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Summary

Description

A multi-phase Scots Baronial mansion, built between 1840-60 to designs by the owner, George Binning-Home, and remodelled to designs by Stewart & Paterson of Glasgow in 1920-3 and 1935. It is arranged on an irregular L-shaped plan comprising a south block with a prominent circular tower and cap-house to the south elevation, which is adjoined at the east end of the rear by a large block (northeast block) extending to the north. The house is largely two storeys with an attic and is constructed of rubble masonry with ashlar dressings in grey and red. It has a roofline of prominent crow-stepped gables, gabletted wallhead dormers and gable and axial stacks. The house is now roofless and no interiors survive following a fire in 2011. The external walls remain to wallhead and dormerhead but the chimneys have largely been removed. It is located within the remains of its former parkland to the northeast of Doune. There is a former stable block (separately listed category B, ref: LB8226) connected via a screen wall to the northeast, a garden pavilion and swimming pool (added 1935) in the grounds to the west, with other former ancillary buildings to the north of the house.

The south block is composed around a three-storey and attic tower at the southwest corner with crowstepped gables to the north and south. The right-hand window to the south elevation was formerly the main entrance (built up in 1935). The upper storeys have a raised wall plane with a bracketed corbel course between the first and second floors, stepping up around the corners of the building to the two-bay west elevation. All the openings have roll-moulded ashlar surrounds with stop chamfers to the cills. Some openings have stone mullions. There is a three-storey circular stair tower engaged at the east side of the south elevation, with a ground floor entrance and a pair of armorial panels above, the lower inscribed 'True To The End' and the upper 'Per Mare Per Terras' and 'Non Inferiora'. The stair tower is topped by a square-plan cap-house on corbelling, which has an armorial panel to the east gable and a rounded dormer with a thistle finial to the south. There is a round bartizan tower to the upper storeys between the cap-house and the gable of the main tower, which has a bracketed and corbelled base rising from a lions-head corbel.

The south block has two-bay lower blocks adjoining to the east and north, each are two-storeys with an attic. That to the east has a pair of dormers (one segmental, one triangular) with ball finials, while the northwest block has the remains of two dormers, one retaining a gablet and fleur-de-lis finial. The first-floor windows of the northwest block all retain ornate wrought-iron Juliet balconies and there is a wrought-iron screen in one of the ground floor openings. To the rear (north) elevation of the south block, is a gable-fronted, full-height, square-plan extension (1920s) occupying the space between the long northeast block and the northwest block. At the base is a platform housing the boiler room and stepped access to the basement (1935).

The northeast block consists of a three-bay entrance block (1935) recessed between a pair of gabled bays (that to the south is the east wing of the south block), adjoined by a third gabled bay, with two further bays to the north. The entrance block has a red sandstone ashlar doorcase with a scrolled armorial panel inscribed 'Forthright'. The door opening is roll moulded with a depressed ogee lintel and set within a shallow inset surround. The doorcase is flanked by two small window openings, with a trio of larger openings on the first floor and a pair of dormers at attic level (missing gablets). There is a two-storey canted bay in the gabled bay to the north. The two end bays have gablet dormers, one with a rose finial and inscribed '1858', the other with a thistle finial and 'GHBH CB'. The north gable end of the block is blank except for a garage door opening. The rear (west) elevation has two stair towers, one with a gable front and the other (added 1935) with a dormer and abutting the 1920s infill range of the south block.

The interior has largely been gutted by fire and has not been seen due to danger of loose masonry (2024). It appears to have been entirely stripped out.

The Garden Pavilion and Swimming Pool are located to the west of the main house. The pavilion is a symmetrical, single-storey rubble stone building with a pyramidal slated roof forming a veranda to the south, with a pair of astylar rubble pillars. There are central entrances to the north and south elevations, with rectangular window openings. The windows have gone but the timber double-leaf doors remain and there is some timber panelling to the internal walls. To the west is the concrete-lined pool sunken within an area of flagstones. There are two sets of steps at the shallow (west) end flanking the footings of a small fountain and an amphitheatre of curved steps to the south side. At the east end is a stepped concrete platform for a diving board inset with a series of decorative glazed ceramic panels. The pool area has a rubble boundary wall to the north side with central arched niche and stone bench.

