordinates
338935, 664359

Description

1680. 2-storey and attic L-plan laird's house. Octagonal turnpike stair in re-entrant angle. Rubble, harled and painted, rusty orange walls with grey flush window surrounds.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: octagonal turnpike staircase in re-entrant angle: entrance door to ground floor right , small window to mid-floor upper 2-storeys, octagonal ogee slated roof, guilded weather cock surmounting; 2-storey single bay to left flank; 2-storey single bay to right flank, catslide dormer above; crowstepped gable, harled stack, stone neck cope, 3 plain terracotta cans, 2-storey single bay to gable end right; 1680 date stone in N gable of wing.

E ELEVATION: symmetrically placed 2-bay ground floor windows, window to 1st floor right; crowstepped gable-end, harled gablehead stack, stone neck cope, three plain terracotta cans

S (REAR) ELEVATION: symmetrical 3-bay fenestration to ground floor, outer bays to 1st floor, dovecote to centre; 2 modern Velux roof lights off centre right, small rooflight between.

W ELEVATION: slightly irregular fenestration, 3-bay with door ground floor right, 3 bay to 1st floor; gable-end, window off centre right, crow-stepped gable-end, harled gablehead stack, stone neck cope, 3 plain terracotta cans.

4-pane, 12-pane and 16-pane white timber sash and case windows to main floors. Piended graded Ballachulish slate roof; modern velux roof lights to rear elevation, catslide to dormer. Replacement white cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: original panelling and shutters to drawing room and bedroom above; original 2-panel 17th century timber doors; brass rim locks; black and white tiled fire surround; iron stair rail.

WALLED GARDEN: random rubble wall, stone copes containing garden, former stable courtyard and entrance courtyard, entrance gate to N boundary, S gate leading to woods.

Statement of Special Interest

The house was built as a country residence for the Frasers of Lovat, the first owner being an Edinburgh lawyer. It takes its inspiration from French architecture of the time. Ownership of Ford House was taken from the family due to their connections with the Jacobites. Bonnie Prince Charlie is alleged to have stayed here on his way South during the '45. The house and its land was merged into surrounding estates and suffered from chronic neglect in the last century. Fortunately, it was never modernised and had many original features remaining when it was bought by Frank and Mary Tindall who restored the house, circa 1960. The colour of the house has been put back to its original scheme, which was popular on houses of this type. The house has many interesting features. The roof of the stair tower had been a large-scale dovecote, with nesting boxes for a hundred pairs of birds, they now nest outside. The 17th century panelling in the drawing room is said to have influenced Sir William Bruce's work at Holyrood. The walled garden used to contain bee-boles and many fruit trees, but pre-restoration it became so overgrown, only an apple tree and yew tree survive. The Tindall's redesigned the flower garden into terraces and lawns and a walled fruit and vegetable garden now lies to the side of the house.

References

Bibliography

J Adair, MAP OF MIDLOTHIAN (1735) showing Foord; John Elphinstone, A NEW AND CORRECT MAP OF THE LOTHIANS FROM MR ADAIR'S OBSERVATIONS (1744) showing Ford; Macgibbon and Ross, THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND (1887 -1892) Vol. II p 44; THE THIRD STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND, VOL XXII (Midlothian 1985) p175; Phyllis Buchanan, COUNTRY HOUSES, FORD HOUSE, MIDLOTHIAN, Homes and Gardens (1968); H Fenwick, SCOTLAND'S HISTORIC BUILDINGS (1974) p111; C McWilliam, LOTHIAN (1975) pp. 204-205; J Thomas, MIDLOTHIAN (1995) p114.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 28/03/2024 19:04