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Summary

Description

Probably John Milne, circa 1880, extended to N and S late 19th century, minor alterations 1920 (see Notes). Large, asymmetrical, 2-storey and attic villa with quirky French chateaux style turret, Baronial and Tudor details. Stugged, squared and snecked rubble with dressed ashlar margins. Base course and part eaves course. Crowstepped gables, and crowstepped and moulded curvilinear dormerheads; ropework mouldings; square-, segmental- and round-headed openings; hoodmoulds, corbels, stop-chamfered arrises and stone mullions.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 3-bay. Bipartite window to centre at each floor and finialled curvilinear dormerhead above with 'Star of David' in circular panel; bay to left at ground with canted tripartite window and moulded head to left below window with hoodmould incorporating quatrefoil moulding in circular panel and finialled crowstepped dormerhead; full-height canted tripartite window to right, stepped corbel to 1st floor and corniced at eaves with corbelled, moulded segmental pediments over outer lights, tall octagonal roof with diminutive, louvered dormer gablets to alternate faces and decorative wrought-iron brattishing with weathervane finial.

S ELEVATION: tall, projecting centre bay with window at 1st floor below stepped hoodmould with blind panel and small round-headed window in gablehead; ropework-moulded round-headed doorway and panelled timber door with semicircular plate glass fanlight on return to left, stepped hoodmould above incorporating moulded panel below corbel; bay to left with blinded door and 1st floor window below wallhead stack; blank bay to right and single storey extension projecting at ground centre.

E ELEVATION: asymmetrical fenestration, including gabled bay to left with canted tripartite window at ground and pedimented dormerheads to 1st floor windows at centre and right. Modern extension to left.

N ELEVATION: blank crowstepped gables with gablehead stacks flanking bipartite stair window at centre over single storey extension.

4-pane and plate glass glazing in timber sash and case windows; pictorial leaded and coloured glass to stair window and attic window to S. Grey slates, fishscale pattern to polygonal roof. Coped and shouldered stacks with cans and ashlar-coped skews with moulded skewputts; cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers and fixings.

INTERIOR: extensive decorative plasterwork cornices and friezes; timber shutters. 6-light screen door with coloured leaded glass. Room to SW with fine classical detail to ceiling and carved fireplace with grey marble slip. Dog-leg staircase with decorative cast-iron balusters and timber handrail.

BOUNDARY WALLS: semicircular-coped squared rubble boundary walls to W; rubble walls with segmental-headed arch and decorative wrought-iron gates to garden.

Statement of Special Interest

In 1890 the proprietor of Marchmont was James Whyte, bank agent, with George Whyte, floorcloth manufacturer, as tenant. In 1915 George Wilson purchased the building from Alexander Barnet, Iron Merchant, probably of Barnet & Morton in the High Street. Harold Ostlere, local floor cloth and linoleum manufacturer then bought it, in 1920, for the sum of ?1,850; alterations to both exterior and interior at this time were carried out by Alexander Fraser, Millie Street, Pathhead. The price included "dwellinghouse ... the garage, glass house?, hot water heating apparatus in the greenhouses ... kitchen range, all grates ... venetian blinds, window blind rollers, brass curtain poles and all gasoliers and gas fittings". Harold Ostlere increased the size of the property in 1924 by purchasing land for the sum of ?426 12s from his neighbour Mrs Elizabeth Beveridge of Beechwood (listed separately). Marchmont became a residential home in 1989. Pieces of stonework found in the garden have been restored to their original fountain? design from memory of local octogenarian. Its name no doubt comes from the Marchmont area of Edinburgh, replete with similarly exuberant Baronial design. The tentative attribution to John Milne relates to details in common with the architect's other work - notably use of Star of David motif. See Building for a New Age, exhibition catalogue, Editor John Frew, Annabel Ledgard on John Milne (1822-1904).

References

Bibliography

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