On the lawn between the house and pool are the footings of a former sundial, now replaced with a carved plinth stone. To the south of the house is a collection of stone and metalwork salvaged from the ruin (2024). A curved rubble stone wall runs west from the northwest wing of the house, with a pair of Doric columns (taken from the former doorcase on the south elevation) and an opening to the west end has a decorative wrought-iron gate. A rubble screen wall with a paved terrace extends east from the northeast wing to the former stable block. The wall has a curved central section with a red sandstone gate opening and stepped parapet above, flanked by two keyhole openings in red sandstone surrounds and infilled with decorative metalwork.

Historical background

The lands of Argaty were gifted to Sir Patrick Home of Polwarth by King James IV in 1497 and remained with descendants of the Home family until 1916. Argaty is marked as a small property on both John Adair's map of Stirlingshire (1685) and William Roy's Military Survey (1755). The earlier fortified house was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's troops in the mid 17^th century and was replaced in 1687 by Tobias Bauchop, the contractor-mason associated with Sir William Bruce (Dictionary of Scottish Architects).

The present house was built in the mid 19^th century and is shown on the Ordnance Survey 1^st Edition map (surveyed 1862, published 1864) which shows the footprint of the building much as it remains today. It was reputedly built to designs by the then owner, George Home Munro Binning-Home (1804-84) who inherited Argaty in 1806. He married Catherine Burnett of Gadgirth, Ayrshire, in 1839 and a datestone marked '1840 GBH.CB' on one of the stable dormers suggests that work was begun at Argaty shortly after the marriage. Binning-Home appears to have been a self-taught amateur architect and is not known to have designed any buildings beyond his own property. Through his mother he was related to the Monros of Auchenbowie (the noted Scottish medical dynasty) and claimed to be heir of the medieval Earls of Ross and MacDonald Lords of the Isles. The Home, Monro and MacDonald arms are each displayed in the panels on the round stair tower.

The full extent of Binning-Home's works is not clear. According to Hunter in 'Woods, Forest and Estates of Perthshire' (1883), 'the present Laird took down [the old house] in 1857, and replaced [it] with a splendid baronial mansion, of which he himself was the architect', while Barty (1929) claims that 'Argaty House was added to from plans of his own in 1861 and following years'. However, the 1858 dormer datestone on the north block indicates work either being commenced or completed at this date.

In 1884, Argaty passed to Binning-Home's nephew, George Home Monro, a New Zealand-born physician and later Port Health Officer in Shanghai during the First World War. Having rented the house to tenants for several years, Monro sold the estate in late 1916 to Thomas Henderson, director of the Glasgow tea merchants Walter Duncan and Co. Henderson quickly engaged Robert Lorimer to survey and alter the house but died suddenly in June 1917, leaving the plans unexecuted.

Alterations were carried out 1920-3 to new designs by Glasgow architects John Stewart and George Paterson in a Scottish Arts and Crafts vernacular style. The former main entrance in the south elevation was built up into a window and a new doorway opened in the round stair tower. At the rear of the main tower a semi-circular staircase was demolished and the larger square-plan gable-fronted range constructed in its place. The northwest wing was extended and attic storeys were added to both the northwest and northeast wings. Multiple other windows were added and the screen wall to the west was built.

In 1929, the estate was taken over by Thomas Henderson's son-in-law, Major David Charles Bowser, and further alterations were carried out by Stewart and Paterson in 1935. This second phase of work is identifiable from the use of red sandstone dressings which differ from earlier sections of the building. Most of the changes were to the north block and followed Lorimer's unused scheme of 1917. They included the insertion of a third (middle) gable front with canted bay window, and the reconfiguration of the range between the gables into a three-bay entrance block with new doorcase and dormers. The northernmost bay of the northeast block was also added, along with the garage in its north gable. On the south elevation, the crenelated top of the circular tower was replaced with a gabled cap-house and the bartizan tower lowered. Stewart and Paterson also substantially modernised the interiors in the Scottish Arts and Crafts style, removing the 'poorer original interior features' and creating 'a comfortable modern residence with Georgian affinities', furnished by Whytock and Reid of Edinburgh (Country Life (1937), xliv). They rebuilt several of the outbuildings around the stable yard and constructed the swimming pool and pavilion in the grounds which are shown on the Ordnance Survey National Grid map (Revised 1971).

