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Summary

Description

William Leiper, 1905 major additions and alterations to earlier villa. 2-storey, asymmetrical villa with lower 2-storey wing to E with single storey service wing adjoining. Harled, painted white with cream sandstone ashlar dressings. Some ashlar margined windows; ashlar mullioned and transomed windows; overlanging bracketted eaves, swept on principal block.

N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: main block; slightly advanced centre bay with elaborate doorpiece with Moorish decorative details, kround-arched doorway with cusping set in square panel with rose and thistle carving to spandrels, inscription above "FIDES PRAESTANTIOR AVRO 1905", panel above doorway with twin round-arched lights with roll-moulded surrounds and framed by heavy floreate consoles supporting pierced stone balcony to transomed window above at 1st floor. 2 mullioned and transomed windows to left at ground with lead-pane glazing and 1st floor. Mullioned and transomed window to outer right at ground. Canted ashlar window on return to left, lead-pane glazing, flat lead roof.

2-storey wing recessed to left (E); round-arched doorway off-centre right with deeply chamfered reveals, modern glazed door. Small bipartite window to right, tripartite window to left set in round-arched panel in slightly advanced squared bay. 3 asymmetrically disposed windows at 1st floor. Curved return to E.

W ELEVATION: bipartite window to left at ground, doorway to right with modern conservatory abutting. 2 windows at 1st floor.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: main block; broad canted bay advanced to outer right set back to semi-circular at 1st floor, conical roof. 2 canted windows to left with mullioned and transomed windows. 2 bipartite windows at 1st floor above.

Wing to right; 2-storey bow window in re-edntrant angle, semi-circular stair turret to right with conical roof, window to right at ground, bipartite window at 1st floor above. Single storey wing adjoining to SE angle.

Mostly plate glass and small-pane sash and case windows, some lead-pane glazing. Rosemary tiled roof: sandstone corniced harled stacks; some original rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: wainscot to hall, timber beamed ceiling, double round-arched screen to stair and vestibule, timber stair and balustrade. Fine inglenook to hall. Wainscot to principal rooms, some original chimneypieces, geometric plasterwork ceilings.

Statement of Special Interest

Villa now subdivided. Originally called Rockbank, the older villa is almost completely absorbed in the substantial rebuilding to the east part of the house which included on the ground floor, a new entrance, hall, stairhall, new service quarters and a large dinidng room facing south. Leiper's additions to the remaining west part including a new canted window to the SW room and widening the windows to the west side of the house. The work was carried out for John G Ure. The doorpiece, a typical Leiperian motif is given added interest here with Moorish decorative details, clearly influenced by the recent tours in Spain and subsequent publication by A N Prentice, one of his pupils. Rockbank was home to the playwright James Bridie during his last years.

References

Bibliography

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