Argaty House was separated from the estate and sold off by the Bowser family in 1982. The building suffered severe fire damage in April 2011 which destroyed much of the interiors and left the house roofless. Following the fire, exterior stonework and interior features were salvaged from the building and stored nearby with the intention of restoring it. Some of this material has since been lost to theft and vandalism. Many of the roof features which survived the fire have also been dismantled for safety reasons, including most of the chimneystacks and dormers. Some remnants of the earlier house/s, such as wall and floor footings, may be retained in the northeast wing.

Statement of Special Interest

We have found that Argaty House meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• It is a major example of a multi-phase Scots Baronial mansion, which largely preserves its external design and historic character. The building shows high quality craftsmanship and retains many of its decorative features, such as the crowstepped gables, carved pedimented dormers and decorative panels and surrounds.
• The loss of fabric, particularly to the interior, has not affected the building's ability to convey its architectural and historic interest.
• The building retains much of its historic estate setting and is the principal feature in an architecturally and historically significant group of surviving structures that were functionally related to the house.
• Built in several phases between the mid-19th and earlier-20th centuries, it is a major example of its building type. The role of the owner as its designer adds to the interest and rarity.
• The earlier 20th century alterations provide evidence of changing lifestyles and amenities in Scottish country houses.

Architectural interest

Displaying a high level of detailing and craftsmanship, the building is of special architectural interest.

While there has been a substantial amount of loss of fabric to the interior and partially to the exterior, the design of the external elevations and the character of the Scots Baronial design remain intact, along with many distinguishing stylistic features and details. The mid-19^th century south block remains the dominant part of the building with a strong composition and decorative embellishments that are typical of the style and period.

The north block is more vernacular in character, mostly owing its appearance to the two phases of alterations by Stewart and Paterson. Their Arts and Crafts detailing adds to the design interest, particular the 1935 alterations which stand out through the use of red sandstone finishes. The survival of ornamental details such as metalwork, sculpture and heraldic panels further contributes to the interest in design terms.

John Stewart and George Paterson were in partnership from 1901 until Paterson's death in 1934, with Stewart continuing in solo practice thereafter. They were known for their ability to work in different styles, including late Gothic, Scots Renaissance and Scots vernacular. The practice undertook several projects in Stirlingshire and South Perthshire including Ardchullarie More on Loch Lubnaig (listed category B, ref: LB3983) and alterations at Kier House (listed category A, ref: LB3935) and Coldoch House (demolished 1960s) as well as vernacular housing schemes at Doune, Callander, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane.

Argaty House is the principal building in a country estate that includes the neighbouring Argaty Stables (listed category B, ref: LB8226), the walled garden to the east and other cottages and outbuildings that include a swimming pool and pavillion, which were added in the earlier 20th century. The retention of these ancillary structures adds to the setting and special interest of the building. Although the ownership of the house was separated from the estate in 1982, it remains surrounded by lawns, parkland and mature trees which further preserve the character of the estate setting.

Historic interest

The survival of the house is not rare, however it remains a major example of a 19^th century country mansion in the Scots Baronial style. In a local context, its rarity is increased by the loss of other Scots Baronial houses near Doune in the mid-20^th century at Inverardoch (1859-61) and Glassingal (1864). Kilbryde Castle (listed category B, ref: LB3909) is the only major comparable house nearby, located to the east of Argaty.

Many country houses have a level of social historical interest to the local area as they were hubs of rural activity and employment. Although Argaty retained this role into the late-20^th century, this is not considered to be of special interest in itself.

The role of George Binning-Home as both owner and amateur designer of Argaty House is unusual and adds to the interest under this category. Argaty is of comparable scale and complexity to Hospitalfield House at Arbroath which was also designed by its owner, Patrick Allan Fraser, at around the same time (1840-70; listed at category A, ref: LB21253). Aside from his architectural interests, Binning-Home was well remembered in the surrounding area as an improving landlord and as a distinctive personality in the local district, adding to the social interest of the building.

The addition of the garage and swimming pool in the 1935 alterations, along with interior changes, is of social historical interest as evidence of the impacts of new standards of living and domestic comfort in the earlier 20^th century.

Listed building record revised in 2026.

References

Bibliography

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